Topic: impacts of climate change on biodiversity in Northern Canada
Climate change, as a change in weather like global warming, has attracted the attention of the public. The issue of climate change has been becoming a global focus of attention for people around the world. Most scientists think that climate change is primarily caused by human activities. Temperature and precipitation shifts directly affect biota, and scientists think that as the climate continues to change, the biodiversity in Northern Canada is particularly at risk. Because global warming can result in the decreasing of marine, freshwater and terrestrial communities, climate change has negative influences on biodiversity in Northern Canada. In order to conserve the
…show more content…
As a result, the biodiversity of freshwater species is seriously affected by climate change.
Not only the marine environment and the freshwater communities, but the terrestrial species are also impacted by climate change. The number of plant species has been decreasing. Prowse et. al, (2009b, p.284) report that temperature and precipitation change will lead to the change in the composition of flora communities, and this can result in the loss of plant species. Also, Lemieux & Scott (2005, p.393) state that there is a wide decline in the taiga biome, thus, the global warming directly impact the biodiversity of plant species. Climate change can also influence the birds ' growth rate as well. Lower birds ' growth rates and adult body mass occurred in the north (Prowse et. al, 2009b, p.286). Additionally, the caribou activities are threatened by climate change as well. According to the report from Prowse et. al. (2009b, p.285), owing to global warming, the incidence of parasitic infection happens more frequently and the forage has been decreasing in winter; these trends result in the decline in numbers of caribou. Moreover, the impact of climate change on the permafrost seems to be serious. Discontinuous permafrost will disappear at the southern boundaries of these permafrost zones, and the continuous permafrost will degrade to the discontinuous permanent; that can result in some lakes and wetlands turning to drain (Prowse et. al, 2009a, p.268). The
First, Alberta is impacted by climate change due to increasing temperatures. Increasing temperatures can be caused by the greenhouse effect, which traps the sun’s heat in the lower parts of the atmosphere, causing global temperatures to rise. The main emissions which can lead to the greenhouse effect are Carbon dioxide, Methane, and Nitrous oxide. Too much of these compounds can lead to an excess amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which can potentially change the ecosystem in Alberta. Greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere by the burning of Coal, Natural gas, and Oil. Furthermore, the increasing temperatures that occur in Alberta can lead to warmer climates, and a drastic change to where the people of Alberta live. With increasing temperatures, this can lead to lower precipitation levels and instead, causes
Permafrost is very vulnerable to changes in air temperature and different snow coverages making it extremely sensitive to climate change. As the permafrost is melting, it continues to amplify the already rapidly increasing rate of global warming because it is releasing heat-trapping elements that are stored in the soil and the ice into the atmosphere. In the Beringia Upland Tundra, average temperatures in the year 2050 are expected to be 3.5-7 degrees fahrenheit higher than what current temperatures are at now. With this happening, the permafrost will continue to melt unless humans reduce the amount of heat-trapping emissions being let into the atmosphere (Hagenstein). Through warmer climate is increased evaporation, lakes are getting severly smaller and permafrost is thinning. As the climate warms, shrubs are entering into the tundra. In some circumstances and places, shrubs are taking place of other tundra vegetation such as lichen. Caribou depend on lichens for food in the winter since the tundra does not produce much food in the winter. A decline of lichen can cause a negative slope of growth and and numbers of these animals, and can possibly lead to extinction in this region. If caribou don't survive, then other animal species in this region will not be able to evolve and thrive since caribou are a solid food source for them
The article “Cold warriors,” Gregoire (2008) indicates that climate change leads to environmental issues and melting ice, and the scientists’ researches point out climatic issues in Canada. The author comes up with a point that everyone is responsible for protecting the environment because people around the world are bearing negative effects due to climate degradation. For example, residents in Grise Fiord and Inuit notice a huge differences, the landscape is becoming warmer, softer and unpredictable. Moreover, a greater risk of environmental pollution is caused by climate change. In addition to changes in environment, shrinking glaciers, earlier ice breakup, later freeze-up and less snow caused by warmer temperature bring double-edged effects
The greatest threat to Canada's Boreal is industrial development and its effects, such as climate change. Although much of the forest is still fairly unbroken, engineering actions like logging, mining,
to Garrett, “That’s him!” “Quickly as possible I drew my revolver and fired, threw my body aside, and fired again” claimed Garrett.(p.3) The Kid was dead. Pat Garrett was with John Poe, Thomas McKinney, and Pete Maxwell when he shot Billy the Kid.
