As climate change becomes more and more prominent, we’re
seeing a trend for plant and animal species to change their phenological
behavior accordingly. Primarily, species are moving northward and higher in
elevation, whether through successional changes or adapting migration patterns,
to compensate for the rising temperatures and increased precipitation. There
are also interesting cases of birds breeding on average 9 days earlier than
usual, which goes to show how climate change doesn’t just impact habitat location.
But as a result, we’re starting to see ecosystems characteristic of more southern
latitudes replacing northern ecosystems, and the traditionally northern ecosystems moving into even more northern regions where there may not have been much
biodiversity to begin with. This pattern of southern ecosystems pushing
northwards is most evident when looking at forest composition, as hardwoods merge into traditional conifer zones and conifers step into alpine territory.
We’ve been throwing around the question in class of what
will happen to the Adirondacks as climate change gets more severe in the next
several decades. Certainly, this pattern of shifting ecosystems will continue, but is it necessarily a bad thing? People worry about northern habitats being pushed to extinction because they can't find colder climates to inhabit, but at the same rate, completely new habitats must constantly be forming at the southern edge. I think climate change will bring the extinction of some species, will cause others to adapt, and also introduce "new" species that can tolerate inclement weather.
If you're looking for more info on how climate change has already impacted ecosystems, here's a good read: http://www7.nau.edu/mpcer/direnet/publications/publications_m/files/McCarty_2001.pdf
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