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The effect of climate change on animals
Climate change effects rainforests essay
Effects of rainforest depletion
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Throughout the ages, the earth and its inhabitants have undergone a variety of changes that have had a major effect on the earth’s vegetation and animals. The most prominent of these changes is climate change, or global warming. According to Merriam-Webster, global warming is, “an increase in the earth 's atmospheric and oceanic temperatures widely predicted to occur due to an increase in the greenhouse effect resulting especially from pollution”. This increase in atmospheric and oceanic temperatures has led to several geographic and evolutionary changes. For example, it has caused glaciers to melt and sea levels to rise. However, one of the most significant of these effects is the effect that climate change has had on rainforests. From South …show more content…
The most well-known of these changes is climate change. Climate change is the change in climate patterns over a region. Climate change, or global warming, is very important and has severely affected the earth and its wildlife. More specifically, it has affected rainforests. Rainforests make-up at least 6% of the earth’s surface and at least 50% of the species of plants and animals, and ten percent of all rainforests are located in Asia alone. Thus, if anything were to happen to the rainforest population in Asia the results would be disastrous. However, it has already started. Studies show that the extreme temperatures has caused trees’ growth rates to decrease, and that extreme temperatures negatively correlate with growth rates. Additionally, studies show that animal populations are decreasing and migrating due to the deterioration of their habitats. Generally, climate change has had a negative effect on the earth and its’ inhabitants, thus, if we do not find a way to stop it now the results could be calamitous. Now the question is how do we prevent such an event, or at least protect ourselves from it. Thus, I recommend that further research be done to identify how and why certain species of animals have not been affected, and to see if this can be used to help other species to prevent any disasters in the
Species are decreasing and becoming extinct over time due to climate warming. Animals and plants have developed and diversified from earlier forms to become more complex organisms. Not only have living organisms changed, but so has the Earth. Over time, the world itself has changed drastically, not just the climate but the way it looks as well. The ice on the arctic is melting, causing oceans to become more acidic, oceans became deserts and pollution from our everyday lives are affecting the ozone. It all adds up and changes the world negatively. When the world changes, so do the animals within it. Climate warming has been a big part of the change we see in the population of different species. The speed of climate change is excelling, which
With global warming on the increase and species habitats on the decrease, the chances for various ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing. Many studies have pointed out that the rates of extinction of animal and plant species and the temperature changes around the world since the industrial revolution have been significantly different to normal expectations.
These changes include changes such as the atmosphere and the ocean becoming warmer, decreasing amounts of snow and ice, increase in the sea level and increase in the levels of greenhouse gases.
There is possibility of decrease in the rate of global warming which will affect us all in a positive way. The endangered animals will be no longer in danger because of the loss in their habitats and also the climate change will be sustainable which mean there will be four seasons in most parts of the
Simply speaking, rainforests are basically the foundation of the earth. The most important role that rainforests play is ‘the lungs of the earth’. This is extremely vital to the earth’s survival as the trees and plants absorb carbon dioxide which they use to help grow and let out oxygen which we need to live. This system is known as the carbon-oxygen cycle and with numbers of rainforests declining, it is highly threatened. The largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon, alone is known to produce half of the world’s oxygen. A break down in the carbon-oxygen cycle means that we will not only have less oxygen, but an increase in carbon dioxide which eventually leads to global warming. This occurs as carbon dioxide traps heat which actually keeps the earth warm, with the right amount of carbon dioxide that is. This is called the greenhouse effect and occurs naturally however due to decreasing number of trees, there is more carbon dioxide than needed which traps extra heat making the earth hotter than needed, this is known as global warming which also causes a rise in sea level.
Thousands of species have become extinct over the last four decades as a result of changes in land use and as a result of global warming. Whether or not the millions of species can adapt and evolve to climate changes is debatable. As this brief overview will report, the human species is not adapting well to the changes. It must be remembered that increases in the levels of carbon dioxide are certainly responsible for the risk many species face, but so is the way land is used, e.g., rain forest destruction. There is a feedback loop wherein plant life and the climate are interdependent. Each affects the other. When forests are cut down, temperatures in that area will rise. Rising temperatures cause other plant life requiring cooler temperatures To die off.
The Amazon Rainforest is the world's largest tropical rainforest that we have today on our planet. It covers a wide range expanding almost entirely across from East to West of South America. It is most famous for its broad biodiversity and includes the famous Amazon River that is home to rare and diverse species. Today, the Amazon Rainforest is under threat of complete deforestation and has greatly lost more than half of its tropical rainforest due to cattle ranching, soy bean farming, sugar cane plantations, palm oil and biofuel agriculture. The indigenous people are doing their best to fight against the government to protect their land and conserve the rainforest but without capital finance, it is seeming to be an impossible project.
