Content
- How does climate change affect animals?
- Animals threatened with extinction due to climate change
- 1. Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus)
- 2. Corals
- 3. Panda bear (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
- 4. Sea turtles
- 5. Snow Leopard (panthera uncia)
- 6. Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri)
- 7. Lemur
- 8. common toad (snort snort)
- 9. Narwhal (Monodon monoceros)
- 10. Ring Seal (puss hispid)
- Other animals threatened with extinction due to climate change
- Animals Extinct by Climate Change
Currently, there are several global environmental problems that are having an alarming impact on the planet. One of them is climate change, which we can define as the change in weather patterns on a global scale, a product of global warming from actions caused by human beings. Despite the attempt by some sectors to question this, the scientific community made the reality of the matter clear and the adverse consequences that we must face.
How does climate change affect animals? Among the various unfavorable effects caused by climate change, we find the impacts suffered by animal diversity, as it is strongly affected by climate change in many of its habitats, which in some cases pressures them to the point of extinction. Here at PeritoAnimal, we bring this article about some of the animals endangered by climate change so you know what they are. Keep reading!
How does climate change affect animals?
The increase in the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is what causes the Earth's average temperature to increase steadily and, consequently, cause the set of various changes we know as climate changes. As weather patterns change, as a result of the above, a series of circumstances occur that end up affecting the animals.
if you ask yourself how climate change affects animals, we present some of them:
- Little rain: there are regions where, due to climatic variations, rainfall has started to decrease. Thus, the availability of water for animals tends to be lower because in the soil there is less water to consume, and water bodies such as lakes, rivers and natural lakes, vital for the development of certain species, are also restricted.
- Torrential rain: in other areas, torrential rains occur, often associated with climatic phenomena such as hurricanes and tornadoes, which undoubtedly impact the local animal biodiversity.
- Reduction of sea ice layers in polar zones: this considerably affects the animal biodiversity that develops in these areas, since they are adapted to and depend on the natural conditions that characterize the arctic spaces of the planet.
- Incubation temperature: Some oviparous breeding animals dig the ground to lay their eggs. By doing this in warmer-than-normal areas, the natural reproductive processes of some species are altered.
- Temperature variations: it was identified that some species that transmit diseases in animals, such as some mosquitoes, have expanded their range of distribution as a result of temperature variations.
- Vegetation: By changing the climate in habitats, there is a direct impact on vegetation that is part of the diet of many local animals. Therefore, if this vegetation decreases or changes, the fauna that depends on it is affected alarmingly because their food becomes scarcer.
- Thermal Rises in the Oceans: influence ocean currents, on which many animals depend to follow their migratory routes. On the other hand, this also affects the reproduction of certain species in these habitats, which ends up affecting the trophic networks of ecosystems.
- Carbon dioxide is absorbed by the oceans: the increase in these concentrations resulted in the acidification of marine bodies, altering the chemical conditions of the habitat of many species of animals that are impacted by this alteration.
- climate impact: in many cases it causes the forced migration of several species to other ecosystems that are not always the most suitable for them.
Therefore, we will present some of the animals threatened with extinction due to climate change.
Animals threatened with extinction due to climate change
Some animals, as we saw earlier, are suffering greater impacts due to climate change. Below, we present some of the species of animals threatened with extinction due to climate change:
1. Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus)
One of the iconic species most affected by climate change is the polar bear. This animal is heavily impacted by the thinning of the ice sheets it needs to move around and find its food. The anatomical and physiological characteristics of this animal are adapted to inhabit these icy ecosystems, so that the increase in temperature also changes your health..
2. Corals
Corals are animals that belong to the phylum of cnidarians and inhabit colonies commonly called coral reefs. The increase in temperature and the ocean acidification affect these animals, which are highly susceptible to these variations. Currently, there is a consensus in the scientific community about the high degree of global impact that corals have suffered as a result of climate change.[1]
3. Panda bear (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
This animal depends directly on bamboo for food, as it is practically its only source of nutrition. Among other reasons, all estimates indicate that they are animals threatened with extinction due to climate change due to significant changes in the panda bear's habitat, reducing food availability.
