Lecture Sixteen - Climate Change and Biodiversity

Question 1

Which 30 year period was likely the warmest 30 year period in the last 1400 years in the Northern Hemisphere?

Answer 1

1983-2012

Question 2

What was the increase in Earth surface temperature from 1880-2012?

Answer 2

0.85 C

Question 3

What is likely to be the dominant cause of observed global warming?

Answer 3

The effects of greenhouse gases.

Question 4

In the last 40 years, what proportion of CO2 emissions have been produced of the entire measurable history?

Answer 4

Half.

Question 5

What proportion of greenhouse gases comes from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes?

Answer 5

76%

Question 6

What proportion of greenhouse gases comes from land use change?

Answer 6

24%

Question 7

What does solar brightness affect?

Answer 7

The amount of energy incident on Earth.

Question 8

Is it likely that solar brightness is affecting global warming?

Answer 8

No

Question 9

Give two ecological consequences of global warming.

Answer 9

• Changes in phenology / advanced timing in seasonal events

- Poleward and uphill range shifts of geographic distributions.

Question 10

Give four possible phenological changes of climate change.

Answer 10

• Bird migrant arrival
• Insect flight dates
• Plant flowering
• Amphibian breeding

Question 11

What seasonal changes advance phenology?

Answer 11

Warm springs

Question 12

In what proportion of species has phenology advanced?

Answer 12

87%

Question 13

On average, how much earlier do seasonal events occur in the year?

Answer 13

2-6 days

Question 14

Give an example of a bird species where phenological advance has been linked to temperature.

Answer 14

Pied Flycatcher has greatest advances in egg-laying where there is the greatest level of warming.

Question 15

What is the problem with global warming for migratory bird species?

Answer 15

The arrival date may not respond to their breeding range temperature.

Question 16

What is the average advance of phenology per decade?

Answer 16

5 days

Question 17

Why are there different rates of advancement for different species?

Answer 17

There are different selective forces acting on species, different species have different optimum phenologies.

Question 18

What can be said about plans that have shifted their phenology least over 150 years?

Answer 18

They have declined most in abundance

Question 19

What can be said about the geographical distributions of species at low latitudes?

Answer 19

They have contracted.

Question 20

What can be said about the geographical distributions of species at high latitudes?

Answer 20

They have expanded.

Question 21

What has happened to the northern limits of distributions in Britain in the past 50 years?

Answer 21

They have shifted further North.

Question 22

Give a group of organisms in Britain that are moving South.

Answer 22

Reptiles and amphibians

Question 23

Where in the world are latitudinal shifts greater?

Answer 23

Where temperature is warming the most

Question 24

Describe the distribution of beech trees in Spain.

Answer 24

• Limited to the tops of mountains

- Dying out at lower altitude limits and replaced by holm oak.

Question 25

What percentage of species shifted in the predicted direction?

Answer 25

80%

Question 26

Give the four possible species responses to climate change.

Answer 26

• Adapt
• Cope
• Move
• Die

Question 27

Give three species that have adapted to climate change by moving.

Answer 27

• Meadow grasshopper
• Hedgehog
• Brown bear