Most people do not think about global temperatures, but local ones. Therefore, climate change affects ecosystems, not just through increases in the mean, but also through changes in the extremes. Earth is already showing many signs of worldwide climate change. Even more, scientists are now able to say that climate change increases the risk of a particular weather pattern by a measurable amount and, in any case, that a particular episode is almost impossible to imagine without global warming.
The ecological consequences of global climate change are expected to be drastic although not much is known as to how individual species will react to these changes. Irrespective of the causes of climate change, whether anthropogenic or natural, it is imperative that we address these concerns, as they will have widespread impacts on the human species, both directly and indirectly through forcings on other species. The climate is not expected to shift evenly and the ways in which certain species adapt or migrate due to these changes could be erratic and unpredictable. The rate at which the earth’s climate is currently changing is unprecedented and has not been seen in the past 450,000 years. Although many species have simply migrated northward or vertically up mountainsides to escape warming habitats, others do not have this luxury or cannot migrate fast enough to survive. The earth’s temperature has risen by over one degree Fahrenheit over the past century, based on land and sea level measurements. The temperature is expected to continue rising at a faster pace over the next century, possibly increasing by as much as seven degrees Celsius. In comparison, the earth’s average global temperature was only twelve degrees cooler than it is now during the last great ice age. A vast majority of species now living do so within a narrow spectrum of temperature ranges and will not be able to adapt to a warming climate on such a large scale. If humans are the cause of a warming climate we will ultimately be responsible for the destruction of millions of species.
This report will discuss the effects of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest on the people and Environment and suggest possible solutions for deforestation. The Amazon Rainforest located near Brazil is being cut down at a rate of roughly 10,000km every year according to Source 1. Deforestation is affecting the entire planet.
The effect of climate change is very high; it could cause animal life to become extinct. Climate change affects many kinds of animals. According to an article written on Climate and Weather, birds are highly affected by climate change. When the climate changes, birds lay their eggs earlier than usual They migrate into the nest earlier and in some countries, birds don’t even live anymore. (Climate Change effect on Animals and BirdLife). This shows how climate change, which is caused by excessive greenhouse gas in the air affects the animal
In January 1925 Percy Fawcett, his son and his son’s friend set out on their journey to discover the secrets of the Amazon Rainforest. There are many things that make it very hard for survival in the Amazon, unless they are indigenous and are used to it, like the living conditions, the diseases carried by the animals and spread to humans, the natives, and the lack of food.
Climate change is one of the major issues surfacing on Earth over the past century. The earth’s temperature has increased over the years, leading to detrimental effects on the economic and life sources of people, especially that of agricultural production and livestock. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary (2014), defined climate change as a change in global climate patterns apparent from the mid late 20th century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, (2007) predicts that by 2100 the increase in global average surface temperature may be between 1.8° C and 4.0° C. With increases of 1.5° C to 2.5° C, approximately 20 to 30 percent of plant and animal species are expected to be at risk of extinction. Moreover, the IPCC (2007) purported that climate change has severe consequences for food security in developing countries.
Climate Change is any substantial change in climate that lasts for an extended period of time. One contributor to current climate change is global warming, which is an increase in Earth’s average temperature. Plants and animal species throughout the world are being affected by rising temperatures. Many plants are flowering earlier now than they once did; animals, such as the yellowbellied marmot, are emerging from hibernation earlier; and many bird and butterfly species are migrating north and breeding earlier in the spring than they did a few decades ago, all because of slight changes in temperature cues. (Shuster)
According to National Geographic 2014, Deforestation is clearing Earth's forests on a massive scale, often resulting in damage to the quality of the land. Deforestation occurs all around the world and tropical rainforests are primarily targeted. Our world’s rain forests could completely vanish in a hundred years at the current rate of deforestation. Currently or in the recent past countries with significant deforestation include Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, parts of Africa and Eastern Europe. Deforestation affects our planet and everyone in many ways. According to LiveScience 2013, seventy percent of the world’s plants and animals live in forests and are losing their habitats to deforestation. Loss of habitat can lead to species extinction. Our world has lost so many species of plants and animals in last couple of decades. This has negative consequences for medicinal research and local populations who rely on the animals and plants in the forests for hunting and medicine. In some regions of the world deforestation can cause floods, when it rains trees absorb and store large amount of water with the help of its roots. But when they are cut down the flow of water is disrupted w...