Climate change is a large and terrifying event that has been widely discussed lately, and most people know the most serious possible consequences of it. Sea levels rising, mega-storms brewing, deserts and diseases spreading and mass extinctions. These most terrible penalties for industrial living are often touted.
So often in fact, that the smaller changes wrought by a warming world might be missed amongst the cacophony of disasters. But the large changes are made up of smaller ones, and the smaller ones are easier to comprehend, and perhaps to take action against. Here are some of the more unusual effects of climate change on flora and fauna.
Climate Change Aids Killer Frog Fungus
Amphibians worldwide are under threat. According to an article by Jennifer Holland, published in National Geographic (April 2009) entitled “The Vanishing”, frogs, toads, and other amphibians are dying out at massive rates, due to pollution, habitat destruction and changing climates. And, worse is on the horizon.
The deadly chytrid fungus is delivering the killing blow for many already weakened frog populations. This fungal disease is now showing up in every continent on Earth that contains frogs, and they seem to have almost no protection against it.
A paper published in Nature (12 January, 2006), by Alan J. Pounds, et al. puts the likelihood of climate change being implicated in the easy growth and spread of this fungal disease at 99%. While further research is needed, unfortunately the frogs may not have that much time.
Not all news is bleak however. For example, Holland writes about promising skin bacteria that works to inhibit the fungus. There is also a rescue effort called Amphibian Ark which aims to save as many species as possible in captive breeding programs, with the aim of eventual re-release.
High Temperatures Lead to Maple Syrup Shortage
The conditions necessary for sugar maples to produce the sap from which maple syrup is made are very specific: freezing nights, followed by warm days. In fact, traditionally the extraction season only lasts for one month. So, permanently warm weather could spell disaster. According to an article by David Biello in The Daily Climate (6 April, 2009) titled “All Tapped Out”, in 2008 that season lasted less than a week in Quebec. The month of April was simply too warm.
And in fact, Biello reports, research from the University of Vermont shows that compared to the 1970’s, the average modern extraction season starts a week earlier, but ends 10 days earlier and so is three days shorter. Eventually, this could shorten further. With sugar maples taking 40-50 years to reach harvesting age, even planting them further and further north might not be enough to stop an eventual shortage of maple syrup.
Environmentally Influenced Turtle Sex Changes
In most turtles gender is determined by the temperatures that eggs are exposed to at a certain point of development. Eggs incubated above a certain point become female embryos and below that point, male embryos. The consequences of this quirk of biology might be dire for already devastated turtle populations.
According to Jeffrey E. Lovich in ‘Turtles and Global Climate Change’ (United States Geological Survey, 25 November, 2003) a 2 degree increase could lead to dramatic skewing of turtle gender populations. In fact, it may have been a similar effect which led to the demise of the dinosaurs. Turtles, already hard hit by pollution and loss of habitat, might experience the same fate.
Global Warming and the Demise of the Dawn Chorus
Climate change affects birds in many different ways. Birds’ habitats are moving further north as the temperatures rise, seeking to stay in the climate type they are used to, according to the National Wildlife Federation (in "Silent Spring: A Sequel?" by Les Line, 1 December 2002). Unfortunately, this can lead to the birds being out of sync with their food species, so, for example, the peak caterpillar season no longer coincides with the hatching of chicks, leading them to starve.
However, that is not the only danger facing bird populations. R.I. Kingston reported in ScienceDaily ("Global Warming May Cause Songbirds to Avoid Certain Foods", January 27, 2004) that research done by the University of Rhode Island shows climate change might cause birds to stop eating their usual food sources, even when those sources are freely available.
The research demonstrated that when insects eat leaves from trees exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide, they not only grow less, but are also then avoided by birds. Unfortunately, not only does this potentially starve the birds in a world with constantly elevated carbon dioxide levels, it could lead to the insect population exploding, and over-eating the trees, further damaging bird habitats.
Global warming is already changing the world, and will continue to do so, probably in many ways that scientists won’t be able to predict. For something so devastating, prevention is the only answer. Read more about climate change. Read about preventing climate change.
Rachel Sawaya - Rachel Sawaya is a freelance writer from New Zealand (who also has US citizenship), and currently lives in Auckland, the big smoke of New ...
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