Check this recent article on animal migration due to climate change. The animals always know first!
Mrs. Dedieu
Plants And Animals Moving As Climate Changes, Study Finds
First Posted: 8/18/11 07:21 PM ET Updated: 8/18/11 07:29 PM ET
A new study suggests that plants and animals are moving as the climate changes.
Red Orbit reports on research published in the journal Science, showing that as temperatures rise, plants and animals are moving away from the equator and to higher elevations. As the Associated Press writes, they are "fleeing global warming."
2010 tied 2005 as the warmest year on record, according to government climate experts. According to the Associated Press, National Climatic Data Center's David Easterling noted that since 2000, we have experienced nine of the 10 warmest years on record.
In response to a changing climate, the study finds that species are moving away from the equator at an average rate of more than 15 feet per day, or about a mile per year.
The article also asserts that the plants moving the most are in the areas with the highest levels of warming.
In a phone interview with the Associated Press, Chris D. Thomas, a conservation biologist who lead the work, said, "It's not a matter that might happen in the lifetime of our children and our grandchildren. If you look in your garden you can see the effects of climate change already."
The findings are based on the largest analysis to date of the shifting ranges of species in certain areas of the world, according to the Washington Post.
"The more warming there’s been in an area, the more you would expect a species to move, and the more they have moved,” Thomas, told the Post. "This more or less puts to bed the issue of whether these shifts are related to climate change."
wow, very interesting to see that plants and animals are reacting so directly to the climate change. it makes you realize that climate change is happening and a problem in need of fixing.
ReplyDeletethis article really reminded me of Ms. McCoy's history class last year in the essence that the artic regions too are begining to melt and have changed the animals routes of those areas. Global warming is crazy!
ReplyDeleteThis is remarkable! I had always heard that animals can feel earthquakes and tsunamis before they occur, but I never would have guessed that plants have this keen sense of a changing atmosphere as well.
ReplyDeleteThis article really opened my eyes to how fast global warming is happening and how much it effects nature. To think that plants and animals are moving 15 feet a day to get away from it makes you wonder how you could help
ReplyDeleteWow! If plants and animals are moving from their natural habitat because of the change in climate you can tell that global warming is a problem which only increases over time. I feel as if we are a little behind on things by the fact that animals and plants can tell there's something wrong and we, with the technology that we have today, can't figure out how to stop or slow down the process of global warming. As a result these animals lose their homes and therefore have to continue migrating in search of a new area of land.
ReplyDeleteIts sad to see that animals are forced to migrate because of people not taking the time to keep our air and earth clean. Many should take the extra effort to support these animals and let them live an easier life, they should not have to migrate 1 mile each year. It just is not right, and was really eyeopening on how bad this is beginning to get.
ReplyDeleteThis is crazy. I think as a country, we're really trying to improve our carbon footprint so it stops harming us, but I don't think we ever really think about our bad habits harming plants and animals.
ReplyDeleteThis article is extremely interesting and eye opening. The fact that plants and animals are perceiving atmosphere warming as so dangerous that they are moving away from warm areas at the incredible rate of about 15 feet a day is really scary. Though we are aware of global warming, this fact is enough to prove that there really are enormous weather changes happening now- changes that will not only effect generations to come, but us as well.
ReplyDeleteWow. This article makes it clear that things need to change, and fast! Global warming is no longer an issue we can put aside. It is fascinating to see that there are test results showing animals and plants are being affected by climate change today. Global warming is just going to get worse, and this article is proof that we aren't doing the steps we should be to help stop/prevent it! If the temperature keeps increasing at the rate it is today, forcing animals to migrate to new lands, eventually they are going to run out of places to live!
ReplyDeleteThis article is very interesting to me! It opened my eyes to the fact that global warming isn't just a global problem, but it's something that touches each and every one of our lives. I couldn't believe it was even affecting my own backyard! Now that we know this, we should work harder to be even greener, because we know we're not doing it for just ourselves, but for the world.
ReplyDeleteI always knew global warming was happening very quickly, but this is much faster than I ever imagined. I think pretty soon, we may start to see animals evolving to adjust to their new found climate further from the equator, which would be interesting but, all the while still a frightening shock of how drastic global warming has become. I'd like to know what we can do to stop things like this from becoming any worse.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read this, I was caught off guard. But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense that we have been living in the hottest years we have ever known. Animals always seem to feel the effects before we do, which explains the constant moving of some species to colder places. For example, people have been discovering Boa Constrictors in salt water! Why does that happen? Thinking about this now, I have been noticing warmer winters, and hotter summers. When I was in New Hampshire, the swift river is usually overflowing with water, but now I could really see the bottom. This is something we have to stop. Its true that one person can make a difference, but this is something we all have to do, not just one person. Think about the surprised animals, who have no where to go, have no idea of what's going on, and is certainly being hit the hardest in rough times like these.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that global warming was happening this fast. it is incredible how the plants and animals move with the climate. The plants and animals are giving us a sign that we have to change our lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a way of nature demonstrating that it needs our help! As the climate continues to change, I am confident that people with begin to see more explicit proof that what is going on with our planet needs to stop. Plants and animals in our community are defenseless against the warming planet. Therefore the result is their shift away from the equator. However, WE can do something about global warming and it has become our responsibility to make that change.
ReplyDeleteI find this very interesting as it can lead to very serious issues. Soon, entire communities are going to have to migrate up north because their source of food supply has left them. Very cautious procedures need to be made in order to execute a successful plan that will bear peace to those living closest to the equator.
ReplyDeleteThis actually makes a lot of sense. I know my dogs can detect pressure changes in the air. Like when a storm occurs. And I think it is sometimes believed that when cows sit/lie down, it's going to rain. I can imagine plants would be just as sensitive.
ReplyDeleteI don't see why the change in animal and plant behavoir is such a problem. Isn't it just part of adaptation and evolution? It's a process that has been going on for longer than humanity, through events like the ice age too. I understand and agree with the dangers global warming pose to human society as it is, but I don't see the alarm in changes in animal and plant life
ReplyDelete-Tracy O'Donnell
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ReplyDeletewow! this is very interesting! but yet it scares me because it shows that global warming is becoming worse and worse faster and faster. we as a country really need to improve on our carbon footprint.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting that plants and animals alike are responding to climate change. Its to bad that global warming is progressing this fast, I know that I will be cutting back on my consumption to help save plant species and animal species. Especially my favorite animal the moose.
ReplyDeleteI was sceptical about global warming. After reading this artical, I began to see now why people are so concerned. The animals and plants are moving to get to where they are most comfortable. They know at what temperature they would feel better living at. People could probably argue the migration north could be for different reasons, but to me the temperature increase would be the most logical.
ReplyDeleteThis is really crazy, but at the same time it doesn't suprise me at all! Animals/ plants can detect things that we cannot, and its their instinct that causes them to move. But we do need to be aware of how fast and how fast our climate is changing and how our plants and animals are reacting.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see that the faster global warming comes the further away plants and animal are moving from the equator. As the plants move, we also have to change our lifestyle in order to adapt. We all need to step in and change each of our carbon footprints.
ReplyDeleteI found this article very interesting with the fact that global warming affects animals to this extent and how scary it is. It is also frightening that majority of animals will be extinct.
ReplyDelete