Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Climate change will have big impact on ecosystems in Alaska

Alaska is one of the most sensitive areas in the world when it comes to climate change, and according to the latest study from the University of Alaska Fairbanks many Alaskan ecosystems will look much different by the end of this century then they look now.

Some well known animals such as Alaska marmot will probably disappear while on the other hand some invasive species will spread across the Alaska such as reed canary grass.

Alaskan tundra will also likely change its shape, with scientists believing that more than half the coast of western Alaska will likely change from tundra into a landscape similar to western British Columbia.

Alaska, just like Arctic, has already started feeling what climate change is all about, and the time has come where Alaska must start thinking how to best adapt to climate change. Alaskan ecosystems will need as much help as possible because many animals have already started running out of food and habitats, and things will likely only get worse in years to come.

The one species that looks to be the least in trouble is the famous caribou because scientists believe that even despite the fact that caribou habitats will shrink in years to come they will still be able to adapt just like they already did in the past.

But not all animal species have the adapting skills like caribou does, and species like Alaska marmots will find it very tough to survive because their habitats are in the rocky alpine areas, and their habitats will likely shrink by almost 90% by the end of this century.

Invasive species could soon become huge problem for Alaska because many of them have been so far kept at safe distance thanks to the cold temperatures, but with the expected temperature increase Alaska could soon become very attractive for many new invasive species.

These are of course, not the safe outcomes, but probable outcomes because it is extremely difficult to predict how long it will take for different animal species to react to climate changes.

No comments:

Post a Comment