• Question: would there be diffrent wildlife with global warming

    Asked by jayb to Upul, Ian, Derek, Daniel on 20 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Derek Mann

      Derek Mann answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      We already experience the discovery of new species (lots of new types of insects are discovered every year) and of course extinction of certain species also occurs most probably as a consequence of changing environments and climate. But global warming if it happens in the way predicted will have different effects in different parts of the world, some places will actually get colder due to shifts in weather patterns arising from the general warming of the planet. So we may see changes in the patterns of species around the world as well as extinction and emergence of species.

    • Photo: Ian Sillett

      Ian Sillett answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      All life evolves to adapt to its environment. So if the climate of the Earth changes then yes, there will be different wildlife in the long term. The trouble is that the changes are too slow for you to notice so as far as your concerned, no, there won’t be.

      The reason that climate change is bad news for wildlife is that the changes are likely to be much too quick for evolution to keep up and species will become extinct before they can adapt.

    • Photo: Daniel Mietchen

      Daniel Mietchen answered on 20 Jun 2010:

      Evolution takes place by favouring some members of a species over others in terms of reproductive success. These favoured ones are usually adapted best to the conditions of the environment they inhabit, and when these conditions change, so will the species. By way of the complex interactions between the different species (animals, plants, microbes) and the climate within an ecosystem, this may lead to drastic shifts in wildlife.

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