We’ve all heard lots about climate change and the alarming effects it could potentially have on humanity, but today I would like to focus on the detrimental effects we are currently seeing affect Earth’s aquatic animals as ocean temperatures continue to rise.
Previously, Earth’s unneeded heat was released into space through the atmosphere; however, as greenhouse gasses stay a prevalent form of energy, they comprise an increasing amount of the atmosphere. As explained by Rebecca Lindsey and Luann Dahlman, “Rising amounts of greenhouse gasses are preventing heat radiated from Earth’s surface from escaping into space as freely as it used to. Most of the excess atmospheric heat is passed back to the ocean. As a result, upper ocean heat content has increased significantly over the past few decades.” So, the heat previously escaping through the atmosphere now has found its place in the ocean. According to NASA, more than 90% of Earth’s excess heat is trapped in ocean waters. This seriously increases the temperature of the ocean, especially the upper layers. Most of this change is extremely recent. Lindsey and Dahlman inform that “the 1993–2022 heat-gain rates are approximately 0.64 to 0.83 Watts per square meter averaged over the surface of the Earth.” One of the largest effects of this warming is the melting of the polar ice caps. Antarctica is seeing an annual ice mass loss of 150 billion tons while Greenland is experiencing an additional loss of 270 billion tons annually. This contributes to both rising sea levels and the detriment of ecosystems. These changes have thrown aquatic animals for a loop as they struggle to adapt to the change in their habitat. Three such animals are polar bears, coral, and the sea turtle.
Polar bears struggle as their habitat, the arctic sea ice, is melting rapidly. Firstly, they rely on the ice to make their den and provide shelter. They are often found exposed or without protection from their harsh environment now that the amount of ice available to them is dwindling. While this is concerning, the more pressing issue is hunting. Polar bears rely on ice to be able to feed themselves. The ice is their domain as they observe prey, primarily seals, through its surface before catching it. They often have to choose between starving or swimming immense distances, distances they aren’t biologically predisposed for, to find food. By only 2050, polar bears are expected to have a 30% population decrease. This percentage will only grow if something is not done to mitigate the melting of their habitat.
The next species in jeopardy due to ocean warming is coral. Coral may not seem like much of an animal; however, it is not only classified as such but also serves as an integral habitat for other marine wildlife. This may not be the case for long. As ocean temperatures increase, coral becomes stressed. This leads the coral to expel all algae from its tissues, effectively bleaching and often killing the coral. This issue, along with pollution, overfishing, and irresponsible tourism, causes experts to predict a 90% loss of coral populations by 2050. This statistic not only threatens coral but also the plethora of aquatic animals and plants that rely on coral for survival.
The sea turtle is also facing the adverse effects of rising ocean temperatures. The rising sea levels, a result of ocean warming, have been known to eliminate the beaches where the turtles typically nest. Sea turtles have a biological map that allows them to return to the same beach every year to lay their eggs. Therefore, the elimination of a sea turtle’s nesting beach is very disconcerting to the species. Even if a turtle can find a suitable nesting beach, there are still challenges to overcome. The increased ocean temperature causes the sand on the beach to warm up. This is concerning because during incubation when the eggs are buried in the sand, the temperature of the egg determines the gender of the hatchling. Therefore, an increased amount of hatchlings will be female making it harder for the turtles to reproduce and ultimately lowering the sea turtle population.
While this information is concerning, I’m not writing about it to try and ruin your Friday. I want to raise awareness and encourage you to help! One of the best ways to do this is to lower your carbon footprint. By limiting carbon emissions, we allow more heat to escape through the atmosphere preventing it from being absorbed by the ocean. Some simple ways to do this are limiting your electricity use, using sustainable forms of transportation, and limiting consumption of goods created with the use of fossil fuels. Additionally, you can invest in marine and coastal ecosystems which increase the ocean’s capacity to absorb greenhouse gasses. If many people promote small sustainable changes in their lives, society can work together to move towards lessening the effects of ocean warming and other climate concerns.
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