The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that if humans continue with their current usage of fossil fuel, their activities are likely to raise the global temperatures by between 2.6 and 4.8 degrees Celsius beyond the industrial average by 2100. Climate change, therefore, is one of the most debated topics across the world because of the implications it has on the survival and existence of life on the planet. Specifically, as the climate warms up, species of animals have been observed migrating while attempting to survive despite the changes in the climatic conditions. It is imperative understanding that a majority of wildlife species struggle to survive and decline in regions that grow either too hot or too dry to support their lives. Paradoxically, some organisms are found in those regions of the globe that were initially too cold or too hot. It is notable that studies have reported the near extinction or extinction of some species of animals while others have been reported to benefit from the climate change. For example, the sea turtle is among the threatened species of animals while the wood mouse stands out as the biggest beneficiary of the same changes as described herein.
The environment has serious implications on the procreation of species of animals on earth. For example, changes in the average conditions affects the mating seasons, the survival of the offspring, and other issues related to procreation. Organisms that depend on water for the survival of their offspring such as the frogs and toads will always mate during the wet seasons because their young ones only thrive in water (Barkham, 2017). It would mean, therefore, that such organisms would find it difficult to breed in dry conditions, which would mean that they will be threatened with extinction in the event that the weather warms up and finally grows dry for prolonged periods. In other circumstances, animals rely on the environment for the survival of their offspring. A specific example involves those organisms that take too long to reach maturity before reproducing. In such a case, organisms that have short reproductive cycles have an upper hand during climate change since they take only short periods before they reproduce. Such a characteristic is useful in adapting animals to events of climate change since the adverse conditions set in when organisms have already reproduced and multiplied their populations (Todd, Tew&Macdonald, 2000). It implies that climate change threatens the existence of some organisms, especially those that do not have effective adaptive characteristics such as the sea turtle.
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Climate change threatens the extinction of the sea turtle since the rise in global temperatures is associated with rising sea levels and flooding of the coastal regions. While turtles spend a significant amount of their time in water, the females come to the same shores and beaches on which they were hatched to lay eggs (Barkham, 2017). Once on the shore, the turtles dig nests into the sand using their hind flippers before laying a clutch of between seventy and a hundred and fifty eggs that they then burry into the sand (Barkham, 2017). Because the turtles lay their eggs on the sandy beaches, flooding would cause them to a lack a place from where they would lay their eggs or from where their young ones would develop (Barkham, 2017). Flooding is associated with great erosion of the coastal landscape, which means that the natural habitats of the coasts on which the turtles lay eggs would be destroyed.
Flooding and destruction of the coastal regions is not the only factor that would threaten the existence of sea turtles. It is notable that a rise in the sea levels changes the directions of the currents towards the shorelines, which means that more predators are brought to their breeding grounds (Barkham, 2017). The eggs do not hatch fast enough for the hatchlings to evade predators. Specifically, the eggs take between six and ten weeks before they hatch. For such reasons, the eggs are exposed to the danger of predation by birds and other species that will have been driven to the coasts by the currents and winds resulting from the climate change. In fact, as much as the eggs hatch effectively, only a few hatchlings manage to reach the oceans where they will survive to maturity and reproduce. Therefore, climate change threatens the extinction of sea turtles around the world.
The ability of organisms to survive adverse weather conditions also relies on their ability to cope with environmental temperatures. Sea turtles live in the warm tropical and relatively cold temperate waters, but they lay their eggs in the coastal sand as described above. The sand in which they lay their eggs, therefore, has a varying temperature compared to that of the waters in which they live. Research reports that the temperature of the sand in which the turtles lay their eggs determines the sex of the hatchlings (Laloë et al., 2014). Specifically, turtles that are hatched in sand with a temperature below 35 degrees Celsius are mostly male. On the contrary, female turtles are predominantly hatched in warmer sands of temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius (Laloë et al., 2014). Whatever the case, a change in the global temperatures is likely to affect the types of turtles that will inhabit the salty waters of the global oceans. It should be noted that each of the case points at the fact that changes in the global temperatures is likely to favor the existence of one sex of turtles at the expense of the other. The fact that the animals breed sexually means that they would not be able to multiple because of the insufficiency of mates.
