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    American Pika Polar Bears: Observed Changes in Wildlife and Ecosystems

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    Addison Hinson
    Global warming is causing widespread changes to wildlife and ecosystems. Many species are shifting their ranges northward or to higher altitudes in response to rising temperatures, but some species have nowhere left to go. Climate change is also disrupting the timing of natural events like migration and breeding cycles. In some cases, animals are emerging from hibernation before their food sources. Warming is also linked to forest loss from fires and pests, coral bleaching, and melting Arctic sea ice, which threatens polar bears and other marine mammals. Additional threats include loss of wetlands, sea level rise reducing coastal habitat, and invasive species spreading into new areas made suitable by climate change.

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    American Pika Polar Bears: Observed Changes in Wildlife and Ecosystems

    Uploaded by

    Addison Hinson
    7 views2 pages
    Global warming is causing widespread changes to wildlife and ecosystems. Many species are shifting their ranges northward or to higher altitudes in response to rising temperatures, but some species have nowhere left to go. Climate change is also disrupting the timing of natural events like migration and breeding cycles. In some cases, animals are emerging from hibernation before their food sources. Warming is also linked to forest loss from fires and pests, coral bleaching, and melting Arctic sea ice, which threatens polar bears and other marine mammals. Additional threats include loss of wetlands, sea level rise reducing coastal habitat, and invasive species spreading into new areas made suitable by climate change.

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    Global warming is causing widespread changes to wildlife and ecosystems. Many species are shifting their ranges northward or to higher altitudes in response to rising temperatures, but some species have nowhere left to go. Climate change is also disrupting the timing of natural events like migration and breeding cycles. In some cases, animals are emerging from hibernation before their food sources. Warming is also linked to forest loss from fires and pests, coral bleaching, and melting Arctic sea ice, which threatens polar bears and other marine mammals. Additional threats include loss of wetlands, sea level rise reducing coastal habitat, and invasive species spreading into new areas made suitable by climate change.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    7 views2 pages

    American Pika Polar Bears: Observed Changes in Wildlife and Ecosystems

    Uploaded by

    Addison Hinson
    Global warming is causing widespread changes to wildlife and ecosystems. Many species are shifting their ranges northward or to higher altitudes in response to rising temperatures, but some species have nowhere left to go. Climate change is also disrupting the timing of natural events like migration and breeding cycles. In some cases, animals are emerging from hibernation before their food sources. Warming is also linked to forest loss from fires and pests, coral bleaching, and melting Arctic sea ice, which threatens polar bears and other marine mammals. Additional threats include loss of wetlands, sea level rise reducing coastal habitat, and invasive species spreading into new areas made suitable by climate change.

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    ObservedChangesinWildlifeandEcosystems

    Changesinrange:Wildlifeandplantsthatareabletoadjustareshiftingtheirrangesnorthward
    ortohigheraltitudestoadjusttowarmingtemperatures.Wildlifethatalreadyliveathigh
    altitudesorlatitudes,suchastheAmericanpikaorpolarbearsintheArctic,mayfindthemselves
    withnowheretogo.

    Changesintimingofnaturalevents:Manyspeciestaketheircuesaboutwhentomigrate,
    flower,nestormatefromseasonalchangesintemperature,precipitationanddaylight
    (phenology).Globalwarmingisconfusingthosesignals.Thechangesintheclimateforce
    wildlifetoalterlifecycleandseasonalevents.Sometimestheymightgetoutofsynchwithother
    speciesintheirecosystemorwithothernaturalevents.Forexample,someanimalsarelaying
    eggs,migrating,oremergingfromhibernationmuchearlierthantheyusedto,onlytofindthat
    theplantsortheinsectstheyneedforfoodhavenotyetemerged.

    Widespreadforestloss:InthewesternU.S.,warminganddroughtstressarecausingtreestodie
    andmakingthemmorevulnerabletopinebeetleandotherinsectinfestations.Higher
    temperaturesandincreasedfuelfromdeadtreeshaveledtomorewildfires.

    Coralbleaching:Coralbleachingoccurswhencolorfulalgaethatliveincoralsdieorare
    expelledfromcoralsunderstress.Thealgaelivesymbioticallywithcoralpolyps,providingthem
    withnutrientsandoxygen.Ifthealgaedieandarenotreplaced,thecoralswillalsodie.
    Scientistsbelievethatthebiggestcauseofcoralbleachingiswarmseasurfacetemperatures
    causedbyglobalwarming.Ifcoralreefbleachingcontinues,manyothermarineorganismsthat
    dependoncoralreefswillalsobeinjeopardy.

    MeltingofArcticseaice:Arcticiceismeltingatafasterpacethanwaspredictedevenafew
    yearsago.SomescientistsarenowsayingthattheArcticcouldbeicefreeinthelatesummeras
    earlyas2012.ManyArcticmammals,suchaspolarbears,walrus,andsealsdependonseaice
    fortheirsurvival.
    AdditionalThreatstoWildlifefromGlobalWarming

    Lossofwetlands:HighertemperatureswillleadtodrierconditionsintheMidwestsPrairie
    Potholeregion,oneofthemostimportantbreedingareasforNorthAmericanwaterfowl.

    Sealevelrise:Sealevelrisewillinundatebeachesandmarshesandcauseerosiononboth
    coasts,diminishinghabitatforbirds,invertebrates,fish,andothercoastalwildlife.

    Invasivespeciesanddisease:Higheraveragetemperaturesandchangesinrainandsnow
    patternswillenablesomeinvasiveplantspeciestomoveintonewareas.Insectpestinfestations
    willbemoresevereaspestssuchasmountainpinebeetleareabletotakeadvantageofdrought
    weakenedplants.Pathogensandtheirhoststhatthriveinhighertemperatureswillspreadtonew
    areas.
    http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/ThreatstoWildlife/GlobalWarming.aspx

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