Planet Earth Under Threat...
Every Monday night on BBC Radio 4 there is a very interesting programme called Planet Earth Under Threat which deals with the affect of global warming on plant and animal species around the world. Tonight the programme stressed that it's now official that plant and animal species are out of harmony with each other. Global warming means longer summers, longer growing seasons, milder winters and earlier springs.All this dramatic change means that plants produce flower buds much earlier which are more susceptible to sudden frosts. Because autumns are milder the leaves of deciduous trees remain on much longer. This in turn has a knock on affect upon organisms that depended on the leaves falling to the ground and rotting. The nettle is one of the first plants to come into leaf and the peacock butterfly depends on the nettle breaking into leaf at a specific time in spring. Now that nettles are coming into leaf earlier this butterfly is finding it more difficult to use nettles as a habitat for egg laying. Plant and animal ecosystems are being ruined as a direct consequence of global warming.
Perhaps one of the most adaptable organisms in the face of global warming is the mosquito. Scientists have set up clinical trials to examine the adaptability of this small insect. The mosquito can evolve very quickly to overcome the changes of global warming. It can achieve this because as an insect the mosquito has a fast life cycle with many offspring. Contrast this rapid adaptability with the small family sizes of other organisms including humans and you get the impression that we as a species could become extinct very quickly! Let's hope the human race can adapt to the changes of global warming.
posted by Thomas @ 11:32 pm
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