ENGL 11 RR November 10, 2019
Mallari, Cristina Bianca, C.
Climate Change, Extreme Weather, and Biodiversity: A Problem-Solution Analysis
In pace with the warming of Earth’s temperature, extreme weather
disturbances marked by higher frequencies, intensities, and extents have transpired
around the world—ultimately aggravating the trajectory of biodiversity loss. The
correlation between global warming and extreme weather disturbances can be
described in a myriad of ways. For instance, global warming can: 1) increase the
likelihood of unusually hot periods, eventually increasing the intensity of heatwaves
and 2) increases the amount of atmospheric water vapor, ultimately engendering
more frequent heavy rain and snowstorms (National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine, 2001). That climate change is heavily linked to extreme
weather occurrences now provides a leeway for discussing the link between climate
change and the loss of biodiversity. With that, this essay explores the role of climate
change on the global struggle against biodiversity loss, tackling its compounding
effects on species distribution and extinction and actions that can mitigate the risks.
As changes in extreme weather place habitats under stress, species adaptable to
denuded areas are naturally favored and biodiversity loss becomes more likely. This
occurs in two interdependent trajectories: 1) the establishment and propagation of
invasive nonnative species and 2) the decline and redistribution of indigenous species.
Such trajectories take place primarily because changes in weather disturbance
patterns stimulate changes in the ecosystem composition (Dix, Buford, Slavicek,
Solomon, & Conard, 2009). Species’ survival and flourishing capacities vary according
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to the ecosystem’s abiotic and biotic conditions; thus, some species are naturally
bound to prevail over other species. On one end, some nonnative species may be
highly adaptable to the new conditions posed by an extreme disturbance, prompting
their immigration and colonization of the affected area as in the first trajectory while
on the opposite end, some indigenous species may be unable to adapt to the new
environmental order, causing possible emigration, reduction, or even extinction as in
the second trajectory. Essentially, these result in the disruption of natural ecological
balance which adversely impact an area’s overall biodiversity. An example of this is
the heatwave that struck West Australia in 2011 which resulted in the decline of
marine biodiversity through the abalone industry shutdown and the migration of
whale sharks and manta rays (Australian Academy of Science, 2015). To paint a
starker illustration, one can also consider the recent wipeout of the Adélie penguin
colony in the Antarctic—an event linked to heavy regional precipitation (Gao et al.,
2018).
Events such as the abalone industry shut-down and the Adélie penguin colony
wipeout highlight the need to address the forces of climate change that place
biodiversity at risk. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (2017)
suggests this be done through the incorporation of invasive nonnative species into
climate change policies. To do so, the government may adopt a three-fold strategy
with the following objectives: 1) prevention; 2) early detection and rapid response; and 3)
impact mitigation (Shine & Genovesi, 2000). The core of prevention lies at strengthening
biosecurity measures through utilization information systems; for early detection and
rapid response, key actions include the use of early warning systems and regulation
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of surveillance of high-risk areas; and impact mitigation is actuated through
eradication, containment, and control of invasive species.
Limitations of this multi-step solution must however be taken into account so as
not to overlook the far-reaching scope and complexity of the problem. One must
realize that these methods do not directly address the issue’s root cause but rather
assumes it has already occurred. On that note, society must also endeavor to combat
climate change by recognizing the protective value of ecosystems and implementing
strategies that hinder their overexploitation (Glasser & Taalas, 2017). (600 words)
References
Australian Academy of Science (2015). Climate change and biodiversity. Retrieved
from https://www.science.org.au/curious/earth-environment/climate-change-
and-biodiversity
Dix, M. E., Buford, M., Slavicek, J., Solomon, A. M., & Conard, S. G. (2010). Invasive
species and disturbances: current and future roles of Forest Service research and
development. A dynamic invasive species research vision: opportunities and priorities
2009–29, 91.
Gao, Y., Yang, L., Xie, Z., Emmerson, L., Southwell, C., Wang, Y., & Sun, L. (2018).
Last millennium Adélie penguin mortality and colony abandonment events on
Long Peninsula, East Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences,
123(9), 2878-2889.
Glasser, R. & Taalas, P. (2017). How to reduce risk from extreme weather events.
Retrieved from https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/how-reduce-risk-from-
extreme-weather-events
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International Union for Conservation of Nature (2017). INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES
AND CLIMATE CHANGE [PDF file]. Retrieved from
https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/ias_and_climate_change_issues_brief_fi
nal.pdf
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2001). Global warming
is contributing to extreme weather events. Retrieved from
https://sites.nationalacademies.org/BasedOnScience/climate-change-global
warming-is-contributing-to-extreme-weather-events/index.htm
Shine, C. & Genovesi, P. (2005). Identification of risks and management of invasive
alien species using the IPPC framework. Proceedings of the workshop on invasive
alien species and the International Plant Protection Convention (pp. 22-26).
Braunschweig, Germany: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/3/y5968e/y5968e0a.htm
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