The Effects of Climate Change on Migratory Birds Essay

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.

Global warming to date has certainly affected species’ geographical distributional ranges and the timing of breeding, migration, flowering, and so on. The most well known study to date, by a team from the UK, estimated that 18 and 35% of plant and animal species will be committed to extinction by 2050 due to climate change. (Can animals and plants adapt to global warming?, 2017 )

The article discussed the changes in many habitats due to anthropogenic activity. Anthropogenic is an adjective that describes changes in nature due to the people. Next, this article discussed climate change and the impact that it is having on species like clams, and fish due to ocean temperatures rising. The article also addressed carbon dating of fossils to look for cause of extinctions. Human development and agriculture have had a tremendous impact on the population of many species that are terrestrial. Deforestation is a big problem that has caused a decline in the bird species. Commercial fishing in many areas has led to a decline in fish populations. Furthermore this article

As a result of "human emissions of greenhouse gasses," numerous species of butterflies worldwide are facing the risk of extinction (World Wide Fund). Global warming is the gradual heating of the planet, which is triggered by human activities such as pollution from factories, results in climate change around the world (Rogers). Due to climate change, various species of butterflies need to adapt to these changes, but instead, they are dying out due to their sensitivity to fluctuating temperatures (Rogers). In the United Kingdom, scientists predict that “for every 1 °C increase in southwestern Europe’s temperature, some 14 different species of migratory butterflies and moths are forced to make the leap to England to cool off, which means making a long journey over open water” (Rogers). Climate change has required many species of butterflies to leave their migration paths and cross the treacherous oceans; this increases their risk of death

Native bird species will be forced to fly further north during migrating season, causing problems with repopulating.3

“Penguin responses to climate change in the Southern Ocean” by Jaume Forcada and Philip N. Trathan (2009) was a study conducted to analyze and predict the migrating patterns of different species of penguins due to changes in climate. (p. 1618) Also, Forcada and Trathan investigate whether or not certain species of penguins possess phenotypic plasticity (the ability of an organism to change its phenotype in response to changes in the environment) (p. 1618).

Circannual rhythms are based on the cycles of light and dark in the environment. If global climate changes, the bird’s rhythms may bring them to their destination before or after conditions are prime for reproduction and survival.

Since humans are moving into the natural habitats plant species are dwindling in numbers. Which alters the habitats for which birds relied on for a camouflaged and protected home? Migratory birds are also moving to other areas due to the land pollution. Human waste, cigarette butts, snack wrappers, and beverage containers are all contributing to the growing land pollution.

Lowered breeding times adversely affect the animals’ ability to nest, reproduce, and rear their young with adequate time. Scientist have found that some “species of migratory birds are arriving at summer nesting grounds in the northern hemisphere earlier than they did before global temperatures began increasing last century” (Travers 2015). Studies have also shown that the American Crow is less likely to colonize sites that continually get warmer (Epanchin 2014). The same research found that the crow will likely go extinct at sites that have been made warmer in subsequent years. Because of this information, one can deduce that the American Crow is temperature sensitive. These findings force us to ask, if temperature increases in a region, then will American crow populations decrease accordingly? It is my contention that if an area experiences increasing temperatures, then the crow population of the area will directly decrease. Measures must be taken to stop and reverse the effects of global warming if there is any chance of preserving American crow

In the article “The Seasons Aren’t What They Used to Be,” David George Haskell berates that fact that climate change is evident in most forms of life around us, however, humans have refused to acknowledge the obvious signs and take necessary action. Haskell is a professor of biology on the faculty of Sewanee University in Sewanee, Tennessee. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oxford, and a Ph.D. from Cornell University and writes about biodiversity, evolution, and conservation. Haskell education background and experience give him the credibility to speak on the effect of climate change. Haskell’s purpose is to point out the signs of the changes in season triggered by climate change and its effect on plant, animal and human

Shifts in temperature and precipitation will be a shock to fragile ecosystems which depend on specific climatic conditions. Many species will be unable to adapt as fast as their environment changes and face sharply reduced numbers or extinction. Scientists estimate that a warming of just 2 degree will put as many as 30% of the world's species at risk of extinction. Plants and animals aren’t the only ones feeling the pressure of changing ecosystems. Many regions will face severe water shortages in a warmer world, creating the potential for conflict. It is believed that the genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region is at least in part a response to water shortages resulting from global warming.

In this article the authors present well researched information to prove their point that global warming could lead to a disruption of the connectedness within different populations of animals and could even cause a reorganization of species communities. The authors provide an ample amount of information about what global warming has already done to animals in order to support their predictions of what this means for the future. Despite having more than enough evidence to support that global warming is affecting animals, a majority of the paper is hypotheticals about what could happen for the future thus making it less credible. The authors do an exceptional job of using ethos and pathos throughout the piece. They use ethos when discussing

"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.

2. Increasing global temperatures are expected to disrupt ecosystems, pushing to extinction those species that cannot adapt.

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)