Air pollution by hydrocarbons often manifests itself in the form of photochemical smog. Hanging like a thick cloud over industrial areas, people sometimes confuse it with natural mist in the early morning. In the past, people and industries believed that the atmosphere was so vast that it contained gases or particles released into the air, …
Water pollution, the accidental or intentional dumping of pesticides; herbicides; oil products; fertilizers; sewage; industrial waste; detergents; and other foreign chemicals and objects into aquatic environments is arguably the biggest current pollution concern. Biomagnification The dumping of products containing heavy metals into aquatic environments is particularly concerning because heavy metals are toxic even in small …
The Definition of Water Pollution; Water pollution effects and causes Read More »
Pollution does not always lead to immediate mortality but instead can have sublethal impacts that compromise organisms’ fitness over time, with population declines as the end result. Many pollutants take many years to biodegrade and thus continue to pose a threat to wildlife and humans long after entering the environment. Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent …
Generalist species with high genetic diversity and rapid reproduction are likely to benefit from climate change. Many species that exhibit these characteristics are carriers of agricultural pests and diseases. To be clear, not all species will suffer equally from climate change. Indeed, there are species that will be resilient and others that will even benefit …
Climate change interacts with habitat loss, by impeding species’ ability to adapt, and by bringing dispersing wildlife into conflict with humans. Habitat loss and climate change each cause negative impacts on biodiversity; however, these threats also interact to have an overall larger negative impact than the sum of these threats independently. Prominently, because of habitat …
Climate change is causing sea-level rise and increased seawater temperatures, with broad implications for marine ecology and people living in coastal areas. Like rainforests, the world’s oceans have historically provided a relatively stable environment in which marine organisms have evolved. While this stability promotes species diversity, it also makes marine species more vulnerable to environmental …
Climate change will alter water temperature, volume, and flow variability, the three main predictors of freshwater ecosystem composition. With Africa’s freshwater ecosystems already strained by the demands of a growing human population, freshwater biodiversity will face many additional stressors associated with climate change, which are expected to significantly affect the composition and functioning of freshwater …
One may think that reptiles—often seen basking on sun-drenched rocks to obtain active body temperatures—may benefit from climate change. Yet, as a group, they are also expected to suffer under climate change. One reason is because many reptiles will also have to adapt their ranges to shifting climates. Even more important, climate change will increase …
We can already see evidence of how climate change is affecting wildlife by disrupting migrations and mutualistic relationships that were developed over thousands of years. Seychelles’ Aldabra banded snail was once thought to be one of the world’s first species pushed to extinction by climate change. Luckily, a small isolated population has been discovered, offering …
In many different ecosystems, a large number of species are threatened by climate change due to poor dispersal capabilities. Lacking proper dispersal mechanisms, species such as slow-maturing plants, mosses, and flightless insects simply may not be able to keep up with changing climatic conditions. You can already see the effects of climate change on Africa’s …
