Climate change is altering the pattern of life on the planet, causing widespread species extinction, migration and behavi
our changes.
A changing climate forces plants and animals to migrate in order to survive. However, research has shown that most plant species are able to migrate at only one tenth of the speed required to keep up with human-induced climate change.
To make matters worse, human settlements and infrastructure have already subdivided ecosystem habitat into isolated patches. Climate change will make many of these patches uninhabitable for the species that live there, and they will be unable to escape. Northern countries like Canada are experiencing some of the most serious impacts on biodiversity:
Canada's increasingly dry Northern boreal forests, stretching across the Canadian shield, have seen burns go from 1 million hectares to 3 million in the last decade.
Female caribou migrate in spring to small pockets of vegetation where they feed and raise their calves. But for the last 10 years, spring has come so early that by the time the caribou reached the coastal plain, their principal food plant had already gone to seed.
A receding Arctic icecap and earlier than normal breakup of sea ice has affected polar bears, which depend on sea ice to hunt seals. Recent studies showed polar bears in some regions were down a third in body weight. The latest generation of seals was also found to be much thinner than usual.
Learn more
 |
Species at Risk: This study finds that more than 45 per cent of Canada's habitat could be lost by the end of this century. |
 |
Parks in Peril: This study released by Environment Canada and Parks Canada examines the effects of climate change on 39 Canadian national parks. |
Extreme Weather
Species at Risk
