http://www.globalissues.org/article/172/climate-change-affects-biodiversity
Picture: This picture shows a polar bear on sea ice in the Arctic. The polar bear depends on the sea ice to give it things like shelter and a place to hunt for food. Climate changes have been melting the ice and that affects the polar bears in a big way.
Summary: "In the Arctic, it is not just a reduction in the extent of sea ice but it's thickness and age." The fact that there is less ice and it is getting thinner means that it can melt faster. This is bad news for the life that depends on the ice to live. If there ever comes a time where there are ice-free summers in the Arctic Ocean, that could be the loss of an entire biome. Although, every year the arctic does thaw and refreeze, the patterns in the more recent years have changed. This climate change does not just affect the polar bears. It can affect even the algae that grows on the under side of the ice caps. This could obviously cause a reaction to all the other animals in the food chain that depend on each other for food. Also, the ice melting can affect more than just the Arctic. The bright white sea ice reflects the sun, keeping the water colder. When the ice melts, it is no longer there to keep the water cold, therefore the water heats up much faster. This can lead to changes in seawater temperature as well as salinity, which can change the primary productivity and species composition in plankton and some fish, but it can also cause changes in the ocean's circulation.
Opinion/Reflection: This actually really made me sad to read this. I didn't really believe or really understand the whole idea of global warming very well but I think reading this article kind of helped me get a hold of what it really does. I really wish I knew of something I could do to maybe help or stop this. We were learning about biodiversity in class and how there are only a couple biodiversity hotspots left and the fact that a very diverse place like this could just crumble over the melting sea ice is really, kind of scary to me. There aren't very many places like this left so we should do our best to preserve and protect them.
Questions:
1. Do you think this could potentially affect you and where you live?
2. What kind of things do you think we could do to help?
3. What are some things that maybe could of caused this?
4. Do you really think that an end to this specific biome could happen in the near future?
I agree with Alex. This is so upsetting, and also a bit frightening. People know what is happing to the polar bears and they are trying to help make a difference. What they don't know is that it just doesn't effect the polar bear, it effects many species too. As Alex said it effects the algae that grows on the under side of the ice caps too as well as penguins and other organisms.
ReplyDeleteExpansion:
This picture was on the same article Alex Posted, it won't allow me to paste it in so the picture is the one of the graph.
http://www.globalissues.org/article/172/climate-change-affects-biodiversity
Picture Reaction:
This picture troubles me. The amount of decrease is massive. At this rate the whole biome may just disappear. This really shows that we need change and we need it now! All the species living in the arctic will be hopeless if we don’t do something to help them soon.
I indeed agree with Alex in such a serious issue the arctic region is becoming. It is quite scary how us humans can change the enviornment through our pollution and how innocent animals become extinct because of our actions. I saw one video of a documentary or so that depicted a polarbear having trouble getting upon the ice because it was too thin and had to stay in the water. This is also a serious problem because of water level rising and such will cause water levels to rise dramatically and it is obviously not good.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1: I think this could very well impact how our life. The fish we eat might not be the same specie we eat if the arctic melts completely and the water circulation changes so dramatically that the fish change their habitat. If this were to potentially happen, it's the collapse of ecosystems everywhere and that is obviously not good for the human kind.
Related Article (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1206_041206_global_warming.html) Looks very drastic here. I'm really worried about the humanity now that these dangers really could crumple the civilazations to peices.
3 Questions
1)How much CO2 in the air should be allowed for the earth to slowly recover?
2)Is earth recoverable to begin with?
3)How much polar bear populations are left?
I also agree with alex that this global warming issue is taken a tremendous effect on the habitat of the polar bears. the ice melting and thnning out can not only cause the shortage and cutoff of the polar bears food and shelter but it can also cut off the supply of other animals that live in the aritic habitat. It may also kill them in the long run.
ReplyDeleteRelated Article
I found an article that is also about the effects that gobal warming have on the animals in the artic habitats. The picture show the polar bear walking across the Beauford Coast of Alaska. Its sad because you would not think the area that the polar bear is surrounded by would be alaska becuase there is not a sight of ice or snow.
http://earthjustice.org/irreplaceable/polar_bear?gclid=CPzb2ND-ua4CFQIRNAodxVxDFQ
3 Questions
1. What do you think would happen if the polar bears became extinct?
2. How long do you think the polar bears could survive in these harsh conditions?
3. Could there be anyways we can prevent this from contining?
Just like everyone else, I am very upset about the facts presented in this article. I love all the animals in the arctic—polar bears, penguins, puffins, seals, etc. Imagining a world where those creatures no longer exists terrifies me! I would have never thought that ice could have helped more than just the animals that live on it, but the algae that lived underneath as well. I don’t know how, but we have to find a way to save this biome.
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
1. If the algae become extinct from the melted ice, how will that effect the food web?
2. Will the salinity change from the melted ice effect all the fish living in the arctic
3. Or, would the fish actually be able to adapt in time? The ice has been melting faster than usual, but it still takes a long time for it to melt…