Humans have negatively affected the biodiversity of our ecosystems through global warming.
Some people believe that global warming only affects the temperature of the world as ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland continue to melt. This is false; not only does global warming change more than just climate, but also the biodiversity of our ecosystems necessary in sustaining life forms. Climate change leads to the destruction of biodiversity. The constant changes in our climate has given little time for our natural ecosystems to adapt, causing massive extinctions, declining amphibian populations, dwindling fish stocks, declining ocean biodiversity and loss of forests which equates to a loss of many species. Not only have species in forests been declining and disappearing, there have been reported declining numbers of tigers, lions, rhinos, vultures, polar bears, penguins, monkeys, apes and other primates. Some people would think to themselves, “This doesn’t affect me,” but little do they know that it does affect them; and it threatens our existence on earth too.

Some people ask, how can global warming influence our lives so greatly? Well, global warming has caused Antarctica and Greenland’s ice sheets to melt, which is then causing a seven meter rise in sea levels. Human activity such as emitting carbon dioxide from cars, power plants and burning of fossil fuels is behind all of this. Temperature is estimated to rise from 1.9 – 4.6 degrees which is causing further melting of the ice sheets. These temperatures are affecting species in negative ways including the expansion, contraction and migration of habitat, increased incidence of disease and invasive species, changes in temperature, precipitation and other environment environmental conditions; shifts in food availability, and failure of ecological relationships with other specieis, for example the loss of critical pollinators or mutalistic nutrient fixers. In the past, species have escaped extinction by migrating in response to climate changes but today, humans have made it a lot tougher by fragmenting, converting and destroying habitats and potential migration corridors.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) notes that,
-1 bird out of 8
-1 mammal out of 4
-1 conifer out of 4
-1 amphibian out of 3
-6 marine turtles out of 7
-75% of genetic diversity of agricultural crops have been lost
-75% of the world’s fisheries are fully or over exploited
-Up to 70% of the world’s known species risk extinction if the global temperatures rise by more than 3.5°C
-1/3rd of reef-building corals around the world are threatened with extinction
-Every second a parcel of rainforest the size of a football field disappears
-Over 350 million people suffer from severe water scarcity

Following is a video speaking about Climate Change and the Ocean

Tigers are expected to be extinct by 2010 as they are in popular demand for Chinese medicine. Lions are close to extinction due to trophy hunting and tourism. Rhinos are close to extinction due to the demand for their horns and vultures in India have declined 97% because of their anti-inflammatory diclofenac simular to ibuprofen. The threats polar bears face include toxic pollution, oil exploration, and hunting as well as climate change. Scientists are still struggling to wonder what caused the decline of penguins, whether the starvation due to over fishing, climate changes or a combination of both. Amphibians are particularly sensitive to changes in the environment, and they provide an important signal to the health of biodiversity. Causes for monkey and primate extinction included habitat destruction, the hunting for food and illegal trade. Extensive coastal pollution, climate change, over-fishing and enormously wasteful practice of deep-sea trawling are all a contributing problem to dwindling fish stocks. A 20 year study has shown that deforestation and introduction of non-native species has led to about 12.5% of the world’s plant species to become critically rare. It is obvious that we, humans are the reason why the poor animals of our world are suffering from extinction. And as a long term affect, we can too one day be extinct, so we should start being careful and thinking twice before doing something stupid that will turn around and bite us in the long run. Enjoy! :)

Sources

Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions. <http://www.globalissues.org/article/171/loss-of-biodiversity-and-extinctions. Web.
Nature and Animal Conservation. Web. .
Why is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares? Web. .