8 Signs the Animal Kingdom Is Out of Whack

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Environment
8 Signs the Animal Kingdom Is Out of Whack
By Jasmin Malik Chua, Special to LiveScience
posted: 18 July 2008 10:34 am ET
The Australian spotted jellyfish, Phyllorhiza punctata, have invaded
the Gulf of Mexico. With plenty of food, they grow as big as dinner
plates and weigh up to 25 pounds. Credit: Dan Martin/Dauphin Island
Sea Lab
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A polar bear clinging to a melting iceberg may the poster child for
global warming, but rising temperatures, pollution and other human
activity are also affecting the animal kingdom in far subtler ways.
Like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, the natural world could
be giving us other signs that human intervention has knocked it way
off kilter.
Some recent examples:
1. Earlier Migration: Several bird species are making their annual
northward jaunt slightly ahead of schedule in recent springs, as the
East Coast of the United States heats up, according to a study
detailed in the June issue of the journal Global Change Biology. The
report confirms similar studies dating back to 2006. Early birds may
not sound like a huge deal, but scientists warn that long-distance
migrators who start out in South America, and therefore lack cues
about the timing of spring in Northern Hemisphere destinations, will
be less able to keep pace with the changing climate. "Trees and
shrubs are further along in their development, and different groups
of insects are out," said lead author Abraham Miller-Rushing of
Boston University. "Spring is coming earlier for most other plants
and animals, but not for the long-distance migratory birds. Thus,
these long-distance migrant birds may need to learn to eat different
sources of food or face other challenges because of the changes in
timing."
2: Jellyfish Rule: An outbreak of jellyfish in oceans across the
planet has resulted from the stinging creatures hitching rides on
ships that circumnavigate the globe. In fact, studies suggest that
almost a quarter of all marine species in international harbors are
alien transplants, thanks to human-assisted dispersal.
3: Food Web Contaminated. Scientists said last month that they found
toxic pollutants in nine deep-sea species of cephalopods, a class of
mollusks that includes octopuses, squid, cuttlefish and nautiluses.
Among the contaminants were at least two banned in the United States
in the 1970s: dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Scientists say it's further
evidence that contaminants make their way deep into the marine food
web.
4. Heading for the Hills: Thirty species of reptiles and amphibians
have fled uphill to cooler climes as global warming has caused the
mercury to rise. We could see a rash of extinctions occurring between
2050 and 2100, scientists say, because higher ground will eventually
run out.
5. Penguins in Peril: A rapid population decline among penguins
because, in addition to a warming planet, they face the triple whammy
of oil pollution, depletion of fisheries and aggressive coastline
development. "Penguins are among those species that show us that we
are making fundamental changes to our world," said Dee Boersma, a
University of Washington biology professor who has studied the
flightless birds for more than 25 years. "The fate of all species is
to go extinct, but there are some species that go extinct before
their time and we are facing that possibility with some penguins.
6. Sea-Life Shift: Scientists see a notable shift in the composition
of coastal marine animal communities, caused in part by changing
ocean temperatures, from vertebrates (fish) to invertebrates
(lobsters, squid, and crabs), as well as from bottom-feeders to
species that feed higher in the water column. Meanwhile, warm-water
species have superseded larger, cool-water species in population
size.
7. Migrating Parasite: The parasite Angiostronglyus vasorum, commonly
known as "French heartworm," is migrating northward because of rising
temperatures. Normally found in southwestern England, the parasite
has been detected in dogs admitted to animal hospitals in Scotland.
Climbing temperatures in the country have also resulted in a sudden
proliferation of slugs and snails.
8. Food Shortages: Plant-loving animals in extremely seasonal
environments such as the Arctic struggle to feed themselves because
global warming causes their food supply to peak in availability
before they can reach breeding grounds. "Think of it like this," said
Eric Post, a biologist at Penn State. "You've been out on the town
with friends, and on the way home you want to stop off for a bite to
eat, but the restaurant you've always gone to has closed early. So
you try for one around the corner that's always open a little longer.
But when you get to that one, it too is closed. For herbivores, the
fact that there are several 'restaurants' — their food patches —
dispersed across the landscape isn't useful if they all begin closing
at the same time in addition to closing earlier in the season."
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