Nutrition also plays a fundamental part in the procreation of organisms. Climate change affects the distribution of food on which the turtles feed. Even while the types of food on which the turtles feed depend on their subtype, it is imperative noting that most of them are herbivorous (Barkham, 2017). Climate change affects the distribution of ocean vegetation such seaweeds on which most species of the turtles feed. In addition, some of the turtles, such as the hawksbill turtle, feed on coral reefs that have become bleached and resultantly been dying because of the effects of climate change. In such circumstances, the turtles find it increasingly difficult to find food since their relatively slow movement patterns do not allow a majority of them to migrate thru great distances to find enough food that would contribute to their survival to reach maturity before they can reproduce (Barkham, 2017). Because of such issues, it is argued that the sea turtle is one of the organism that faces extinction in the event of climate change.
The wood mouse is one of the organisms that depicts a great ability to colonize environments, which is why is will thrive in the wake of climate change. Research reports that the is a swift mover, which allows it to escape predation (Todd, Tew&Macdonald, 2000). As opposed to the sea turtle, the mice are able to escape a great deal of predation. For such a reason, their youngones are able to survive to maturity and increase their chances of multiplying the colonies compared to the turtles that mostly die on the beaches before they reach the ocean. In addition to movement, it is reported that as much as their name could suggest that they thrive in the woodland, wood mice thrive in a variety of environments. For example, they equally move effectively in open spaces, in sand dunes, and moorlands while some of them thrive in gardens where they are accessible to sheds of buildings (Todd, Tew&Macdonald, 2000). It is also indicated that the mice could also inhabit nests of birds and other places that many other organisms would find inhabitable. The fact that the organisms live in a variety of conditions suggests that they are modified to survive across the climatic regions of the world. Studies attribute this advantage to the fact that the wood mice belong to the class mammalia, which is homoeothermic, hence; having a greater capacity to colonize such environments because they are able to remain relatively active for long periods.
Of special importance to the nature of life of the organisms is the fact that they have short breeding cycles. In specificity, the wood mice litter four times a year and they bear between four and seven young ones in each littering (Todd, Tew&Macdonald, 2000). This factor is related to the fact that the wood mice have a short lifespan, lasting only about two years to the extreme. For such reasons, the organism has been modified to ensure that it breeds as many times as possible for it to ensure the continuity of the species. The mice are able to grow fast, attain maturity and reproduce, which explains their abundance on earth and in the different environmental conditions compared to most other species of mammals.
It is also critical noting that the wood mice has a variety of diet ranging from wood products, to insects, to mice, to fungi, to vegetation, to slugs and other types of food. This factor is fundamental to its survival for the fact that it is able to sustain its breeding patterns because of the adequate levels of nutrition that it obtains from its environments. As opposed to other species of organisms, which have specific breeding seasons, the wood mice do not have such seasons (Todd, Tew&Macdonald, 2000). The wood mice breed all year round since they have adequate levels of nutrition compared to other organisms that have fixed diets such as those that live on the grasslands or woodlands that are always affected by the drought conditions that limit the availability of food in the ecosystem. In addition, the wood mice are able to store their food in burrows that they construct during periods of abundance (Todd, Tew&Macdonald, 2000). For such reasons, they are able to remain highly nourished throughout the year, which is unlike other species that do not do so.
In conclusion, the world is sensitive of the danger of climate change on the natural environment in which wildlife thrive. Climate change threatens the existence of some organisms while it promises a brighter future for others. For example, the sea turtle is likely to become extinct because of effects of climate change since it has long breeding seasons, has a slightly fixed diet, relies on the beaches for reproduction, and the fact that it moves too slow to avoid predation that would increase with climate change. However, the wood mouse is likely to survive the effects of climate change because of its ability to colonize different ecosystems, its fast movement that enables it to avoid predation, short breeding cycles, and a wide variety of diets.
References
Barkham, P. (2017). The 10 species most at risk from climate change . The Guardian . Retrieved 12 November 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/19/critical-10-species-at-risk-climate-change-endangered-world
Laloë, J. O., Cozens, J., Renom, B., Taxonera, A., & Hays, G. C. (2014). Effects of rising temperature on the viability of an important sea turtle rookery. Nature Climate Change , 4 (6), 513-518.
Todd, I. A., Tew, T. E., & Macdonald, D. W. (2000). Arable habitat use by wood mice (Apodemussylvaticus).1. Macrohabitat. Journal of Zoology , 250 (3), 299-303.
