Transcript Copperhead
Past Climate Change Coring Glacial Ice Ice Core Data Pollen core data collection Pollen Core Data Distribution of North American Trees in past 16,000 years Black-tailed prairie dog Northern bog lemming Eastern chipmunk Global Ice Coverage Last Ice Age Rainforests in: a. Glacial period, b. Inter-glacial period Global carbon cycle Change in Average Global Temperature Statistics and climate change • http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla yer_embedded&v=e0vj-0imOLw Surface temperature trends from 1800-2009 • http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/vid eo/2011/oct/20/berkeley-earth-climatechange-video Model predictions of global temperature increase Predicted surface change 1960-2060 Current distributions of biomes Predictions for biomes after global warming The Earth Ice Free Global Ice Coverage Last Ice Age Will species be able to survive current climate change? • Maybe • Maybe not New Complications with Climate Change 1. Current species and populations are already stressed by habitat loss and environmental degradation 2. Habitat loss will make it harder for species to migrate to new areas 3. Global temperature may increase to temperatures that are much greater than species experienced in the past 4. Rate of global climate change is probably faster than in geologic past Pikas may run out of mountaintop Habitat Loss Orange County, California Habitat Loss • Habitat is the physical and biological environment used by an individual, a population or a species • Habitat degradation is the process by which habitat quality for a given species is diminished • Habitat loss occurs when the habitat quality for a given species is so low that the environment can no longer support the species Ecosystem Loss • Ecosystem is a group of organisms and their physical environment • Ecosystem degradation occurs when alterations to an ecosystem degrade or destroy habitat for many of the species that constitute the ecosystem • Ecosystem loss occurs when the changes to an ecosystem are so great and so many species typical of that ecosystem (especially dominant species) are lost that the ecosystem switches from one type to another What are the main processes that degrade habitat and ecosystems? Processes that degrade habitat and ecosystems • • • • • • • • Contamination/Pollution Human built structures Soil erosion Changing fire regimes Changing water use and hydrology Deforestation Desertification Draining wetlands Copper Basin, Tennessee Copper Basin, Tennessee 1926 1939 Copper Basin today Copper Basin – Superfund site Restoration of Burra Burra Pit, Copper Basin Mid-1990s Mid 2000s Copper mine tailings, Butte, Montana – largest Superfund site in America Mine tailings outskirts of Sudbury, Ontario Restoration of Sudbury Air pollution – Mexico City Extent of Acid Precipitation Rhine River Basin Healthy Coral Reef Dying Coral Reefs Bleached coral Silted out reef DDT use in 1950s DDT in Zimbabwe Thin Egg Shells from DDT Human Built Structures Pacific or California Fire-bellied Newt Pacific or California Fire-bellied Newt – don’t try this at home w/o washing hands Tilden Park, Berkeley, CA Snake migration in Shawnee Copperhead Dandelion dispersal – along roads and railroads Bonneville Dam, Columbia River, Oregon Fish Ladders The Dingo – Canis familiarus dingo Dingo Fence – The World’s Longest Fence – New South Wales Erosion and loss of habitat on Round Island, Mauritius Smokey the bear - 1953 Smokey the Bear - 1960 Everglades Surface Water Flow