Posted on June 26, 2007 in Latest News
Global warming greatly upsets the ecosystems and habitat of wildlife, totally disrupting their lives. With increasing human population, humans occupy more of the landmass, leaving little space for wildlife.
- With increasing global warming, animals tend to move to higher levels and plants to new areas that are cooler as the existing environment gets too hot for growth. This includes species of mountain goat, and bighorn sheep.
- Global warming will affect all ecosystems and species that are unable to adapt and adjust will face extinction.
- Wildlife around the Arctic is most likely to face the brunt of this warming. Species like the polar bear, emperor penguins
- Snowy owls and others that are suited for the cold climate will suffer.
- The reducing permafrost will cause problems in water supply for wildlife in the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest of America.
- Considerable tracts of the tundra now resemble brush vegetation. Forests are now more prone to attacks by beetles and other pests due to warmer conditions.
- Sagebrush in parts of the US is disappearing and this bodes ill for species of sage grouse, mule deer, and pronghorn that subsist on them.
- There will be frequent droughts and warm months that are not conducive to several species of flora and fauna. Heat waves will be frequent and droughts may be recurrent.
- Warm temperatures around the poles means less ice and hence less food for these species that subsist on fish.
- Fish like salmon, trout, and others that live in cold waters will not survive in the warmer waters.
- Melting ice leads to the formation of marshes that are conducive to new types of insects and pests.
- Warmer temperatures imply less wetlands for waterfowl that breed in winters.
- Butterflies appear in Britain earlier in spring than they did a few decades ago. They have moved inward from their usual area of appearance in both Europe and North America.
- Birds and frogs breed earlier than their usual breeding time due to the warm weather.
- An unusual occurrence is the appearance of grass in Antarctica.
- More forest fires now occur than earlier and spread rapidly due to warmer, drier conditions. Forest fires help to clear forestland for agriculture. However, the problem arises when they spread to peat bogs and become unmanageable.
- Rapid human habitation of forests puts greater pressure on existing resources and can lead to man-animal conflicts.
- Recent surveys in the US indicate that depleting forests and warmer weather results in loss of several species of mammals, butterflies, and birds.
Besides, several species of grass and shrubs have already disappeared due to the gradual warming of their habitat.
In the wake of this alarming situation, it is important to take steps to curb global warming to safeguard our natural heritage. It is necessary to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and to develop other renewable sources of energy to curb global waming.Hence citizens and governments across the globe must take steps to conserve precious wildlife to ensure our survival in the future .
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