Transcript Rosemary_Biodiversity - University of Western Cape

Rosemary Eager
9512477
Department of Biodiversity and
Conservation Biology, University
of the Western Cape
Available at http://planet.uwc.ac.za/nisl/Eco_people/Presentations/
http://images.google.co.za/images?hl=en&
q=global+warming&gbv=2
Climate Change Earth’s
Global Warning
Index
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Introduction
Global Warming versus Global Warning
Evidence for climate change
Causes of climate change
Effects of climatic changes impacting biodiversity
Predictions for the Future
Ecosystems most affected by climatic change
Coral reef bleaching
Regions most affected by climatic change
Other regions affected by climatic change
Species most vulnerable to extinction
Prevention of climate change
Conclusion
References
Introduction
 Defining biodiversity and climate change will facilitate
understanding of the effects of climate change on biodiversity
 Looking at the past will give a clearer picture of future climatic
changes
 Biodiversity is the variety of our planet measured in abundance,
variety and variability of living organisms at all levels [1]
 These levels include species diversity, genetic diversity and
ecosystem diversity [1]
 Climate change is a shift in expected weather patterns
 This shift is often very inhospitable
 Global climate system links the atmosphere, ice sheets, oceans,
sediments, rocks and living organisms in the soil [2]
 Global warming is often linked to climate change although other
factors also influence climate change
Global Warming versus Global Warning
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Global warming is probably the most publicized phenomenon
It initiates other major events such as:
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Thawing of the permafrost
•
Melting of glaciers
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Thinning and break-up of ice sheets [3]
These events are catastrophic for biodiversity
All regions on the planet are affected, some more than others
[3]
http://images.google.co.za/i
mages?svnum=10&hl=en&
gbv=2&q=melting+glaciers
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Evidence for climate change (1)
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ges?svnum=10&hl=en&gbv=2
&q=rising+sea+levels
 Melting of glaciers
 Thinning and breaking up of ice sheets at the North and South
Poles
 Thawing of the permafrost
 Rising of sea levels
 Increase in sea temperatures
 Increase in global air temperature [4]
Evidence for climate change (2)
 Average global temperature has risen by about 0.6ºC over the last
century
 These changes are mainly due to human activities
 It results in fragmentation of plant and animal habitats [3]
 The increase might seem insignificant but the effects are major
http://images.google.co.za/images
?svnum=10&hl=en&gbv=2&q=dro
ughts
 For example, increase droughts in Southern Africa and increase
flooding in Asia [4]
Causes of Climate Change (1)
 Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas variations
 Human activity and greenhouse gas
 Reducing other greenhouse gases
 Ocean circulation
 Solar variations
 Orbital variations
 Land use change [3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_
warming
 Volcanic eruptions
Causes of Climate Change (2)
 The main cause is probably the increase in CO2 in the
atmosphere
 This results in an increase in temperature [5]
 Carbon dioxide is emitted by burning wood and fossil fuels.
