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effect of global warming on wildlife
effect of global warming on wildlife
global warming affecting the arctic
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On Thin Ice written by Susan McGrath explains the negative affects of global warming on polar bears. Green house gases being emitted into the atmosphere is causing the earth to become hotter. The ice that the polar bears live on continues to shrink because of rising temperatures. In 1979, there was approximately thirty percent more ice in the summer compared to now. Polar bears spend almost their entire life on the sea ice (McGrath). The only time that they go to land is to build maternal birthing dens. After the birth has occurred, the cub and mother need to make the swim back to the ice. Since the ice is melting, the polar bears swimming distance continues to grow. Polar bears are strong swimmers but these long swims can be fatal. A tracker on a mother polar bear showed that she and her cub had to swim 427 miles to reach the ice. The cub died during the swim (McGrath). The ice melting is also causing the polar bears to become skinnier. Polar bears losing weight is caused because of the long swims they have to make to reach the ice. Losing weight has a negative affect on their health. The health decline then causes polar bears to reproduce less and fewer of the cubs survive. Polar bears are no longer growing to be as big (McGrath). Since they are not as big, they cannot catch as much food. When males are hungry and malnourished they can turn into cannibals. They kill the cubs and sometimes females for food (McGrath). The question that arises is will polar bears be able to survive if temperatures continue to rise? Scientists believe that they would be able to survive in the short run but after a few years of not being able to live on the ice they would die. Polar bears dying will completely change the ecosystems that they live in ...
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...I would have thought that the average temperature would have raised much more in order to have all of theses negative affects. Rising temperatures in an area of ice and snow is especially bad. This is because ice and snow reflect most of the suns rays while water absorbs most of the rays. So when ice turns into water, the water will continue to warm and melt more ice. Overall, I really enjoyed the article and found it interesting. It is scary to think about the affects that we are having on the environment. Humans are going to have to start to make a conscious effort to change the amount of greenhouse gasses admitted into the environment. There are many different ways one can make an effort to help the environment. Making a conscious effort and changing one bad habit makes a difference. Humans need to be the stewards of the earth and not the ones destroying it.
“Those searching for unmistakable evidence of the global climate crisis should pay a visit to the Arctic. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. The average annual temperature in Barrow, at the northern-most tip of Alaska, has increased 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit in the last 50 years” (Noblin, n.d.). Polar bears have been threatened in the past by unregulated commercial and sports hunting in the 1960’s and 1970’s. They were being wiped out quickly with modern methods of hunting, including aircraft, and were facing a huge loss in their population. Fortunately the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears was established which was signed by Canada, Norway, Denmark (for Greenland), the United States of America, and Russia
Various glaciers in Alaska and other parts of the United States have shrunk dramatically. If temperatures continue to rise, the ice will continue to melt, and some glaciers could disappear completely, which causes sea levels to rise. There are many animals, birds, and seafood that depend solely on glaciers for survival. With an increase in sea water temperature, and increasing sea levels, sea-plants that these fish thrive on will be lost, lowering the number of seafood, which in-turn will make survival of many species difficult. The arctic is source region for cold ocean currents and with no ice it will have no density and temperature distinctions, which pushes the ocean currents. If the ocean current heat transfer mechanism powers down,
Everything that the book talks in the first chapters are only a few of the reasons why the planet keeps getting warmer. People have heard in the news and read books about global warming, but most never paid much attention to any of it. The author David Archer emphasizes that all humans are adding climate change problems across the globe by just the simple fact of charging a cell phone. Most of the things we do to contribute to climate change are necessary in daily life, but people could definitely learn to save power or we could use the car less and help save us from weather
I believe the argument that the author is making in this article is that global warming is good for the climate.
The shift in seasonal ice pack in the West Hudson Bay has changed polar bear behavior, reduced prey availability, lowered birth rate, and a positive effect on polar bear and human conflict. Polar bears require seals and other high fat animals for their survival in the arctic region. The decrease in ice packs also reduces prey abundance and increased bear mortality. Seasonal break up rate has increased and reduced seal availability within the Arctic region. The Lack of food has decreased female polar bear sexual reproductively as well as body weight. Finally, polar bears are encroaching onto human territory. Human safety is being threatened as bears go on land, instead of their usual habitat, to forage for food. Humans are forced to kill bears to protect themselves. Lastly, polar bear’s future is grim. Studies have predicted bears will lose a third of their habitat by 2100. Soon these polar bears will become extinct in the 6th global mass extinction. Humans must reevaluate their population output and seek ways to preserve the polar bears for future generations to
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.
Unfortunately, that is the polar bear (Defenders of Wildlife, 2013). The climate change endangers the species, so much so that the animals have become one of the icons that conservationists use to illustrate the threat posed by climate change (The Huffington Post, 2014). You cannot protect a species from the impacts of climate change without addressing the issue of climate change, itself (Defenders of Wildlife, 2013). Large carnivores are extreme indicators of ecosystem health (WWF, n.d.). “As the Arctic sea ice melts, the polar bears lose their primary hunting ground — not to mention their most plentiful and nutritious prey. It remains a question whether they will be able to adapt to changing conditions and survive” (The Huffington Post, 2014). A polar bear at risk is frequently a sign of something wrong somewhere in the arctic marine ecosystem! A polar bear at risk is frequently a sign of something wrong somewhere in the arctic marine ecosystem (WWF, n.d.)!
