Wildlife and global warming Navigating the Arctic Meltdown
When climate changes, some species win, but biodiversity loses. As the Arctic “melts away” due to global warming, many of its unique species and habitats will decline and disappear. But a few opportunists will be able to expand their ranges as warming temperatures help convert fragile tundra into sh...
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.230.6132 http://www.defenders.org/resources/publications/programs_and_policy/science_and_economics/global_warming/navigating_the_arctic_meltdown_orange-crowned_warbler.pdf |
| Summary: | When climate changes, some species win, but biodiversity loses. As the Arctic “melts away” due to global warming, many of its unique species and habitats will decline and disappear. But a few opportunists will be able to expand their ranges as warming temperatures help convert fragile tundra into shrubland and forest. It will be a hollow victory for these “winners” of climate change, however, as the richness of the tundra’s biodiversity fades away. © doug weschler/vireo The orange-crowned warbler is one species that could benefit from the effects of global warming. This tiny songbird illustrates perfectly how some species that may benefit from climate change do so at the expense of others. The bird’s current range is bounded in the north by the limit of the boreal forest. So as warmer conditions push trees and larger shrubs north into areas that are currently tundra, the warbler’s potential habitat will also expand north. But the bird’s summer range also extends far south |
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