Transcript It’s gettin’ hot in here! - Michigan State University

It’s gettin’ hot in here!
(Consequences of climate change)
Jake and Michael
Brief background on climate change
• Increasing levels of CO2 and other greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere have a variety of
environmental effects.
– Increasing temperature
– Ocean acidification
– Ice melts
– Extreme weather events
What effects might these changes
have on plant and animal life?
What effects might these changes
have on plant and animal life?
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Direct physical/physiological effects
Habitat loss
Range shifts
New hybrids
Changes in species interactions (predator/prey,
parasite/host, competitors)
• Life cycle changes
Physical/physiological effects
• Warmer temperatures can have direct impacts on
organisms health (over-heating)
• Ocean acidification can have a direct negative
impact on marine life
• Temperature dependent sex determination
Example: Coral
• Rising ocean temperature results in coral reef
bleaching, where corals expel the mutualistic
colorful algae that live within them
• Ocean acidification makes it more difficult for
corals to build their calcium based skeletons,
resulting in slower growth
Example: Turtles/Tortoises
• Many species have temperature dependent sex
determination
• Warmer temperatures result in a higher ratio of
female offspring
% Male
– Unseasonably warm temperatures in FL cause
loggerhead turtles to produce ~90% females
temp
Habitat loss
• As the climate changes habitat may change in
such a way that makes it unusable for certain
species.
Example: Polar bears
• Sea ice is shrinking and moving farther apart
resulting in less hunting ground and making
hunting more dangerous
• Warming temperatures cause ice to freeze later
in fall and melt earlier in spring resulting in a
narrower hunting period
Example: Mangroves
• Mangrove ecosystems
provide crucial breeding
and nursery areas for
many different species
of fish and other wildlife
• Rising sea level and
changing salinity
destroy mangrove
ecosystems
Range shifts
• Plants and animals shift or
expand their ranges to remain
in suitable habitat
– Optimal temperature
– Following food sources
• Shifts can occur both in
latitude or elevation
Example: Pika
• Small mammal adapted to cold habitats in
mountainous areas
• Warming temperatures forcing the pika to higher
and higher elevations where it is cooler
New hybrids
• As populations move into new habitats they
can come in contact and hybridize with
different species.
I love you!
Example: Arctic mammals
• Melting arctic ice removes barrier that previously
separated species. Without the barrier new
hybrids are forming.
– Polar bear + Grizzly bear = Grolar bear
– Narwhal + Beluga
– Right whale + Bowhead whale
Species interactions
• Shifting ranges can expose populations to new
predators, parasites, or competitors.
• Changing conditions may alter already existing
interactions
– eg. warmer temp can speed up parasite life cycle
leading to faster growth and higher rates of
transmission
Example: Frogs and fungi
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Chytrid fungus damages frog populations
Global warming increases cloud cover
Causes daytime cooling and night time warming
Microclimate shifts to growth optimum for chytrid
Allows expansion into previously unaffected altitudes
Example: Arctic fox and red fox
• Warmer temp allows red fox to expand
northward into arctic fox range
• Red fox can act as both a new competitor and as
a predator of arctic foxes
Life cycle changes
• Warming temperatures can alter the timing of a
species’ life cycle which can interfere with a
variety of biotic and abiotic interactions
Example: Hibernating Animals
• Warming winter temperatures is causing some
animals such as marmots, chipmunks, and brown
bears to reduce or completely skip hibernation
• Can lead to winter starvation if food is not
abundant enough
The Extreme Polar Plunge
• Ice platforms are shrinking and
moving farther apart
• Polar bears have to swim farther and
farther to locate suitable hunting
locations
• Increasing amount of open water
between shore and sea ice results in
rougher waves making swimming
more dangerous
Blinding Nemo!
• Ocean acidification interferes with clownfish
senses making it harder for juveniles to find
anemones
• Without anemone mutualism clownfish are very
vulnerable to predators
What’s wrong with Bullwinkle?
• Warmer temps have allowed
deer to move into moose
territory
• Deer bring parasites that
harm moose
• Infected moose are
weakened and lethargic
Can you go away?
You’re making
me sick.