Friday, June 24, 2005

Animal Behavior Changes due to Global Warming

A number of changes occurring among plants and animals point to climate change, many scientists say.

Land animals

Reindeer are expected to disappear from large portions of their current range by the end of the century.

Marmots are ending their hibernations about three weeks earlier than they did 30 years ago.

Canadian red squirrels are breeding about 18 days earlier.

Red foxes are spreading northward, encroaching on territory normally occupied by their artic cousins.

North American Fowler's toads are breeding six days later than they did a decade ago.

Polar bears today are thinner and less healthy than those of 20 years ago.

Sealife

Coral reefs around the world are predicted to increase by up to a third in size.

Elephant seal pups are leaner because their prey is migrating to cooler waters.

Loggerhead sea turtles are laying their eggs about 10 days earlier than they did 15 years ago.

Rising temperatures are influencing the sex of Hawkbill turtle hatchlings, with more females than males being born.

Tidal organisms like rock barnacles, mollusks, and tidal snails commonly found in warm southern waters are moving northward.

Many fish species are moving northward in search of cooler waters.

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See link above for full article.

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