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GIANT PANDA: The giant panda is at risk from climate change due to the potential shifting distribution of the bamboo forests
which are both its basic food source and its natural habitat, a particular problem given the already fragmented
nature of panda populations.
OLAR BEAR: The survival of the polar bear is threatened by climate change. The Arctic is warming at approximately twice
the speed of the global average, which is shrinking polar bear habitat by causing the sea ice to melt and
remaining ice cover to be thinner. As polar bears are specialised in hunting seals, which rest and pup on sea
ice, reduced sea ice means its hunting period is shortened with the result that it has to fast for longer.
SUMATRA ORANGUTAN: Climate change could also lead to more intense droughts and increase the risk of the forest fi res already
impacting the habitat of the great apes. Similar events have already occurred. In 1997 the dramatic forest fi res
which ravaged Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo) caused millions of hectares of forest
to go up in smoke, probably causing the deaths of many orangutans living in the area.
AFRICAN ELEFANT: Given that elephant migrations are linked to seasonal changes in rainfall and vegetation, it is likely that
the pace of their movements will change along with a disruption of the overall distribution of the species
as a whole. Agriculture and the presence of human infrastructures also hinder the movement of elephant
populations to more suitable habitats.
Blue whales would have to travel even further south (possibly an extra 200 to 500 km) to reach and feed
at these food-rich areas where they build up reserves to sustain themselves for the rest of the year. These
longer migration paths could increase the energy costs of migration and reduce the duration of the main
feeding season. As frontal zones move southward, they will move closer together, reducing the overall area
of foraging habitat available.
Green turtle. Temperature plays a key role at every stage of the life of the sea turtle. Its sex is actually determined by
the incubation temperature of the eggs buried in the beach sand after laying (hotter temperatures favour
the development of females, while cooler temperatures favour males). It is obvious, therefore, that a small
increase in temperature can seriously skew the proportion of the sexes in favour of females.
People. Although humans are the cause of climate warming, they will also be its victims.
The conditions of their environment will change and influence the social and environmental determinants of
their health: pure air, clean drinking water, food in sufficient quantities, housing safety.
Climate change is already the cause of population displacements which are at the root of tensions and
conflicts throughout the world. For example, certain populations of the islands of Vanuatu and Papua New
Guinea, fearing rising water levels, are beginning to flee. And further increased migration is one of the likely
consequences of climate change in the future.
THREATENED BY CLIMATE CHANGE
Bumblebees
(Bombus)
The bumblebees of Europe and North America are disappearing from the most southerly
and hottest parts of their range, but do not appear to be migrating further north in quest of
temperatures better adapted to their biological cycle. Some bumblebees have retreated as much
as 300 kilometres from the southern edge of their historic ranges.This is an alarming situation
because as active pollinators, bumblebees play a key role in relation to crops and food security.
Edelweiss
(Leontopodium alpinum)
The Edelweiss is a star-shaped fl ower with leaves covered in fuzzy “hairs” which lives at an altitude
of up to 3 400 m. Climate change is likely to negatively impact edelweiss, driving plant species
that usually live at lower altitudes to colonise these higher altitude areas where the temperatures
are more suitable for them. This may create competition which the ‘traditional’ mountain species
may not be able to sustain.
Elkhorn coral
(Acropora cervicornis)
Higher water temperatures due to climate upheaval and increased acidifi cation of the oceans are
responsible for the phenomenon of coral bleaching. Bleaching occurs when the coral, stressed
by the higher water temperature, expels the microscopic algae zooxanthellae with which it lives
in symbiosis. These algae supply the coral with its food and give their colours to their calcareous
skeleton. If the zooxanthellae do not re-enter the coral tissue, the coral dies.
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