 Generating electricity as 30% of all anthropogenic CO2 is
produced by power stations
 The atmosphere is gradually warmed up by CO2, water vapour
and other greenhouse gases trapping heat in the atmosphere [3]
 CO2 is absorbed by carbon sinks such as plankton
 Carbon sinks are unable to keep up with the increase in CO2
emissions [3]
 Carbon sinks will start releasing greenhouse gases by the end
of the 21st century due to a decline in abundance [4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glo
bal_warming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
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Effects of climatic changes impacting
biodiversity (1)
Global Extinctions
Shifts in species ranges
Increase flooding and other natural disasters
Increase in size and number of glacial lakes
Increase in landslides
Changes in water quality and thermal stratification of rivers and
lakes
Increase in river currents during spring
Local extinctions e.g. change in sex ratio of turtle embryos [4]
Food shortages
Increase in predation
Changes in phenology
Changes in geographic range for birds, mammals and butterflies
Effects of climatic changes impacting
biodiversity (2)
 Changes in phenology in birds, butterflies, aphids, amphibians and
spring wildflowers are evident [4]
 Breeding in birds has started earlier in the spring due to changes in
precipitation
 Bird migratory patterns are changing [4]
 Plants are blooming earlier
 These changes have serious repercussions as life history patterns are
not only dependant on temperature
 For example, plant-animal interactions are synchronized
 Species respond differently to climate changes causing the synchrony
to be unbalanced [4]
Predictions for the Future
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A global temperature change up to 10ºC is expected by 2100 [4]
Mean global temperature is a mere 4-6ºC warmer than the last ice age
Increase in sea level up to 2 m is expected by 2100 [4]
A minimum increase of 1 m could flood vast areas of Asia and many
vulnerable coastal areas
Global warming affects sea surface temperatures which affects
regional patterns in rainfall
Thawing of the permafrost in Alaska resulting in erosion, landslides,
shifting ground and land subsidence [6]
This will negatively affect buildings, roads and military facilities
Climate change will increase the rate of natural disasters
The Midwest will experience more tornadoes and floods
The Gulf coast will face more hurricanes
Higher incidence of wild fires in the West [6]
Ecosystems most affected by climatic change
Coral reefs [7]
Salt marshes
Mangrove forests
Tropical rainforests [4]
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Coral Reef Ecosystems
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Bleaching of coral reefs has increased worldwide in the last 20 years
Coral reefs portray high productivity and biodiversity
They are referred to as “the Tropical Rainforests of the Ocean” [7]
Out of 105 mass coral mortalities, 60 coral reef bleaching events have
been recorded between 1979-1990
Three bleaching events out of 63 mass coral mortalities were recorded
during the preceding 103 years [7]
Coral dysfunction and death is caused by large increases in sea
temperature (3-4C) over a short period
It is also caused by small increases (0.5-1.5C) over several weeks
Bleaching in the Caribbean from 1986-1988 indicates a definite link
between bleaching and global warming [7]
We can expect an increase in coral bleaching
Coral mortality can exceed 95% regionally resulting in mass
extinctions
An increase in sea level also causes death of corals by drowning [7]
Regions most affected by climatic changes (1)
 Climate change will affect the entire globe hitting poor people the
hardest
 Poor people are more vulnerable to natural disasters
 Developing countries subjected to high rainfall variation [8]
 They experience much warmer temperatures than developed countries
 Their economies are driven by climate sensitive industries such as
agriculture and fishing
 Spain is thought to be affected most by climate change [8]
 It has more than 8000 km of coastline
 Highest record for greenhouse gas emissions in Europe
 Temperatures increased by 1.5C in the last 100 years with a drop in
rainfall [8]
 These factors are detrimental to ecosystems, flora, fauna and fishing
 Storms, floods and droughts will increase in frequency
Regions most affected by climatic changes (2)
 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) expects
climate change to affect four regions the most
 The Arctic will experience the greatest warming
 An increase in sea level will affect small island states in the
Pacific
 Africa south of Sahel zone affected by drought
 Densely populated river deltas in Asia affected by flooding [3]
 Other regions strongly affected are Kenya, Asia, Europe,
Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Africa and South Africa
Regions most affected by climatic changes (3)
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Coping with drought and food shortages is common in Kenya
Droughts are longer and occur more frequently
They are less predictable leaving less time for inhabitants to recover [9]
