Climate change is not just harming our planet, but also impacting our wildlife. From melting ice caps to shifting seasons, climate change is affecting the way that wildlife finds food, breeds or keeps warm and migrates.
Rising global temperatures make life harder for certain species. Animals like polar bears depend on sea ice for hunting and living. As this ice melts, their habitat disappears. In tropical regions, rising temperatures are making some areas too hot for creatures to survive, driving them to move elsewhere, if they can.
Weather extremes like floods and droughts are also taking a toll. Amphibians rely on consistent moisture, but prolonged droughts are drying up wetlands, leaving them with nowhere to breed.
As habitats change, species diversity is shrinking. Plants and animals that can’t adapt face extinction. This loss creates a ripple effect through food chains. For instance, when certain plants vanish, herbivores suffer – and so do the animals that eat them.
Coral reefs are the ‘rainforests of the sea’. But rising sea temperatures and increased acidity are killing off vast areas of coral. This leaves countless marine species without shelter or food, threatening biodiversity underwater on a massive scale.
Changes in seasonality are confusing migratory species. Birds, for example, time their migrations to coincide with food availability. But as spring arrives earlier in some areas, they often miss the peak of their food supply. Similarly, fish like salmon are affected by warming rivers, which disrupt their migration routes and breeding cycles.
Threatened Species
From snow leapords to polar bears, rising temperatures are having negative effects. In Africa, elephants face dwindling water supplies due to prolonged droughts. Similarly, emperor penguins in Antarctica are losing ice platforms where they breed and raise their young.
Many reptiles depend on temperature, to determine the gender of their offspring. Rising temperatures are skewing these ratios, which could lead to population imbalances or collapse.
Amphibians are extremely sensitive to temperature and water quality. As freshwater sources dry up or warm, species like frogs and salamanders struggle to survive. The spread of diseases like chytridiomycosis, worsened by climate shifts, is also devastating amphibian populations.
Koalas depend on eucalyptus trees, but these are struggling to thrive in shifting climates. Deforestation driven by human activities compounds the issue, leaving many forest species vulnerable. Sloths also depend on certain trees to survive, in central and South America.
The Forgotten Species of Climate Change
Forget-Me-Not is a book by Sophie Pavelle, on finding the forgotten species of climate change in England, which has drizen dozens of species almost to extinction. Demanding action, this describes trips to see 10 rare native species that could be gone by 2050 if habitats continue to decline.
Travelling by foot, bike, electric car, train or boat, she journeys from Bodmin Moor to the Orkney Isles. Journey on her low-carbon adventure, and dare to hope with her.
