Question

- What are the consequences of climate change for organisms?List several consequences of climate change for organisms and ecosystems.  

-Describe a positive feedback loop that may accelerate climate change.

Answer 1

consequences of climate change for organisms include

Climate change is the periodic modification of earth's climate due to changes in atmosphere and interaction of atmosphere with multiple factors (biological, geological etc) of ecosystem.This lead to damage in weather condition such as a rise in temperature and subsequent melting of ice in polar region, rise in sea level, ultimately threaten the survival of several organisms. The increasing temperature leads to habitat shift of plants towards the colder region. Subsequently animals depending on them also will be forced to follow the pattern. If the trend continues, several species will be wiped off in this attempt.

some of the direct consequences include

Rise in sea level due to melting of glaciers cause threat to the survival of population living in the sea floor, islands and coastal areas.

Increasing carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere will add acidification of the ocean that is ultimately harmful for species like plankton,algae, mollusks etc

Climate change facilitates the spread of contagious diseases as the warm weather for a long duration is generally allow pathogen carrier insects and microbes to survive longer.

Human death due to extreme heat waves and heavy flooding (natural disasters) is also increasing year by year also one of the consequences of climate change.

Climate change is causing wipe out of bamboo in their natural habitat in China

Several animals are under threat due to climate change, some examples

Penguin- Lives in Antartica feed on Krills. Krills live beneath ice sheets. Melting of ice lead to decline in population of Krill. Thus penguins are forced to migrate from their natural habitat in search of alternative food sources.

Elephants-Warmer temperature increase growth of invasive plants that compete with native species that include food sources of elephants. Elephants need large quantity of water for their survival. Climate change and global warming make it difficult for elephants to get the water they need.

Climate change is leading to food web destruction, native predator prey interaction, parasitism may be increased, drastically change species richness at local scales as temperature and precipitation system changes.

a positive feedback loop