Changes in climate patterns around the world became noticeable from mid-to-late 20th century. One of the most obvious signs was the rising levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases — carbon dioxide, in particular —which was produced by human activities like burning fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide that is sent into the atmosphere, hangs around for a long time. So, the sun’s energy gets trapped in the atmosphere as heat. As more heat gets in, the less it is able to escape, and it gets hotter and hotter, impacting the climate system.
Global warming, as it came to be called, is effecting all living beings, including homo sapiens. Let’s take a look at how this is effecting plants, animals, birds and sea creatures.
Corals: Marine invertebrates, they typically live in compact colonies of identical individual polyps. This group also includes reef builders and are found in tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.
This is an ecosystem which provides food and shelter for many forms of life. It is often referred to as the “rainforest of the sea”. This amazing house of great diversity is now being killed by climate change, and soon it will become extinct.
Since 2005, the Caribbean regions alone have lost 50% of its corals because of the rising sea temperature and bleaching. Species that are dependant on the coral reefs could in all probability be lost forever. Across the world the plight of the corals is the same — from Japan to Australia, Papua New Guinea and France.
Sierra Nevada Blue: This small blue butterfly is found in the peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Spain. The male of the species have blue upperwings, whereas in the female the upperwings are dark brown with orange crescent-shaped markings. The caterpillars initially live and feed on their host plant, but are later tended by a specific species of ant.
They are generally seen only in July. The adult Sierra Nevada blue butterflies feed on nectar from plants such as Spanish sandwort, rock campion and mouse-ear hawkweed, which are abundant at this time of the year.
But now, these butterflies are under threat because they are losing their habitat to overgrazing, skiing and trampling of vegetation by people on roads and footpaths.
How will the disappearance of butterflies affect us? Butterflies are plant pollinators and without them, plants would be unable to reproduce. And the loss of plant life will affect both humans and animals.
Butterflies also provide assistance for genetic variation in the plant species they that they collect nectar from. Many species of butterfly migrate over long distances, which allows pollen to be shared across groups of plants that are far apart from one another. This helps plants to be more resilient against disease and gives them a better chance at survival.
Hawaiin Honeycreeper:
In Hawaii, climate change imperils its unique birds, including six species of honeycreeper that live in higher elevations. They are threatened by predation, competition, parasitism, degradation of habitat and infectious diseases like avian mosquito. The Honeycreeper is not resistant to mosquito carrying diseases and hence is susceptible to avian mosquito.
Last year, a scientific study noted that the prevalence of avian malaria had more than doubled since the 1990s in the upper regions of the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
Sea turtles: Rising seas and stormy weather destroys the beaches where turtles lay their eggs. Scientists have discovered that hotter sands also cause greater numbers of sea turtles to be born female. In the short term, over the next 20 or 30 years, this will increase the numbers. But, in the long run the increase in the number of females will bring the species to extinction.
The giant mountain lobelia is a native of Ethiopia. It resembles a spiky tropical palm but is in actuality a tropical alpine plant. The family of lobelia plants predate the formation of tall mountains in eastern Africa, to which they’ve adapted. But with the warming of the earth’s temperature these plants will suffer a massive reduction with only 3.4 % of its habitat being suitable for it by 2080. Mountain plants the world over face the same problem.
Compiled by NIMI KURIAN
