ClimateChangeEffectonWildlifeandBiologicalSystems

JoeSantitoro,JohnRodriguez,MaxKitaychik

ClimateChangeCanAffect
Reproduction
Habitats
Behavior
WeatherPatterns
EvolutionaryCharacteristicsofAnimals
Habitats
Warmertemperaturesposehardshipstoanimalsthathavebeenadaptedtocold
Pika

Spendlivesabovethetreelineathighaltitudes
Canonlylastfewhoursintheheat
Alpinelevelcoverslessthan5%ofearthssurface
Astemperaturesincrease,Pikashavetomovefartherupthemountainuntilthereisno
morespace
Pikahavealreadydisappearedfrom8outof25mountainsintheGreatBasin

PolarBear
USGeologicalSurveypredictsofpolarbearswillbegoneby2050
PolarbearsmustliveonlandinthesummerwhentheHudsonBay(Canada)thawsand
gowithoutmuchfooduntilthebayfreezesover
Takesanaverageof20moredaysforthelaketofreezeover,bearsgolongerwithout
food
Bearweighthasdropped15%
Polarbearsmustkeepmovingnorthtostayincoolertemperatures
Behavior
Mostobviouschangewillbefoundinmigratorypatternofbirds
CanvasbackDuck
ShallowpondsintheCentralFlyway(Midwest)willdryupfasterduetohigher
temperatures,thesepondsareprimebreedingspots

 Warmertemperaturesalongtheeastcoastmeantheduckswontmigrateasfarsouthin
thewinterandwillbeopentomorepredationbystayinginthesamespot
Birdswillbeforcedtotakenewroutesandmigratetonewplaces

PacificFlyway
Estuarieswillbeaffectedbychangingsealevelsandprecipitationlevels
AtlanticFlyway
shorelinewetlandswillbeaffectedandwillcauseadeclineinhabitatofducks
CentralFlyway
pondswilldryupquickly
MississippiFlyway
wetlandsaroundtheGreatLakeswillbeaffectedcausinguptoa39%
declineintheduckpopulation.Gulfwetlandswillalsobeaffected
Due to these 4 commonmigrationroutesbeingaffected byclimatechange,theoverallmigration
patternsofmostbirdswillchangeandbirdsmaybeforcedtomigratetonewplaces
Question
Whatspeciesistheeasiesttoobservetheeffectonbehaviorfromandwhy?
HowClimateChangeAffectsReproduction
Gambusia(MosquitoFish)
Aprovenstudy(ledbyDr.BartAdriaenssens)showsthatmaleGambusia,aspeciesof
freshwaterfish,hasa3xhigherspermcountinhighwatertemperaturesasopposedto
colderwatertemperatures.

 ForthestudyGambusiawerecaughtwithinSouthernAfricaandraisedinthesame
conditions.Whenadultagewasreached,theGambusiaweresplitintotwogroups,onein
30degreecelsiuswaterandtheotherin18degreesCelsius.
Itwasrecordedthatspermwithinthe30degreetemperatureswamfasterandhada
higherspermcountthanthe18degreetemperature.
Byusingthisstudyasareference,theGambusiapopulationcaneitherriseordropdueto
ClimateChange.
SeaTurtles
SeaturtlesareaffectedbyClimateChangeinmultipleways:
1. SeaLevelsrisingduetotemperaturechangeaffectnumerousnestingbeachareasasthey
areclosetoshore.
2. Theheatlimitforincubatingeggsare34degreesC.Risingtemperaturescanheatup
sandsontheshore,exceedingthisheatlimit.
3. Temperatureduringeggincubationdecidesgender.Ifraisedtemperaturebiasthis
decision,themaletofemaleratiowillbeoffset,makingitdifficultforfuturegenerations.
Question
WhatisonewayClimateChangeaffectsSeaTurtles(Oneofthethreereasonslistedearlier)?

HowClimateChangeAffectsWeatherPatterns
GlobalWarming
ItistheincreaseoftheEarthstemperature,causedbythereleaseofgreenhouse
gasesintotheatmosphere.(Ex.WaterVapor,CarbonDioxide,Methane)
Increasesoceanlevels,duetothewarmatmospheremeltingthepolaricecaps
GlobalCooling
SlightcoolingoftheEarthsatmosphere,causedbyaerosols.(Solidtinyparticles
ofliquiddropletsinagas)
Nearlyimpossibleforthisphenomenontohappennow,duetoGlobalWarming
havingatremendousaffectonusnow.
Effectsonweatherpatterns.
Hurricanesarelargerandaremorefrequent
Tornadoesalsoarelargerandmorefrequent
Raisingwaterlevelsatanalarmingrate
Floodingarealsomorefrequent
Precipitationisatanalltimehigh
Lessglaciersandnaturalice
Moredroughts
Longersummers,shorterwinters
EvolutionaryImpactsfromClimateChange
Sinceglobalwarmingisfairlyrecent,therehasntbeenenoughtimeforspeciesto
significantlyevolve.However,severalspeciesarealreadyshowingsignsofevolution.
Organismsstartingtheirevolutionprocess:
TableCoral
Quinocheckerspotbutterfly

 Wildthyme
TawnyOwls
TableCoral
PrimarilygrowintheSouthwestPacific
Usuallycoralsbleach(Whentheyspewoutthealgaelivingwithinthecoral,losingall
itscolorandmeansofgettingenergy)whenexposedtoirregulartemperatures.
Studieshaveshownthatwhenthetablecoralwasplacedintoacoolerenvironment,only
20%ofthecoralsbleached.
32.5%bleachedwhenplacedfromthecoolwatertowarmwater.
QuinoCheckerspotButterfly
NativetoCaliforniaandMexico
Originallythoughtthatthespecieswouldbedoomedbyclimatechange.
Studieshaveprovedwrong.Thebutterflyhasbeenobserved,overtheyears,tobe
miraculouslyshiftingitsrangetohigheraltitudeslikemountains.
WildThyme
NativetoEuropeandNorthAfrica
Evolvedinresponsetofewerextremecoldphenomenons(lastnoticeableglobalcooling)
toproduceamorepungentstenchtodeterherbivores.
NativetoEuropeandNorthAfrica
Evolvedinresponsetofewerextremecoldphenomenons(lastnoticeableglobalcooling)
toproduceamorepungentstenchtodeterherbivores.
TawnyOwl
NativetoEuropeandAsia(Eurasia)
Canbebrownorlightgray
SnowcoverinFinlandhasdeclinedsincethe70s,reducingtheneedforthecamouflage
thatthelightgraycoatoftheowlprovides.
Thesenumberoflightgrayowlsisslowlydiminishingandareproducingmorebrown
coatedowls.
Questions
1. Oftheexampleslistedearlier,whatarethreethingsthatclimatechangecanaffect?Give
anexampleforatleastoneoftheanswers.?
2. PickoneoftheexamplesthatClimateChangecanaffect.Whatwouldbeasolutionto
yourexampleiftherewereanissue?

3. Inyouropinion,whichoftheexamplesisthemostdangeroustothefutureofwildlife?

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