Impact of Climate Change on Arctic Ecosystems and Coral Reefs
School
Walden University**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
CRJS MISC
Subject
Geography
Date
Dec 10, 2024
Pages
1
Uploaded by HighnessField8049
Climate change affects all living things, or organisms, and the environment they live in, but not equally. The Arctic is one of the ecosystems most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. It is warming at least twice as fastas the global average. Warming in the Arctic has impacts that are felt across the globe — melting land ice sheets and glaciers contribute dramaticallyoffsite linkto sea level rise. Sea levels are also risingdue to thermal expansion. Higher sea level puts coastal areas at greater risk of erosion and storm surge. Effects of climate change can build upon one another to damage ecosystems. Sea level rise can cause sediment to smother corals. But, coral reefsare also vulnerable to many other effects of climate change: warming waters can lead to coral bleaching and stronger hurricanes can destroy reefs. Coral reef ecosystems are home to thousandsof species, which rely on healthy coral reefs to survive.Some organisms are able to adapt to and even benefit from climate change. Some plants have longer growing seasons or are blooming earlier. But, these changes can happen too fast for other plants and animals to keep up. For example, an earlier blooming plant may depend on a pollinator that does not adapt as quickly. There are also species that have adapted by expandingor shifting their geographic range, meaning they live in new places that used to be too cold or unsuitable in other ways. As a species expands or shifts its range, it may harm other species that already live in the new area. Existing invasiveor nuisancespecies, like lionfishand ticks, may also thrive in even more places because of climate changeOcean ecosystems face an additional challenge: ocean acidification. The ocean absorbs about 30% of the carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. As a result, the water is becoming more acidic, which affects marine life
