Global Warming Threatens Biodiversity In Australia's Wet Tropics

The findings of Dr. Stephen Williams shows that wildlife populations in Australia's Wet Tropics will vulnerable to the local warming trend. Dr. Williams said that climate changes in Wet Tropics will likely result in species ranges shifting up mountains, to maintain their habitat needs. But most of these animals are restricted to mountain ranges. There is not enough room for those animals to live. Only some animals will be able to adapt to those cool climates. Lee Hannah, a co-author of the study and senior fellow for climate change at Conservation International, says "The hotspots studied in this paper are essentially refugee camps for many of our planet's most unique plant and animal species. If those areas are no longer habitable due to global warming then we will quite literally be destroying the last sanctuaries many of these species have left." So we really have to stop this trend of global warming before we lose precious habitats of animals and habitats.

http://www.sciencedaily.com

Polar Bears and Global Warming

Melting Ice caps causes rough conditions for polar bears. Melting glaciers and land based ice sheets also contribute to rising sea levels which can cause coastal flooding and contamination of fresh water supplies. Average temperatures in the Arctic are rising twice as fast and the ice is getting thinner, melting and rupturing. An example of this is the largest single block of ice in the Arctic called the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, it has been around for 3,000 years and in the year 2000 it started cracking. Within 2 years it has split all the way through and is now breaking into pieces.
Polar bears, whales, walrus, and seals are changing thier feeding and migration patterns. Which means that they will have to find some other way to obtain food and a place to live. As you can see in this picture the polar bear is traveling through some area that most likely was overcome by ice, but due to global warming all the ice melted.

http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/qthinice.asp

Global Warming in Alaska

The Arctic is thawing rapidly! Reports from Greenland show that outlet glaciers are moving meters per hour and rapidly thinning. The Arctic Ocean ice cap is shrinking to the smallest measurements ever, and during the winter the temperatures are not even extremely cold like they were a couple years ago. This sea ice is habitat for the polar bear. Declines in bear nutrition, birth weight and survival have moved the U.S. government (who was urged by three environmental groups) to propose the polar bear be named a species threatened with extinction. This is a very serious matter! Did you know that Polar Bears face serious threats from global warming. As more sea ice melts and polar bears are left with rocky ground like that shown in the picture, hunting for food becomes more and more difficult for these large mammals.

http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/

Global Warming and It's Affect on Animals

Global Warming has a HUGE effect on Wildlife. "Global warming is having a significant impact on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world. Birds are laying their eggs earlier than they are suppose to", says Stanford College. "Our study shows that recent temperature change has already had an influence on many species," they wrote, a rapid temperature rise in combination with other environmental pressures "could easily disrupt the unity among species" and possibly lead to numerous extinctions. No one really thinks about how global warming can affect animals, especially animals in the Arctic. Due to the high temperatures most of the ice is melting which is causing rapid rising in water levels. Although Arctic animals love freezing water, they still need some kind of habitat( land) where they can hide their young from predators or hide their prey.

www.stanford.edu/dept/news/pr/03/root18.html