Ecological Damage

Climate & ecology are deeply interwoven.  As the climate changes, especially if these changes are relatively rapid, there are complex & interconnected impacts - to the weather, to the hydrologic & carbon cycles, to habitats, to communities, to food webs, to myriad individual species. 

• Wildfires cause habitat loss and can tear through forests or meadows so quickly that animal life doesn't have time to escape.  However, it is important to note that wildfires are a natural mechanism of ecological maintenance and restoration, and can have a rejuvenating effect in some cases (e.g. clearing debris, returning nutrients to soil, controlling pests & disease, the germination of some seeds). Natural fire patterns have been disrupted due to development and a focus on suppression, sometimes exacerbating and intensifying wildfires that cause more severe ecological damage.

• More Powerful Storms can directly alter or destroy habitats and food sources.  Powerful storms often contribute to water pollution, which impacts all species that rely on this essential resource.

• Ocean Acidification impacts the plants, animals, and other organisms of the ocean and the complex food webs they are part of (including the human communities that rely on these food sources). Particularly vulnerable are many fragile organisms that populate coral reefs.  The acidity makes it harder for corals to build their skeletons.  Other organisms, such as clams, oysters, and scallops, face a similar problem: more acidic water means less carbonate, which is needed to build their protective shells.

• Erratic Weather can be harmful due to its unpredictability & intensity - adapting to erratic changes is hard for many species, particular those with sensitivities to temperature, moisture, and other conditions.  Changing weather patterns cause stress and can lead to changing migration patterns, seasonal cycles, species distribution, and other ecological imbalances.

• Drought can lead to a lack of available water & food, as well as habitat degradation through loss of plant life and the drying up of water resources (like stream, pond, or wetland habitats).  Stressed species are more vulnerable to other threats, like pests or disease.

• Freshwater is needed by all living organisms in an ecosystem.  Freshwater Scarcity, due to drought, changing precipitation patterns, or overuse by human populations, means less of this critical resource available for the plant, animal, insect, fungal, and  diverse microscopic life of the ecosystem.

Now that you know a bit more about this climate change-related problem....