Climate and Community: Understanding Environmental Change

Climate change is a significant threat to biodiversity. It affects biodiversity through:

– Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns, which can alter the distribution and behaviour of species.
– The increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, floods, and storms, which can lead to habitat destruction and increased mortality.
– Ocean acidification resulting from higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, which can affect marine life, particularly organisms with calcium carbonate shells or skeletons.
– The alteration of phenological events (the timing of biological activities such as flowering, breeding, and migration), which can disrupt ecological interactions and food webs.

These changes can lead to a reduction in species diversity, changes in community composition, and the potential for local or global extinctions if species cannot adapt quickly enough.