Chapter 27: The Ecology of Climate Change Flashcards
Discuss:
global warming
Over the past century, Earth’s climate has warmed by an estimated 0.74 degrees C (+/- 0.2 C), and regional changes have been highly heterogeneous
Associated with this general pattern of global warming has been:
- a lengthening of the freeze-free periods in most mid- and high-altitude regions
- a decrease in snow cover and ice extent
- changes in regional precipitation patterns
- an increase in sea surface temperatures
Selective energy absorption by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which allows short wavelength energy to pass through but absorbs longer wavelengths and reflects heat back to Earth
greenhouse effect
Discuss:
climate change and phenology
Seasonal changes in climate conditions contribute to many processes and activities such as:
- migratory behavior
- termination of dormancy
- onset of reproductive activity
Long-term phonological data sets have shown that, over the past century, spring activities have occurred progressively earlier
Discuss:
climate change and distribution
To the extent that dispersal and other environmental factors have allowed, recent warming has resulted in a shift in species distributions:
- poleward in latitude
- upward in elevation
Discuss:
climate change and interactions
Recent climate change has been shown to influence interactions among species within existing ecological communities
Differences in the phenological responses of herbivores and their food resources have directly impacted population dynamics of herbivores
In other cases, changes in climate have favored one species over another, influencing the nature of interactions between competitors or predator and prey
List 4 global effects associated with the general pattern of global warming
- a lengthening of the freeze-free periods in most mid- and high-altitude regions
- a decrease in snow cover and ice extent
- changes in regional precipitation patterns
- an increase in sea surface temperatures
