This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Thursday 20 May 2021
Arctic Endings?
The Arctic is warming up at twice the rate of the rest of the planet. The State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity report paints a dire picture (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/20/climate-crisis-drastic-drop-arctic-wildlife-populations-aoe). Climate change is making the Arctic greener, replacing the tundra's mosses and lichens by shrubs. Southerly species of animals are also being forced north (there is, of course, a limit to how far they can go). Twenty percent of the species of shore- and wader- birds have shown population declines. The roaming herds of Caribou are also showing greater than normal fluctations, with one herd declining 98% between 1986 and 2018. Animals, like Musk oxen, have been afflicted by bacterial infections, that the animals carry but which are not normally manifested at lower temperatures. It appears that many of the lifestyle adaptations to 'Arctic' conditions, are becoming non-viable. The flora and fauna of the whole Arctic land mass seems headed for irreversible change.
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