March 20, 2024
I recently attended a workshop led by classmates and participated in a discussion about climate change and how it affects different species across the globe. We watched a video from TED-Ed that explained physical and behavioral changes in some species that have helped them adapt to global warming and changing weather patterns. I was intrigued, and wanted to find out more about this accelerated evolution. The video, which was published 8 years ago, noted that ecologists were working to identify more species making lasting changes to their genetic makeup in response. I decided to read some more recent articles on the topic to see if expert perspectives had changed. A 2023 article by Sofia Quaglia for the Sierra Club lists examples of new species in whose populations scientists have recently observed changes, including California sea lions, who have assumed a more diverse diet to avoid new competition, and over 200 species of birds on the West Coast, who have begun nesting slightly earlier so that their eggs and hatchlings do not overheat.
While these adaptations seem like positive developments, the article concludes by addressing my biggest concern: species can only rely on these minor adaptations to a certain extent. Significant evolutionary changes typically require thousands if not millions of years, and we are certainly not giving animals that kind of timeline. At a certain point, the rates of evolution and natural selection, which are already under pressure, will not be able to keep up with the rate of climate change, and we could be facing a serious extinction crisis. Researchers and wildlife conservationists need to be strategic about their response to this new information, as it is both an encouragement and a warning sign.
