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Ecological Impacts Of Climate Change

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Ecological Impacts of Climate Change
Introduction
Industrialization resulted in a significant number of the human population shifting from the traditional ways of artisanship to production and manufacturing as a way to earn a living. The standards of living were improved as the population increased resulting in the clearing of more forests to create land for settlement. However, little considerations were made on the impact that the carbon emissions from the industries and the cutting down of trees would have on the ecosystem. The global temperatures began to rise steadily in a phenomenon referred to as global warming. Therefore, global warming can be referred to as the rise in temperature due to the high carbon emissions that form a…show more content…
Climate change has also had a negative impact on the aquatic life. For instance, fish normally thrive and reproduce in cool waters. Global warming results in a very high rise in temperatures; however, the effect is not normally felt since water covers more than two-thirds of the earth’s surface and therefore absorbs much of the rise in temperature. The Ocean temperatures have therefore risen to very high levels that are not conducive for reproduction of fish; this has resulted in a significant reduction in the population of fish species with others becoming extinct while others try to migrate to regions where ocean temperatures are lower (Harley et al., 2006). The reduction in the population of fish has resulted in a great imbalance in the ecosystem and food chain as other ocean creatures that would feed on fish have to look for other predators or also die. The high carbon emissions into the atmosphere result in an upsurge in the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere. Approximately one-third of the carbon dioxide emitted is absorbed by the Oceans resulting in the acidification of the Oceans due to an upsurge in pH levels (Kleypas et al., 2005). The reaction of carbon dioxide with water results in the production of an acid. Acidification of the Oceans affects the corals, as they are unable to absorb the calcium carbonate that is needed to sustain their skeletons. Additionally, most of the
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