Global warming is about climate change and the impact that will have on humans and wildlife throughout the planet. Many say that human activities cause this warming to occur; for example burning fossil fuels. It is also said that if humans continue on with this trend, then the impacts would increase. For instance the health of tropical species will most likely be reduced. This temperature increase would affect insects negatively with their population growth rates. Insects are important in the tropics due to their varieties of species. Since there is such a variety of species, global warming is going to be detrimental to the varieties of different species in climates that are tropical even more alarming. Since the insects will be hurt from this global warming, the ecosystem will also be affected. This is due to the nature of insects carrying out necessary functions for humans and the ecosystems. Some examples would be pollinating the plants and breaking down matter that are organic. This is necessary for the use of other organisms because the organic matter is converted back into its nutrients. This would be a chain reaction; without the insects, an ecosystem would be different. Insects are essential.
At least for short term, there is a benefit. Warming will reduce an insect's ability to reproduce, but in higher latitudes reproduction will increase slightly. This is only short term and if warming does not cease to continue, then higher latitude reproduction would also be affected negatively. There would be a significant drop in the population growth rate leading to a rapid population collapse. Yet, everything is adaptable, but how they would respond is a different matter. One conclusion would be that the organisms would go further up towards higher elevations or move towards the poles where temperatures would be lower or what an organism is used to. At this point, insects will not be the only one affected and responding. Many reptiles and cold blooded creatures would act in the same way. Global warming in the tropics have different affects on organisms than warming in northern areas. Although many would not think so, but in an area like Alaska, for example, weather changes are dramatic constantly. There is temperature variability between the seasons and the organisms are used to it. Rather in the tropics, it is basically warm all throughout the seasons. There is not much temperature variability in the tropic region. With a 1 degree increase in temperature, it is felt differently in both regions that are on opposite ends of the temperature spectrum.
No comments:
Post a Comment