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Climate Change
To learn more about the major threats to aquatic biodiversity please select from the following:
Global climate change poses a serious threat to many aquatic ecosystems. Over the last century, increased global temperatures have caused sea levels to rise approximately 15-20 cm (6-8 inches) worldwide, and is expected to continue to rise at an average rate of 1-2mm/year. This rise in sea level is due primarily to the melting of mountain glaciers, the expansion of ocean water due to warmer ocean temperatures, the pumping of ground water, and the melting of the polar ice sheets. On average, for every foot of sea level rise, the ocean moves inland 50-100 feet. At this rate, low lying areas and coastal aquatic ecosystems such as estuaries, marshes, and mangrove forests are being threatened. Higher salinities caused by increased evaporation, greater levels of tidal inundation, increased occurrences of flooding, and increased shoreline erosion are significantly altering the composition of these ecosystems, affecting both the plants and animals living in these habitats.
If measures are not taken to help prevent further global warming, aquatic biodiversity could be greatly affected. Not only could the composition of species within specific ecosystems be greatly altered, but species extinction could also occur.
- To learn more about Global Warming visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Global Warming Site
- Visit the World
Conservation and Monitoring Centre for more information on Strategies to Prevent Climate Change
