Climate Change and Evolution
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.
Indicator Species
Polar bears are one species that are currently feeling the effects of a warming climate. Over the past twenty years, NA...
... middle of paper ...
...phy:
Ian Stirling, Nicholas J. Lunn and John Iacozza, 1999. "Long-term trends in the population ecology of polar bears in western Hudson Bay in relation to climate change", Arctic 52(3):294-306. September 1999.
Markham, Adam and Malcolm, Jay. September 2000.
Speed kills: rates of climate change are threatening biodiversity.
http://www.woza.co.za/eco/news/sep00/speed12.htm
Antipredator Adaptations by Monarch Butterflies
Kim A. Pike
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Entomology/courses/en507/papers_1999/pike.htm
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Special Report
The Regional Impacts Of Climate Change: An Assessment Of Vulnerabilities
(Summery For Policy Makers.) 1995
http://www.ipcc.ch/pub/regional(E).pdf
Stevens, William K. 1999. The Change In The Weather: People, Weather and the Science of Climate. New York, New York. Delecorte Press.
First, global warming has an immense impact on Arctic Sovereignty as the rise of greenhouse gases thrive in Canada along with other countries. Within 20 years, the polar ice caps of the Arctic have melted twice as fast compared to before. The loss of Arctic ice can furthermore pose a threat to shipping, as navigating the Arctic becomes increasingly challenging. Finally, climate change threatens the extinction of numerous animal species, namely the polar bear. Hence, global warming poses a major challenge to Arctic Sovereignty and Canada along with other members in the Arctic Council must prevent it.
The effects of global warming on earth's ecosystems are expected to deepen. The rise in temperature had made the life very difficult for many animal and plant species. Some common warning signs can be seen today. A recent study shows that changes due to global warming compel many animal species to migrate at a higher altitude. Some polar bears in arctic side are drowning because they have to swim longer distances to reach ice floes. In California, shoreline, sea life is moving towards north, as a result of warm water and change in
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
Climate change is arguably one of the most discussed issues in climatic conferences and political debates across the world. Establishment of the fact that global warming is the leading cause of climate change continues to persuade people to find out ways of reducing or mitigating the effects it has on the earth. Global warming occurs naturally, but artificial causes, which are mainly human activities, contribute to this effect. The release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide from human activates has led to a 0.60C rise in global temperatures (Walther et al., 2002). This implies that different life forms are affected in one way or the other given the effect of temperature on life. Different species of flora and fauna have and continue to suffer the effect of climatic changes.
In recent decades, the contentious issues surrounding climate change and the corresponding effects it likely exerts upon contemporary civilization has developed to become one of the most pressing areas of concern afflicting humanity (Armstrong, 1). Currently, climate change has started to demonstrate its potentially calamitous consequences upon human subsistence practices, and has even begun to alter the very environments that entire societies reside in, theoretically endangering them in both instances (Armstrong, 1). Though the hindrances inherent in climate change are potentially devastating to the preservation of modern society, the problem of climate change itself is not one that is exclusive to the contemporary era. Rather, the harmful
For years, we have heard of the devastating effects of global warming and how the melting of the polar ice caps will cause severe climate changes. One animal that has suffered most from global warming is the polar bear. Global warming has caused the polar bear population to decrease due to the results of having to swim longer distances, loss of habitat, and lack of mates to reproduce offspring. Global warming has caused this species to become endangered and has some attention with social media. Global warming has caused much damage to the polar bear population due to the warming of their habitat.
Siegal, K. (2014). One critical reason to cut global warming pollution now: The amazing polar bear. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kassie-siegel/polar-bears-climate_b_1095121.html
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 Consequences of Global WarmingOn Wildlife." Consequences of Global Warming. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. .
It is an unquestioned fact that the climate is changing. There is abundant evidence that the world is becoming warmer and warmer. The temperature of the global land average temperature has increased by about 8.5 degrees centigrade from 1880 to 2012 (Karr, et al 406). The one or two degrees increase in temperature can cause dramatic and serious consequences to the earth as well as humans. More extreme weather occurs, such as heat waves and droughts. The Arctic Region is especially sensitive to global climate change. According to the data in recent decades, the temperature in the Arctic has increased by more than 2 degrees centigrade in the recent half century (Przybylak 316). Climate change has led to a series of environmental and ecological negative
Polar bears are naturally not diverse creatures. There isn’t a lot of genetic variation in them to help their population be able to produce future generations that could survive in these new environmental conditions. This occurrence happens in areas that are located in the more southern parts of the artic regions. Predicted changes in the distribution and duration of sea ice in Hudson Bay suggest that gene flow among these clusters may be reduced in the future (Crompton 1). However, other researchers studied this concept and found that other populations around the artic regions show the opposite. Although polar bears’ abundance, distribution, and population structure will certainly be negatively affected by ongoing —and increasingly rapid—loss of Arctic sea ice, these genetic data provide no evidence of strong directional gene flow in response to recent climate change (Malenfant 1).
...ella, which can cause death. Polar bears have adapted to a harsh environment we like to call the Arctic tundra.
Global warming is a serious problem with two major effects which are increasing in sea level and degradation of wild lives. Increase in sea level is affecting the entire landmass of the earth. According to NASA, the polar ice cap is melting at the alarming rate of nine percent per decade. Arctic ice thickness has decreased 40 percent since the 1960s (Oskin). The amount of water is more than the land in our planet. If this global warming continues at this pace, soon there will be no ground left on earth. The terrestrial animals will be exterminated from the earth if glo...
The earth is a complex system, which continues to evolve and change. Climate change and global warming are currently popular in the political agenda. But what does “climate” really mean? The difference between weather and climate can be conveyed in a single sentence: “Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get.” Based on research of the geologic record, we know that climate change has happened throughout Earth's history and at present, ever-increasing evidence points to the roles that humans play in altering Earth systems. The Earth and its atmosphere receive heat energy from the sun; the atmospheric heat budget of the Earth depends on the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing radiation from the planet; which has been constant over the last few thousand years. However present evidence seems to suggest that the recent increase in temperature has been brought about by pollution of the atmosphere, in particular the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide, mostly through Anthropogenic Forcing (human activity) and other various internal and external factors. I...
In many parts of the world, ecosystems’ temperatures begin to rise and fall to extreme levels making it very difficult for animals and plants to adapt in time to survive. Climate has never been stable here on Earth. Climate is an important environmental influence on ecosystems. Climate changes the impacts of climate change, and affects ecosystems in a variety of ways. For instance, warming could force species to migrate to higher latitudes or higher elevations where temperatures are more conducive to their survival. Similarly, as sea level rises, saltwater intrusion into a freshwater sys...