Global Warming and the Animal Kingdom

Global Warming and the Animal Kingdom April 27, 2007

Filed under: Uncategorized — ChaotiX66 @ 11:34 am

by Nakita Leigh Wright

How Global Warming is affecting the Animal Kingdom and Plants.

The earth is warming drastically, and humans are the ones to blame. Unfortunately, it’s not only us that are affected horribly by global warming but also the Animal and Plant Kingdom.
     It is said that in a century or so, a great amount of the animals and plants will be extinct. In 2003 and 2004 many different scientists in the journal Nature published information about this extinction problem. They suggested that by mid-twenty first century about a third of animals and plants will be pushed close to extinction. The study showed that about 1103 species in many habitats would not be able to survive the drastic climate change and is likely to be the major threat of extinction for most species.
     Today one of the biggest problems is the melting ice, growing deserts and the effect of warm seas. It is said that the warming of the seas has already affected the migration routes of birds, fish and turtles. Some species such as the loggerhead turtle and red mullet have increasingly been seen in the UK, which is unusual as they are normally linked with southerly oceans such as the Indian Ocean.
     Other animals such as the Ringed Plover, a typical migrating bird, spend their winters in the east of Britain instead on the west coast, and Chiff-Chaffs are remaining in the UK instead of migrating to the south.
     Some other species that are going to have problems finding homes in the near future are the alpine plants. This is because as the sea level rises the plants are forced to move upwards, unfortunately the only land upwards are rocks.
     Early Hibernation is also a problem for many animals and plants. The climate is bringing animals and plants out of hibernation to early, making animals lose weight and making them stressed, while at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, looked at records on the normal springtime of blooming flowers and showed that out of one hundred about eighty-nine were blooming early. The common lawn weed deadnettle was photographed at the National Arboretum, and is blooming 39 day earlier than in 1970.
     A major problem with animals hibernating too early is that their feeding and breeding patterns are being messed with and that they are loosing weight. Birds such as the sparrow are losing weight as the try to adjust with the changes in the environment. The sparrow including other birds are also being made to fight for their food as they are beginning their spring cycle much earlier than their prey such as insects, berries, flowers and seeds. Some other animals such as the marmots have been seen coming out of hibernation 23 days too early also putting a lot of stress on them, as they also has to fight and find food.
    These are just the early signs of extinction and problems. Imagine the world in 2100….a world of desserts or a world of sea, or both, but unfortunately unavailable for humans, plants and animals to survive!

Interesting fact: “Harlequin Frogs are dying because of Global Warming. A very deadly fungus is growing on them. The atmosphere is heating up and that is making the fungus grow. This fungus makes some frogs lose their legs or grow more legs.” – http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC063192/animals.html
References:

http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC063192/animals.html

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&gbv=2&q=alpine+plants+global+warming

http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1792631,00.html

http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/pages/temperate-zone.html

http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/

http://www.goglobalwarmingawareness2007.com/are-animals-affected-by-global-warming.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4313726.stm

http://www.livescience.com/environment/050621_warming_changes.html

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&gbv=2&q=ringed+plover

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&gbv=2&q=chiff-chaff

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215471/global_warming.htm

http://www.show.me.uk/site/news/STO903.html