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Most of us think of Climate ChangeWe think about how it affects people and how it can change our lives. And we’ve already experienced some effects of Global warming: Think Hurricanes can be severe, Freezing temperatures, Wildfires. But have you ever wondered how these changes are affecting animal species.
In this week’s episode of Good together, Brightly’s founder Laura Wittig speaks with Thor HansonAuthor of the book, Dr., a biologist Hurricane Lizards and Plastic SquidWe will be discussing the impact of climate change on animal species, and what we can learn about our animal friends.
“I felt there was so much we were overlooking in our public discourse about this topic because, after all, it’s not really the change so much that matters as the Response to that change,” he says. “If all plants and animals got along just as well, in all conditions, then tweaking the weather one way or another wouldn’t matter in the slightest. But of course, that’s not how nature works. This amazing accumulation of specialty is what makes life so diverse on the planet. Each species is adapted to a particular environment. And when those conditions change, the species must adapt.”
Hanson also says the consequences of climate change are happening right in our own backyards; climate change isn’t a distant issue. Hanson’s book examines the changes animals have made in order to survive in unimaginable circumstances such as habitat loss and food loss.
From lizards to squids to seabirds, here’s how animals are adapting—and What we can doWe are here to help.
Climate Change and Animals: How are Species Adapting?
Anole Lizards
The term “survival of the fittest” isn’t new. Charles Darwin coined the term “survival of the fittest” in the late 19th century. It means that species that are well-adjusted and adaptable to their environment will thrive, and thus reproduce. Natural selection occurs. The anole Lizards of the Caribbean survived hurricanes.
Hanson says herpetologist Colin Donihue The difference was studiedThere were two types of lizards: those that survived hurricane conditions and those who did not.
“When he ran the numbers, he found the lizards were different,” Hanson says. “The survivors were the lizards with large toe pads and strong front legs, which more or less made sense to me. These lizards could hang on tight in a windstorm, you could imagine. And those would be advantages in that situation.”
Hanson states that Donihue measured natural selectivity in a single field year, rather than over hundreds of thousands of years. This shows how animals will adapt to new environments, such as hurricanes.
Humboldt Squids
It’s easier for people who interact with animal species on a daily basis to notice how animal populations are changing and how nature is changing. This is one example. The species has changed for fishermen in Mexico who traditionally fished for Humboldtsquids in California’s Gulf of California.
The squids were affected by Marine heatwavesThe fishermen believed that the squid had vanished from the seas. However, the squids didn’t leave. Instead, they displayed plasticity: The ability to adapt and thrive.
“These squid had natural abilities already built into their system in that when that water started to heat up, something triggered the young squid either at the stage of the egg or even at the very smallest stages to adopt a different lifestyle,” Hanson says. “And the same genes were expressed in different ways.”
These squids didn’t leave the warmer waters. They took on a new form by combining pre-existing genetics with other qualities. Hanson claims that Humboltsquids have been able adapt to warmer water temperatures because of this.
Dovekies
Dovekies were small Arctic seabirds that had to adapt to changing food sources, in a similar way to Humbolt Squids. Dovekies, small seabirds in the Arctic, needed to adapt to changes in their food sources. Krill had become more vulnerable to climate change.
A team of scientists, including French scientist David Grémillet, studied dovekies in the Russian Arctic. They predicted that Dovekies would need to migrate long distances as the krill-rich ice moves further away than nesting Dovekies. However, they found that the Dovekies didn’t have to travel far at all.
“What they realized was that the Dovekies had indeed pivoted from their ancient habit of feeding along the edge of the pack ice to a new feeding opportunity that had been created by climate change, in that the glaciers on the islands were of course melting,” Hanson says.
Dovekies thrived due to the inability of plankton to migrate into new water that has formed as a result climate change.
“The dovekies had recognized this; they had discovered this food source that was right on the doorstep of their breeding colony,” Hanson says. “And they were all out there plucking plankton off of that underwater curtain. And in fact, their population—at least in that breeding location—was thriving.”
What Can We Learn from Adapting Animals
The big questions are: What is the significance of animal adaptation and what can we learn? According to Hanson, it’s important for scientists to understand the difference between how generalized and specialized species adapt—or how they can’t adapt.
“In this time of rapid change, the species that are generalists that are flexible in their habits and can roll with the punches,” he says. “They have a great advantage over species that are specialists and that only do one thing.”
Because specialized species can’t adapt as easily as generalized species, specialized species become vulnerable. However, there’s an upside to discovering which species are at risk: We can figure out ways to help.
“That’s one of the important take-home messages from climate change biology,” Hanson says. “It doesn’t make scientists worry less about this crisis, but it can help them worry smart. It can help them identify the creatures and plants that are most at risk, so we can allocate scarce resources in terms of policy and conservation effort to the species and systems that need our help the most.”
Hanson also said that humans are like animals: AlsoYou can adapt to changes in your environment. Consider the 2004 hurricane that devastated New Orleans. Residents who remained in the city after the storm made efforts for adaptation to hurricane-prone living. They built a seawall to provide protection.
But another component to nature is movement, and many New Orleans residents left the state because the environment wasn’t suitable for them anymore. So all in all, humans aren’t so different from our animal friends—we’re all learning, adapting, and moving.
Small actions can make big changes
While it may seem like climate change is an issue too big for us to solve on an individual level, Hanson says it’s actually the small actions we take that leave a positive impact. Individual responses can lead us to better solutions.
“What we’re really talking about long-term as a solution to the climate crisis is a fundamental cultural shift in our relationship to energy. Not only how we produce it, but how we use it and how much of it our lifestyles demand,” he says. “The small things we do in daily life add up to that cultural change. Cultures don’t change from the top down—they change from the bottom up.”
Hanson believes in the positive feedback loop, which scientists refer to as. So doing something that elicits a positive reaction—such as living a more eco-friendly lifestyle—makes you want to keep doing it. And when we incorporate small environmentally-friendly changes into our everyday routines, it adds up to a bigger change.
Whether you’re eliminating Plastics that are single-useEat more plant-basedOr, meals Traveling more sustainablyBe aware that your actions are important
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