There have been negative biosphere impacts especially in the Arctic because “greenhouse gas concentrations are driving ocean systems towards conditions not seen for millions of years (Shah 5). Conditions such as sea levels are rising which cause polar caps to melt much faster. These polar caps are important to our artic species the thought of having “ice-free summers in the Artic imply loss of an entire biome” (Shah 2). For example, animals like polar bears that have adapted life on top of ice are in danger of extinction. The melting of ice caps and glaciers are causing polar bears to lose their homes. The extinction of one species can spell trouble for other life in the ecosystem. However, polar bears are not the only species in danger.
Polar Bears depend on the sea to freeze over which enables them to hunt seals. The bears have a short season to hunt in order to gain enough fat to survive the entire year. With the decline in the ice the bears have a shorter window to hunt and to gain the fat necessary to survive and to feed their offspring. The Bears are very strong swimmers, so they swim from ice landing to ice landing to hunt the seals. With Global Warming these ice landings are further and further apart. The Mother Bear may be able to swim these long distances, however her cubs are not. Many have been found dead, due to drowning.
The negative side of global warming is that it leads to melting of ice. The world's glaciers, especially Arctic glaciers are melting faster than new snow and ice can supplement them. During the melting of Arctic ice opens over the dark surface of the water or soil and balance change reflects less and absorb a greater amount of heat, therefore, large areas of ice melt rapidly (News, global warming). There is evidence, which will support this argument: scientists from the University of California in San Diego investigated satellite observation data for the Arctic for 1979-2011 years. Since the 1970s, the area covering of the ice has decreased by 40 % and the region has warmed up to 2 degrees (News global warming).It means, that global warming affects to the wildli...
Global warming, as many of us are probably aware, is the process of the earth continually heating, and there is great debate about what will result from this process. The concept of global warming was first hypothesized by a Swedish scientist named Svante Arrhenius in the 1890s and has caused great debate in recent years (Weart 42). The major debate regarding the issue of global warming essentially revolves around whether the end results will be “good” or “bad” for the Earth. The media often portrays the effects of global warming as being eventually catastrophic for the future of humanity and the Earth. Even though this belief is correct to a point, it can also be said that there will actually be some good results from global warming. The effects
The Arctic region is home to a variety of valuable animals and plants, including polar bear, seal, and so on. The ecosystem of the Arctic region is fragile because these animals are evolved to live in extreme conditions. With the climate change, many animals are endangered. Ice is the habitat of polar animals because they have to rely on sea ices for resting, food, and reproduction. With the climate change and the decrease of sea ice, the number of polar animals is decreasing and their health is threatened. For example, the average weight of female polar bears in 1980 was about 650 pounds, but the number reduced to about 500 pounds in 2004 (Djoghlaf 15). The earlier breakup and later condensation of sea ice shortens the hunting season of polar bears. Polar bears mainly feed on seals that indwell icy land. The melting ice reduces the number of seals and food intake of polar bears. In addition, polar bears are used to living in ice caves. The rising temperature causes the collapse of ice caves, which can kill baby bears. The climate change is negatively affecting the biodiversity in the region and will definitely harm the ecosystem
Nine of the eleventh hottest years in the 20th century have occurred since 1985 which is not consistent with a natural trend. Glacier Shrinkage is occurring at a much faster rate than can be explained by natural trends. Even when the heat effects of volcanoes and other misleading weather phenomena that would make the temperature of the earth seem higher than it actually is being taken out of consideration studies show that the surface temperature of the earth has been increasing at a rate of 0.17 degrees Celsius per decade. These figures are not consistent with a natural trend, and, when one considers the tens of thousand of years in which humans have inhabited the earth, and that humans have really only started burning fossil fuels heavily since the industrial revolution, and the fact that the world’s population is only going to increase, this number is dauntingly
The polar regions are most affected and vulnerable to the warming temperatures because the poles are covered in ice. The world’s ice sheets are melting faster than ever and temperatures in the Arctic region are rising twice as fast as anywhere else on Earth according to the NRDC. This will have a serious impact on people, wildlife and plants in that region. The National Climate Assessment has said that “By the year 2100, it 's estimated our oceans will be one to four feet higher, threatening coastal systems and low-lying areas, including entire island nations and the world 's largest cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Miami as well as Mumbai, Sydney, and Rio de Janeiro”. Polar bears are in great threat as the ice sheets melt because they use the ice to travel across the land and hunt. As the sea-ice platforms move further apart, the swimming conditions become more dangerous. The U.S Geological Survey done by the National Wildlife Federation predicts that by the year 2050, two thirds of all polar bears will disappear. Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the Adelie penguins in Antarctica and reported the numbers have fallen from 32,000 to only 11,000 over the last 30
... of extreme weather and melting ice caps are indicators of global warming. Because these things will affect society, there are important decisions that have to be made in the present as well as in the future to secure people’s lives and lifestyles. The world community is aware of this serious issue and do already prepare for projects to slow down global warming, but they still have to improve. If the world leaders stop worrying about this issue, the future generations could be in danger. The future lifestyles will be affected by the decisions made in the present day. Society has much to improve to save energy and to lower greenhouse gas emissions. There are also small things people can do to help. Individuals can live a life without wasting energy or polluting the environment. Without effort, global warming endangers the quality of life for the future generations.