Evolution and Climate Change in the Oceans
In evolutionary biology, species can respond to changes in their environment in four distinct (but not mutually exclusive) ways.
They can:
As species face multiple factors of climate change (such as changes in temperature, salinity, acidity, etc.) they may respond differently to different factors. For example, sea turtles may respond to rising sea levels by moving but to changes in acidity by adapting. Each additional environmental pressure provides a unique challenge for a species to overcome. In this class, we will mostly be concerned with the first two responses - movement and adaptation.How do marine ectotherms move and adapt in response to climate change compared to terrestrial ectotherms?
The latitudinal shifts of marine ectotherms in response to climate warming can be more accurately predicted than the latitudinal shifts of terrestrial ectotherms. This is because marine ectotherms inhabit a range very close to their thermal limitations. They expand and contrast at both poleward and equatorward ends of their range in response to temperature change, whereas the movement of terrestrial ectotherms are more complex. (Sunday et al, Thermal tolerance).
[JPW: In an earlier meeting there was discussion about why it is important to understand the rate of larval growth given particular genotypes in particular environments (reaction norms). Here are links to some references showing that rapid larval growth leads to greater larval survival.]
1. Effects of Natural Disasters
2. Effects on Gene Flow/Migration
In modern times, climate change often refers to the increase in the Earth's average temperature. Since the 20th century, the Earth's average temperature has increased by about 0.7° Celsius and is expected to continue to increase by about 0.2° Celsius per decade. This increase in temperature is expected to affect many things from fetal development and reproduction to species range and survivability often in a negative manner.
Ocean currents are the directed movements of water in the ocean and can be caused by wind (for currents closer to the surface) and temperature, salinity, or density differences (currents deeper in the ocean). Climate change can have a vast effect on ocean currents because of the change in temperature it causes, which results in change in ocean water temperatures and a subsequent distortion in current flow.
11. Effects of Ozone Depletion
12. Global Evidence of Climate Change
13. Economic Effects
14. Climate Change in Popular Culture
In light of the current election and the class discussion during the week of November 5th, a new "beat" topic has been added that organizes the current thoughts of climate change in politics. NOTE, this is not a place to debate politics, but rather a place to outline the different views that are present in the political system today and the ideas for solutions that have been implemented.
16. Climate Change in Politics
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Here is where you (the class) can start to flesh out this project. Give it some structure, pictures, graphs, links to datasets. But make it organized, so that any given page does one part of the narrative and links to other components. In other words, this won't be a single, linear document, but a complex arrangement of pages that link to one another so that complicated material can be concisely organized.
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