Impacts of climate change on wildlife A Presentation ByMr. Allah dad KhanVisiting Professor the University of Agriculture Peshawar allahdad52@gmail.com

2. ““Impact ofImpact of
Climate ChangeClimate Change
on Wildlifeon Wildlife””
By
Safdar Ali Shah
Conservator Wildlife, KP

3. • Impact of Climate Change on Wild Life
• A Presentation By
Mr. Allah dad Khan
Visiting Professor the University of
Agriculture Peshawar
allahdad52@gmail.com

4. Synergisms of ClimateSynergisms of Climate
Change and EcologyChange and Ecology
• The Earth’s climate is vastly different now from what
it was 100 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed
the planet and tropical plants thrived closer to the
poles.
• It is different from what it was only 20,000 years ago
when ice sheets covered much of the Northern
Hemisphere.
• Although the Earth’s climate will surely continue to
change, climatic changes in the distant past were
driven by natural causes, such as variations in the
Earth’s orbit or the carbon dioxide (CO2) content of
the atmosphere.

5. • Future climatic changes,
however, will probably
have another source as
well—human activities.
• Humans cannot directly
rival the power of natural
forces driving the climate
—for example, the
immense energy input to
the Earth from the sun
that powers the climate.
We can, however,
indirectly alter the
natural flows of energy
enough to create
significant climatic
changes.

6. The impetus……..The impetus……..
On a cold and bitter winter night,
in a field of boulders beneath a thick layer of snow,
a mountain pygmy possum sleeps safe and snug.
Strange though it may seem,
it is the snow that's keeping the possum warm;
fluffed up by countless pockets of air,
the compacted snow insulates the ground and
prevents the warmth from escaping into the night.
Under this white blanket,
the mountain pygmy possum can hibernate the
winter away.
The pygmy possum might be snug,
but those of us concerned for its future can't afford
to be complacent.
Perversely for an animal that inhabits one of the
coldest environments
On The Australian continent, one of the biggest
threats to its survival –
and that of many other Australian plants and
animals – is
global warming

7. • This warming will have real consequences for the
world, for with that warming will also come
additional sea-level rise
• that will gradually inundate coastal areas,
changes in precipitation patterns,
• increased risk of droughts and floods, threats to
biodiversity, and a number of potential challenges
for public health.

8. Lessons from historicLessons from historic
extinctionsextinctions
• There is little doubt that climate has played a critical role in
past fluctuations of biodiversity levels. Among the five
recognized mass extinction events -- the Ordovician, the
Devonian, the Permian, the Triassic and the Cretaceous -- at
least four are believed to have some correlation to climate
change.
• Peter Ward, a paleontologist at the University of Washington
in Seattle, says there is evidence that most mass extinctions
were caused by gradual climate change. Specifically he cites
the Triassic and Permian extinctions of 200 million and 251
million years ago.

9. Consequences of climate change toConsequences of climate change to
biodiversitybiodiversity
Recent evidence
suggests that increased
UV has caused damage
to some agricultural
crops, and to organisms
in wetlands and coastal
environments.

10. Computer simulation
models predict
changes in air
temperature of 2 to 6
°C and increased
amounts of snow and
rain.

11. How does climate change affectHow does climate change affect
biodiversity?biodiversity?
Can affect species in a number of
ways including the
•expansion, contraction, and
"migration" of habitat;
•increased incidence of disease
and invasive species;
•changes in temperature,
precipitation, and other
environmental conditions;
•shifts in food availability; and
•failure of ecological relationships
with other species -- for example
the loss of critical pollinators or
mutualistic nutrient fixers.

13. • In the past some
species may have
escaped extinction by
"migrating" north or
southward in response
to climate change.
• Today humans have
made it a lot tougher
by fragmenting,
converting, and
destroying habitats
and potential
migration corridors.

14. Conservation implicationsConservation implications
Climate change will also
make conservation efforts
more difficult.
•Protection and Management
of Protected Areas
•Habitat loss will interact with
climate change too,
– Hard enough to conserve
enough land to protect
the world's biodiversity
– Needs to protect where
species are now, where
they will have to get to in
future, and land in
between that they must
traverse on the way.

