IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON BIODIVERSITY WITH EMPHASIS ON WILDLIFE (Plants and Animals)

1. IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON BIODIVERSITY WITH EMPHASIS ON WILDLIFE (Plants and Animals) Presented at Baobab Holiday Resort Bijilo 19th December 2011 Ousainou Touray, ML Kassama and Kawsu Jammeh, DPWM

2. OUTLINE Introduction: Definition of key terms Climate change and biodiversity- general perspective impacts of climate Direct impacts on wildlife species Potential mitigation of climate change impacts on biodiversity conclusion

3. Introduction and Definition of Key Terms ECOSYSTEM: An ecosystem can be defined as a community of plant and animal species and the physical environment that they occupy. BIODIVERSITY: In ecological term refers to "totality of genes, species, and ecosystems of a particular region or locality SPECIES: A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring

4. Climate change is a multiple hazard with impacts at different temporal and spatial scales. Natural systems subject to change also have different sensitivity and vulnerability • Forest regeneration rates are expected to decline with rising temperature and erratic rainfall • productivity of mangrove ecosystem is expected to be impaired due to changes in rainfall pattern thus resulting into decline in the population of manatees, cape clawless otters for example • Increase possibility for coastal erosion Sea level rise is expected to have substantial negative impact on marine and coastal ecosystems

5. Impacts of climate change on biodiversity-general perspective • Climate change would drive biodiversity loss, affecting both species and ecosystems. • Each species would respond according to • its climate tolerance • its ability to disperse into new locations, • Its ability to alter its phenology (e.g. breeding dates), • or its ability to adapt to shifting food sources.

6. Marine ecosystems will be affected • by an increase in sea temperature and changes in ocean circulation, • by ocean acidification, as the concentration of dissolved carbon dioxide (carbonic acid) rises. • This is expected to negatively affect shell forming organisms, oysters, clams and their dependent ecosystems Habitat modification resulting from climate change would put the population of Nile crocodiles and African Rock pythons at great risk

7. Impacts on Wildlife-Animals • Terrestrial wildlife are expected to face • fodder shortage or degradation in quality, • lose of weight or tendency towards smaller body size. • Increasing temperatures acting through changes in population structure have potentially devastating impact on ectodermic vertebrates and could led to extinction, • increase pest population, inter and intra competition for food and • limiting reproductive success in species

8. Migratory Birds, and the Impacts of Climate Change • Breeding Range Shifts Is well known that species range depends on temperature and many species of birds have shifted their breeding range polewards E.G. Little egret • Changes in the timing of biological events Increasing number of migratory birds are opting to capitalized on milder condition in Europe, e.g. Greenshank, a normally long-distant migrant to Africa is now over wintering in Mediterranean in large numbers

9. Mistiming of biological events E.G. BREEDING Evidence suggest that shift in timing of biological event has resulted in mistiming with respect to the availability of resources such as food. The survival of Golden Plover for example depend on the availability of tipulid larvae on which they feed. Sea level rise Sea level rise may flood nest of birds breeding on low-lying coastal areas e.g. Terns

10. Changes in rainfall Water birds are particularly vulnerable to changes in rainfall because of their dependence on wetlands. Population impacts Extreme temperature and rainfall tend to lower the survival and productivity of water birds. Cold temperature can cause mortality in chick while high temperature can cause heat strain and death

11. CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON BIODIVERSITY • Species retreat • Habitat destruction • Salinization and acidification • Coastal erosion • Ground water shortage • Biodiversity loss • Unfavourable stopover for migratory birds • Mangrove dieback

12. CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON BIODIVERSITY • The extent of life are dependent to the relative stable climatic condition of the Gambia • Among the various ecosystem types, Gallery Forest, Dry woodlands, Wetlands, River and Estuaries ,etc. shelter diverse animal populations such as small& large mammals, reptiles, birds and fish which co-habits with plant species that serves as food, medicine and timber.

13. CONCLUSION • On the assumption of a rise in climatic temperatures, a number of changes in ecosystem distribution would affect richness in biodiversity, especially animals with small populations and the migratory bird species with particular reproductive and behavioural patterns.

14. CONCLUSION contd. • Such a situation may reflect on the a biotic conditions of ecosystems which affects biotic conditions of ecosystems. • Examples of modelling using Habitat Suitability Index(HSI) have shown that the suitability of habitats for Dwarf crocodiles and Osprey species in the Gambia is highly reduced. • Degraded ecosystems jeopardise the millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty, hunger and disease. • Better adaptive strategies and capacities are key to communities ability to successfully cope with climate change in these ecosystems

15. THANK YOU AND HELP SAVE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN THE GAMBIA