Climate change has affected us in many ways, but it was even more influential on organisms and their community. The Earth is gradually heating and we are left to deal with the consequences. Homes are being destroyed, organisms are dying, and resources are running low. Since 1880, Our Earth’s temperature had increased by about 0.8 degrees Celsius. Climate change is affecting the Earth and scientists say that one more degree will greatly affect people from all over the world. There are many consequences of climate change and each one has a great impact on all of us, but organisms’ homes are being destroyed and thousands of species are dying out. These organisms are imperative to our world and how it functions.
How do you think that Canada’s government should react towards climate change inside and outside of Canada’s national parks?
Not only will climate affect the ecosystems but will also affect the animals. Climate change affects habitats for thousands of species. Animals that are affected by this would either have to adapt to the new environment or roam other places. Climate change can change life cycles for animals and
Before the discovery of Uranus there was thought to only be seven heavenly bodies, the Sun, the moon, and five planets. It was common knowledge at the time that they were the only other objects in the Solar System and there would be no others. It changed in 1781 when William Herschel discovered a new object, which later became known as Uranus. (Teerikorni, 111) This all began in 1773 when Herschel started grinding his own lenses and even mounting a mirror with a five and a half foot focal length. He continued in 1776 with larger telescopes. “In July he added a 20ft, and telescopes of 7, 10 and 20 feet becames his common working instruments for some years to come.” (Bennet, 75-76) All of this tinkering eventually led to the discovery of a new
It has been observed through various researches that in the last century, average temperatures across the globe increased by over 1.3°F with an increase of more than two times in the Arctic. (Bates, Kundzewicz, Wu, & Palutikof, June 2008). The results of climate change can also be seen in changing precipitation patterns, increases in ocean temperatures, changes in the sea level, and acidity and melting of glaciers and sea ice (USEPA, 2014).
The issue is the startling climate changes that have and undoubtedly continue to occur in Northern Canada. Climate changes are known as weather conditions such as temperature, winds, precipitation, and others that have been affected over a period of time (GOC, n.d.). The concern with this is that the earth’s climate has a balance between energy that is received and energy that being dispatched. The intent is to maintain regulated temperatures; instead the issue that has occurred is disturbances between these two balances (GOC, n.d.). Changes in the climate affects the air temperature and precipitation, the cryosphere, freshwater resources, and ocean climate (Bush, Loder, James, Mortsch, & Cohen, 2014).There are however
In A Time To Kill, by John Grisham, two drunken white men violently raped, beat, and nearly killed a 10-year-old black girl named Tonya Hailey. Her father, in a clouded rage, executed the two rapists with an M-16 on their way out of the courthouse. His vigilante form of justice was not well taken by many in prejudiced Ford County, Mississippi. On the other hand, he had lots of support from the black community and from any white person whom dared to step into his shoes. A young, thirty-something lawyer named Jack Brigance was hired as his defense. He personally hoped it would give him national recognition, but his outlook turned sour when an all-white jury was drawn to decide on the fate of this Negro man. As
Climate change is the term used to describe the warming of the average surface temperature on earth. Climate change; often referred to as the general term global warming, is a topic that often inspires fierce debate among those on both sides of the issue. One thing those who are pro and those that are con both agree on is that the temperature on earth has increased over the past century by an average of 1.4 degrees. The big debate on the two sides is if the warming temperatures are caused by human activities and if it is not stopped it will have dire consequences (the pro side) or if it is the result of natural causes and the earth’s surface will find ways to adapt such as crops becoming more heat resistant (the con side).
"We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words” (Anna Sewell). There is undeniable evidence that animals are being affected by climate change. Even though the effects are difficult to measure, there are many different ways animals are being affected. With the loss of predator and prey species it affects the life cycles in the food chain. The earth’s climate change causes habitats such as snow, ice, or forest areas to alter, resulting in loss of habitat and food accessibility as well as causing extinction.
Climate change is one of the major issues surfacing earth over the past century. The earth’s temperature has increased over the years leading to detrimental effects on the economic and life sources of people, especially that of agricultural production and livestock. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary (2014), defined climate change as a change in global climate patterns apparent from the mid late 20th century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, (2007) predicts that by 2100 the increase in global average surface temperature may be between 1.8° C and 4.0° C. With increases of 1.5° C to 2.5° C, approximately 20 to 30 percent of plant and animal species are expected to be at risk of extinction. Moreover, the IPCC (2007)