15. Remedies….Remedies….
Protect large areas of
natural and semi-natural
habitats, particularly in
mountain ranges and
other environmentally
diverse regions - where
species may be able to
survive by moving
relatively short distances
from lower to higher
elevations, from drier to
moister soils (and vice
versa), and so on."

16. Effects of temperature increaseEffects of temperature increase
might include:might include:
• more frequent extreme high
maximum temperatures and
less frequent extreme low
minimum temperatures;
• a decrease in snow cover:
(already declined by 10 per
cent since1960s);
• an increase in the variability
of climate, with changes in
both the frequency and
severity of extreme weather
events;
• alterations to the distribution
of certain infectious diseases;
and rising sea levels.
• In Australia the climate is
expected to become
significantly warmer.

17. The Impacts………..The Impacts………..
Climate change could have dramatic effects on a wide
range of plants and animals. It may include:
•Shifts in climatic envelopes
o Shift in geographic location
o migration to cooler and moister environments
o evidence that plants and animals are already responding to warmer
temperatures.
• The treeline near Mount Hotham in the Victorian Alps has reportedly
moved up in altitude by 40 metres in recent years.
o such migration might not be possible
• unsuitable soils and other unfavourable environmental parameters,
geographical or human-made barriers and competition from species
already in an area.
• Habitat fragmentation
o agriculture
o settlement and industrial development,
• natural vegetation – such as forests, grasslands and heath lands – has
been cleared in large swathes.

18. Aftermaths……..Aftermaths……..
Species with restricted climatic envelopes, small populations
and limited ability to migrate are most likely to suffer in the
face of rapid climate change. An estimated 25 per cent of
Australian eucalypts, for example, have distributions that
span less than 1°C of mean annual temperature, which is the
average temperature for the entire year at a location. Even a
relatively small increase in average temperature will shift the
climatic envelopes of such species outside their current
distribution.

19. Coral bleachingCoral bleaching
Die-off of corals in Great Barrier Reef in 1998 and 2002
• whitening of coral
• expelling zooxanthellae
o Colourations
o Nutrient production
• coral growth
• Disease
(single-celled dinoflagellates that are able to live in
symbiosis with marine invertebrates such as corals,
jellyfish, and sea anemones.)

20. Increases in extreme eventsIncreases in extreme events
Predicted changes in the intensity, frequency and
extent of disturbances such as
• fire,
• cyclone,
• drought and flood
o existing vegetation under stress and
o favour species able to rapidly colonise denuded areas.
o In many cases this will mean the spread of 'weed' species
and major changes in the distribution and abundance of
many indigenous species.

21. Changes in rainfall……Changes in rainfall……
• Increase in rainfall
o Dry land
• Species adaptations
• Salinity and other environmental problems
• Decrease in rainfall
o Wetland
• Species adaptations
• Local extinctions

22. Sea-level rise………..Sea-level rise………..
• Thermal expansion of oceans
• Melting of polar ice-caps
• effects of storm surges
o Sea levels rise (9 to 88 cm by 2100)
• coastline could retreat inland by 4.5 to 88 metres by
2100.
• Coastal ecosystems, such as mangrove forests and low-
lying freshwater wetlands could be severely affected.

23. Rapid species extinctions…Rapid species extinctions…
• Global warming is predicted to take place faster in the
next century than at any time for at least the last 10,000
years.
• Coupled with other factors, such as continued land-
clearing, this could mean the extinction of species at a
rate even greater than when the dinosaurs disappeared
about 65 million years ago.
• Some species not under immediate threat of extinction
might nonetheless suffer decreases in population size,
diminishing intra-species' genetic diversity (and therefore
face increased vulnerability).
• The world would certainly be a less interesting place with
less biodiversity,
• but would it affect us?

24. A diversity of species increases the ability of ecosystems
to do things like hold…
•soils together,
•maintain soil fertility,
•deliver clean water to streams and rivers,
•cycle nutrients,
•pollinate plants (including crops), and
•buffer against pests and diseases –
o A loss of species could reduce this ability, particularly if
environmental conditions are changing rapidly at the same time.
It is therefore possible that as the climate changes and as species
are eliminated from an area we will see a change in some
ecosystem functions; this could mean more land degradation,
changes in agricultural productivity and a reduction in the quality
of water delivered to human populations.

25. ThanksThanks
Safdar Ali Shah
Conservator Wildlife KP