4. Sea turtles
Several species of sea turtles are in danger of extinction due to climate change. For example, the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) and the common sea turtle (caretta caretta).
On the one hand, the rise in sea level, due to the pole melt, causes flooding in turtle nesting areas. In addition, temperature influences the sex determination of chicks, so its increase heats the sand more and changes this proportion in hatching turtles. Furthermore, the development of storms also impacts nesting areas.
5. Snow Leopard (panthera uncia)
This feline lives in extreme conditions naturally and climate change threatens the snow leopard with the alteration of its habitat, which would affect the availability of prey to hunt, forcing him to move and to come into conflict with other feline species. That's why he, unfortunately, is another animal threatened with extinction by climate change.
In this other article you will find more information about the snow leopard and other animals from Asia.
6. Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri)
The main impact for this animal is the decrease and concentration of sea ice, necessary for its reproduction and for the development of puppies. Furthermore, climatic variations also affect ocean conditions, which also have an impact on the species.
7. Lemur
These endemic Madagascar primates are another of the animals threatened with extinction by climate change. Among other reasons, this is due to climatic variations that affect the decrease in rainfall, increasing dry periods that influence the production of trees that are a source of food for these animals. In addition, climate changes also cause cyclones in the area where they live, often devastating their entire habitat.
8. common toad (snort snort)
This amphibian, like many others, sees its reproductive biological processes altered due to the increase in the temperature of the water bodies where it develops, which in several species causes an advance of spawning. On the other hand, this thermal effect on water reduces the availability of dissolved oxygen, which also affects the common toad larvae.
9. Narwhal (Monodon monoceros)
Changes in Arctic sea ice, caused by global warming, affect the habitat of this marine mammal, as well as that of the beluga (Delphinapterus leucas), as the prey distribution changes. Unexpected changes in weather modify the ice cover, causing many of these animals to become trapped in small spaces between the polar blocks, ultimately causing their death.
10. Ring Seal (puss hispid)
The loss of habitat formed by ice is the main threat to those on this list of animals threatened with extinction by climate change. Ice cover is essential for puppies, and as it decreases due to global warming, affects your health and induces higher mortality species, in addition to causing greater exposure to predators. Climatic variations also affect food availability.
Other animals threatened with extinction due to climate change
Let's get to know other animal species that are also affected by climate change:
- Caribou or reindeer (rangifer tarandus)
- Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
- Temporary frog (Temporary Rana)
- Cochabamba mountain finch (Garleppi Compso)
- Scissors Hummingbird (Hylonympha macrofence)
- Water mole (Galemys pyrenaicus)
- American Pika (ochotona princeps)
- Black Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca)
- Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)
- Nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)
- Imperial Parrot (Amazon imperialis)
- Boughs (Bombus)
Animals Extinct by Climate Change
Now that you've seen what the impacts of global warming on animals, we must also point out that some species were unable to withstand the shocks caused by climate change, and that is why have already been extinct. Let's meet some animals extinct due to climate change:
- melomys rubicola: was a rodent endemic to Australia. The recurrent cyclonic phenomena caused by climate change wiped out the existing population.
- Incilius periglenes: known as the golden toad, it was a species that inhabited Costa Rica and, for several reasons, including global warming, it was extinct.
Climate change is currently one of the serious environmental problems with a global impact. Given the negative impact it causes to humanity, mechanisms are currently being sought to mitigate these effects. However, this does not occur in the case of animals, which are highly vulnerable to this situation. Thus, more actions are urgently needed to minimize the damage suffered by animal species on the planet.
If you are interested in this topic, we recommend that you watch this video from the Nossa Ecology channel, in which some tips to avoid climate change:
If you want to read more articles similar to Animals threatened with extinction due to climate change, we recommend that you enter our Endangered Animals section.