Plants and animals can grow, survive and reproduce only within a specific range of climates and environments. Earth’s average temperature has risen by 1.5°F over the past century, and scientists predict that it will rise 0.5 to 8.6°F in the next hundred, or so years. Climate change can cause negative effects to the different environments on Earth. It can affect water supplies, agriculture, power and energy, transportation, and even the human race’s health and safety. Phenology is the timing of season activities of animals and plants, and is practically the simplest process to track changes in the ecology of species in response to climate change. Some primary responses of species to recent climate changes are known as “phenological shifts.”
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For example, the time a bird migrates during its migratory season can be phenologically shifted by adjusting the time a migratory bird begins to migrate, or changing the location of where they spend their migratory season. Another example can be the rate at which a plant ages, or otherwise known as phenophases of the plant, and how they can be either lengthened or shortened in terms of time. As a result of progressive climate change, phenological changes are becoming more apparent in the world. In some cases of phenological shifts, an organism can directly affect their genealogy due to the climate change. These specific organisms have a trait that is known as temperature-dependent sex determination. The microclimate that the embryos are developing in will determine the sex that they will be born as. This specific trait is most common among most reptiles. It always occurs in crocodilians and tuatara, most turtles, and some lizards. The effect of climate change can offset a sex ratio of the specific species with temperature dependencies. As a result, population sex …show more content…
Progressively early emergence of hibernating animals and arrival of migratory birds at breeding sites have been recorded across the globe. A lot of migratory birds change their routes, shorten or completely cancel their journey as a result of changing temperatures. Most birds are not experienced with low temperatures, and if they are forced to stay during a winter due to climate change, then most will not survive, especially in the case of a hard onset of winter. In most cases, mild winters of colder regions help resident birds to survive. They start to use the food resources and breeding/nesting places of long-distance migratory birds. As a consequence, if long-distance migratory birds are coerced into staying in the colder regions, they might find that their breeding grounds have been occupied by resident birds, or the resident birds might not have a breeding grounds at all due to the migratory birds not leaving the region when the cold weather begins. This would increase competition between the two species for food and breeding grounds, and if the resident bird population eventually began to decrease in population, it would cause an interruption in the local food chain during the winter season. Also, the migratory birds are somewhat of an invasive species during the winter season, and could possibly greatly disrupt the entire local food
For example, the time a bird migrates during its migratory season can be phenologically shifted by adjusting the time a migratory bird begins to migrate, or changing the location of where they spend their migratory season. Another example can be the rate at which a plant ages, or otherwise known as phenophases of the plant, and how they can be either lengthened or shortened in terms of time. As a result of progressive climate change, phenological changes are becoming more apparent in the world. In some cases of phenological shifts, an organism can directly affect their genealogy due to the climate change. These specific organisms have a trait that is known as temperature-dependent sex determination. The microclimate that the embryos are developing in will determine the sex that they will be born as. This specific trait is most common among most reptiles. It always occurs in crocodilians and tuatara, most turtles, and some lizards. The effect of climate change can offset a sex ratio of the specific species with temperature dependencies. As a result, population sex …show more content…
Progressively early emergence of hibernating animals and arrival of migratory birds at breeding sites have been recorded across the globe. A lot of migratory birds change their routes, shorten or completely cancel their journey as a result of changing temperatures. Most birds are not experienced with low temperatures, and if they are forced to stay during a winter due to climate change, then most will not survive, especially in the case of a hard onset of winter. In most cases, mild winters of colder regions help resident birds to survive. They start to use the food resources and breeding/nesting places of long-distance migratory birds. As a consequence, if long-distance migratory birds are coerced into staying in the colder regions, they might find that their breeding grounds have been occupied by resident birds, or the resident birds might not have a breeding grounds at all due to the migratory birds not leaving the region when the cold weather begins. This would increase competition between the two species for food and breeding grounds, and if the resident bird population eventually began to decrease in population, it would cause an interruption in the local food chain during the winter season. Also, the migratory birds are somewhat of an invasive species during the winter season, and could possibly greatly disrupt the entire local food