Lucky for some
- Mar 3, 2018
- 5 min read
It is a well known fact that humanity has had a negative effect on the planet, some conservationists estimate species are now dying out at 1000 times the rate that would be considered natural. This unnatural rate of extinction, caused by human activity and its effects on the environment has been dubbed by many as the Extinction Crisis.
But to quote Jeff Goldblum in the classic movie Jurassic park “life finds a way”, with such varied biodiversity on this planet there are some species which benefit and even seem to be thriving from the effect of human activities.
Trumpeter swans
The population of these Swans was once in decline reaching close to extinction status in the early 20th century, but is now making a coming back. These swans live in cold northern climates and breed during the warmer months when there is less ice, due to global warming the warm months have gotten longer which has the knock on effect of a longer breeding season for the Trumpeter swan.
The Tropical mockingbird
If you are ever in central america you will have most likely hear this bird at some point in your trip, the Tropical mockingbird is one of the most widespread and successful species in the americas with stable populations in many different countries. Part of the reason for this success is due to human deforestation. This bird thrives in open environments like those found near human settlements. As human settlements expand it has allowed this species to move and spread its population over most of Central America and northern parts of South America.
Wild boars
Warmer months aren't just good for our feathered friends like the Trumpeter swan, Wild boars were once a common species found everywhere thanks to their popularity as prey for hunting. In recent years there has been a increase in the Wild boar populations and some scientist have suggested this is because of rising temperatures. Extreme conditions that animals experience in the cold of winter usually kill a lot of boars in the first and last years of their life, this is usually because of exposure to the elements or due the lack of food that it common during winter. But studies have suggested that because of the increase of sunshine and heat caused by climate change some fruit trees are able to produce higher numbers of fruit, this increased food supply has had an knock on effect of increasing survivability of young and old Boars. This means more Boars live to be adults so they can breed and more of the older Boars survive to have more children causing their populations to rise.
Mosquitoes
Unlike the other species we talk about here this one is probably not one many are happy about but it is true Mosquitoes have grown in number and spread to new areas of the world. Mosquitoes live and thrive in warm moist climates, in the past this has caused them to mostly be isolated to tropical parts of the globe but due to the increasing temperatures worldwide new parts of the world are becoming warm and humid, the ideal environment for our little blood sucking friends.
The Red fox
The population of humans is always growing and because of this we have needed to expand our towns and cities destroying natural habitats which are unlucky enough to be close by. But while this is bad news for most of the species living in these places is has been good news for the Red fox. Although they are known now for digging through bins and skulking around the streets at night foxes originally lived completely rural lifestyles. Foxes have been able to adapt to human environments allowing them to take advantage of the new habitat we have created. Humans provide foxes with a new food source which did not need to be hunted e.g. road kill, or rubbish. A easily obtainable food source meant that more foxes could grow up stronger and faster leading to more pups being born. Human buildings have also been able to provide foxes with shelter which foxes can use to protect against the elements. Buildings also cause the temperature in cities to be higher than in rural areas, this is because they can work as a windbreaks and because every building throws out heat from the central heating we enjoy. But it is not just these Urban foxes that have benefited from human activities increasing global temperatures have allowed Rural foxes to spread further north and enjoy new land and opportunities they bring.
The Albatross
The albatross is an amazing bird, with a wing span that has been recorded to be 12 feet long (over 3 meters) it is a marvel to see soaring the sky, and thanks to global warming their flying has gotten even cooler. Because of their size the Albatross depends on the wind to fly and recently over the southern ocean changes in wind speed have improved the speed of this bird's flight and allowed them to spend more time searching for food. Faster flight speeds lead to better hunting successes which in turn help overall survivability boosting population numbers. Also these high winds have caused nutrient rich water from the deep to rise, this has provided a fresh food source for the marine life that lives in the higher levels of the ocean this means that there is more food available for the animals like the Albatross which feed on them.
But don't get me wrong climate change is a major problem that has devastated many ecosystems across the globe, but as the old saying goes every cloud has a silver lining and it is interesting to look into the effects we have on the world that aren't commonly talked about.
If your interested in reading more about this subject i have included a couple of references below to get you started. Or if you interested in reading about animals and humans living side by side like the Red foxes in this article then subscribe to our blog or look out for next week's article on the life of peregrine falcons in cites.
Chivian, E. and A. Bernstein (eds.) 2008. Sustaining life: How human health depends on biodiversity. Center for Health and the Global Environment. Oxford University Press, New York.
Schmidt, J. H., Lindberg, M. S., Johnson, D. S., Conant, B., & King, J. (2009). Evidence of Alaskan trumpeter swan population growth using Bayesian hierarchical models. Journal of Wildlife Management, 73(5), 720-727.
Changes in Wind Pattern Alter Albatross Distribution and Life-History Traits BY HENRI WEIMERSKIRCH, MAITE LOUZAO, SOPHIE DE GRISSAC, KARINE DELORD SCIENCE13 JAN 2012 : 211-214
Climate change and wind intensification in coastal upwelling ecosystems BY W. J. SYDEMAN, M. GARCÍA-REYES, D. S. SCHOEMAN, R. R. RYKACZEWSKI, S. A. THOMPSON, B. A. BLACK, S. J. BOGRAD SCIENCE04 JUL 2014 : 77-80
Comments