Adaptation & Climate Change
Presented By: Jessica Heinz
Presentation Overview
Why do animals need to adapt?
How do they adapt?
What are the consequences of not
adapting to climate change?
What is Climate Change?
The term climate change is technically
defined as “a long-term change in the
earth’s climate, especially a change due
to an increase in the average atmospheric
temperature”.
Effects on Animals
Examples:
Birds lay eggs earlier in the year than usual
Hibernating mammals come out sooner
Sea level rises of only 50cm could cause sea turtles
to lose their nesting beaches
Polar bears are affected both by the reduction in
sea ice and by reduced stocks of its primary food,
the ringed seal.
What is Adaptation?
The ability of a species to survive in a
particular ecological niche, especially because
of alterations of form or behavior brought about
through natural selection.
Why Do Animals Need to
Adapt?
To SURVIVE
– If they do not adapt, they will not have the
necessary traits to survive in a changing
environment.
They may have to find new food sources.
They may have to migrate with the seasons to find food
and/or shelter.
They may have to physically adapt through the
generations to become a better predator and/or hide
from predators:
– Become leaner, fatter, smaller, larger, more agile, better
climber, better digging skills, better hunter, better scavenger,
etc.
How Do Animals Adapt?
INSTINCT
—
Animals instinctually know where to find food and water.
Through trial-and-error they learn how to obtain it.
GENERATION TO GENERATION
– Although in most cases is takes several generations for an
adaptation to make its way through a large part of a
population, Minor changes can be passed from parents to
children and a series of small changes can build up into
adaptation.
– Something as simple as a better hunting technique can be
passed from mother to baby and then from that baby to its
future offspring, and so on until the entire population
knows it. It therefore becomes an adaptation.
Consequences of Not
Adapting
If species do not adapt to the changing
climate, they are at a very high risk of
extinction.
– The extinction process may be slow, but
eventually all individuals will die because they
will not have the necessary skills or traits to
survive in the habitat around them.
Some animals may not adapt but simply move
to a new habitat and learn to make their way
there.
Air Pollution & Animals
Air pollution is particularly dangerous to animals when it is
in the form of acid rain.
– Acid rain kills aquatic life in lakes and streams when the acidity of the
water is altered.
– The acid can not only kill plants, but contaminate them, and in turn be
ingested by wildlife.
Extreme ultraviolet radiation caused by a thinning ozone
layer damages plants and wildlife.
Troposheric ozone molecules near the ground damage lung
tissues of animals and prevent plant respiration by blocking
the openings in leaves where respiration occurs.
– Without respiration, a plant is not able to photosynthesize at a high
rate and so it will not be able to grow.
Without adequate plant life, animals may be forced to move to an alternate
location or may starve if they cannot adapt to finding other food sources.
Air Pollution & Adaptation
If it were not for negligent human actions that
cause so much air pollution, which further
contributes to climate change, animals would
not have adapt.
There would not be a threat to species that are
not adapting as rapidly as the climate is
warming.
Pollution is KILLING species, and it is OUR
fault they are dying.
Animals That Have Already
Begun to Adapt
Polar bears today are thinner and less healthy
than those of 20 years ago.
Many fish species are moving northward in
search of cooler waters.
Coral reefs around the world are predicted to
increase by up to a third in size.
Elephant seal pups are leaner because their
prey is migrating to cooler waters.
Canadian red squirrels are breeding about 18
days earlier.
How To Prevent Climate Change
so that Animals Do Not Need to
Adapt
Combat deforestation
– Forests help protect the planet by absorbing massive
amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), the most abundant type
of pollution that causes climate change.
Engage with businesses to reduce carbon emissions
– Burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas, to
generate energy has the greatest impact on the atmosphere
than any other single human activity.
– Coal is especially damaging to our atmosphere, releasing
70% more carbon dioxide than natural gas for every unit of
energy produced.
Homework Questions
What are the main causes of air pollution? What can
you do to lower it? Why is reducing air pollution
important?
What are the possible risks to animals if air
pollution is not reduced? How can harming animals
affect us?
Name and describe 2 ways that animals can adapt to
climate change. What may happen if they do not
adapt?
Topic 13 Summary due: Friday, November 30
Video Time!!!
This video discusses climate change, 5 scary
effects of climate change, air pollution, and
extinction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2Jxs7lR8ZI
&feature=relmfu