Episode 65: Effects on climate change on biodiversityTweet
Media Source: The University of Melbourne
Program Name: Up Close
Show Name: Episode 65: Effects on climate change on biodiversity
Broadcast Year: 2009
Original Link: http://upclose.unimelb.edu.au/episode/65-effects-climate-change-biodiversity#transcription
A loss of biodiversity due to changing conditions can cause a reduction in ecosystem services. For example, if climate change drastically changes living conditions for plants - those plants filtrate our air and water, which will happen less if they cease to exist in certain areas. Professor Ary Hoffmann stated, “So in a sense biodiversity, or a loss of biodiversity, can actually threaten our food supply”, this can be considered a valid prediction because as climate conditions change, so will the regions that can productively grow crops. As climate change can alter temperatures and weather conditions in some areas, it will also have an effect on the abundance or distribution of insects that carry disease. For example, in hotter temperatures, mosquitoes thrive and can transmit disease.