Mean temperatures are rising these may result in physiological and ecological effects on living organisms. Describe and explain these effects.
Mean temperatures are rising – these may result in physiological and ecological effects on living organisms. Describe and explain these effects.
Rising global temperatures, due to an increased concentration of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, are likely to have enormous consequences on many, if not all, species. Although the effects may not be direct potential outcomes include: loss of habitat, reduced species diversity, disturbed food chains and weather cycles, denaturation of enzymes.
One of the biggest potential issues of global warming is causing a rise to sea levels. Low-land countries and cities (e.g: Venice) are likely to become frequently flooded. This means the habitat changes and organisms whose niche is not specific to the new conditions are likely to either move away from these environments or die – this is most likely to happen to terrestrial animals. This is likely to have a massive consequence on both the ecology and the economy in that location. The loss of species could have wide-spread effects on food chains. Reduced food for some organisms means those lower on the trophic level will die out (the effects of rising sea water will affect smaller organisms the most!). Therefore, the numbers of top predators will also fall. In terms of the economy, many countries are famous for specific dishes or nature reserves. If the beauty of these nature reserves, or the availability of the animals for the specific dishes is affected this could significantly reduce the number of tourists to that country.