When rain comes, it is sudden, violent and less predictable [9]
Asia may experience a high risk of hunger
Warming may cause more rock avalanches due to shrinking of the
Himalayan glaciers [10]
It may lose up to 30% of its corals and 1.2 billion people may face water
shortages [10]
A steep decline in crop fields is possible
Europeans challenged with water shortages and coastal flooding
European flora threatened by extinction
Alpine glaciers will either disappear or reduced in size [10]
Regions most affected by climatic changes (4)
 Australian and New Zealand ecosystem alteration expected by 2020
 Great Barrier Reef, Kakudu wetlands, south-western Australia,
mountain and rainforest areas most vulnerable [10]
 Water shortages inevitable
 Rise in sea level catastrophic for coastal property
 Farming at risk
 High incidence of heat waves expected [10]
 Bangladesh notorious for its frequent occurrences of natural disasters
 Approximately 30-70% of the country is flooded annually
 Frequency of natural disasters will increase [10]
Regions most affected by climatic changes (5)
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Africa is warmer than it was 100 years ago [11]
Experienced six of its warmest years since 1987
Africa will face water shortages
Reductions in agriculture will increase risk of hunger
Ecosystems forced to adapt and many species will face extinction [10]
Two rarest biomes to decrease by 81%(semideserts) and
69%(broadleaved evergreen forests) due to CO2 being doubled [12]
South Africa very vulnerable due to large urban population dependant
on steady agricultural inputs from the countryside
Very dry country receiving less than 500 mm rain annually [11]
Climate models predict a 10-20% drop in rainfall with CO2 doubled
Western side hardest hit
Water shortages and negative effects in crop production [11]
Species most vulnerable to extinction
 The last 100 years show increased rates of extinction for birds and mammals
 About half of all plant and animal species are expected to become extinct over
the next 50 years [12]
 Species being forced to relocate to cooler areas [14]
 Species unable to relocate
 Species unable to move as a whole community [14]
 Large organisms e.g. elephants
 Organisms with small population sizes and distributions
 Those dependant on threatened habitats and ecosystems e.g. tropical
rainforests
 Those feeding highest on the food chain
 Organisms evolved in isolation e.g. island species
 Migratory species
 Those with colonial nesting habits
 Those having high dependence on unreliable resources
 Those with little evolutionary experience of disturbances [15]
Prevention of climate change
http://images.google.co.za/ima
ges?hl=en&q=recycling&gbv=2
Reducing CO2 emissions
Reduction of energy used
Planting of trees to reduce high levels of CO2
Conservation of water
Using alternative energy sources e.g. solar panels
Recycling, reducing and reusing household waste preventing methane
production
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mages?hl=en&q=trees&gbv
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Conclusion
 Our planet is in the midst of the sixth mass extinction
 Humans are selfish and inconsiderate only concerned with their
own interests and not a global one [5]
 Humans thing that their individual impacts are insignificant [5]
 Humans shift blame onto someone else to avoid changing
 Humans bad attitude is the reason why we are where we are
today
 Increase in human population from 1.6 billion to 6.0 billion in
the 20th century is increasing global warming
 People joke about global warming and do not see it as a global
warning
 A reformation is needed to save our planet and the human race
Unknown source
Is global warming a hoax?
Here Are The REAL
Global Warming Culprits
References
1.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity
2.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change
3.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,469608,00.html
4.
McCarty J (2001) Effects of Recent Climate Change. Conservation Biology 15:320-331
5.
Miller GT (2002) Living in the environment, twelfth edition. Thomson Learning, Australia
6.
http://www.pacinst.org/reports/environment_and_security/env_security_and_climate_change.pdf
7.
Buchheim J (1998) Coral Reef Bleaching. Odyssey Expeditions- Tropical Marine Biology Voyages,
Marine Biology Center Publications
8.
http://www.iberianature.com/material/iberiaclimatechange.html
9.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/climate_change/story_turkana.htm
10.
http://www.ccchina.gov.cn/en/NewsInfo.asp?NewsId=7436
11.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/climate_change/stories.htm
12.
Walker B Steffen W Canadell J Ingram J (1999) The terrestrial Biosphere and Global Change, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge 439pp
13.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/climate_change/story_facingheat.htm
14.
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/media/current/extinction.htm
15.
Barbault R, Sastrapradja S (eds) (1995) Generation, maintenance and loss of biodiversity. In: Global
biodiversity assessment, V.H. Heywood (ed.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge