And here’s the saga continued…
Pests Range Increases Vertically
This is meant quite literally as in ascension rates. As the earth warms, areas that were previously inaccessible to certain pests can now venture forth without barriers. Animals that used to be safe from certain pests now have to climb to higher elevations to remain so — but this can only be taken so far as there is a definite limit. An example given in the article relates to Hawaii’s native birds. Apparently those below 4500 feet have been mostly killed off by a form of pest-carried avian malaria while birds above this elevation and in cooler areas have been spared. As pests move upward, though, this will change.
Plants and Wildlife Climb Higher
This really is more of the same, but it specifically addresses plants and animals. There is an interesting metric provided, though: Vertical movement relates directly to northward movement at the rate of 1640 feet in elevation for every 180 miles northward. Interesting. This effectively means that colder parts of our planet are being replaced by the warmer parts multi-dimensionally.
Phenology and Synchrony of Plants and Pests
As stated in the article, phenology describes the timing of biological events. You know, when plants bloom, when buds breaks, or when seeds are produced. These events are dictated by photoperiod, temperature, or other stimuli. And many insects are in sync with such events so they are affected as well if global warming initiates changes in phenology. As things get screwed up, others follow suit and what was once a well-oiled machine is now a broken machine. Case in point: The hatching of the so-called winter moth, Operophtera brumata, in England coincides with the bud break of the oak tree Quercus robur. Apparently, though, due to climatic changes, the the eggs of these moths are hatching into caterpillars well before the trees’ leaves are available. Normally, it was noted, that these things will often work themselves out by way of evolution, but evolution takes time. If the changes are consistent and accelerated, a species can quickly become extinct.
Effects on Beneficial Insects
Well, this should be a hot topic around here (no pun intended), one we’re acutely aware of. We see the difference temperatures make to the growth rates and the efficacy of both predators and parasitoids (nematodes are far more resilient but they too can suffer or gain). If they are too cool they will undergo a temporary resting phase, not feeding or reproducing. And if too hot, they will burn out and fade away. And if the median temperature — or optimum temperature as we state repeatedly in the biocontrols section of this site — is slightly cooler or warmer, it can completely change the rules of the game, sometimes leading to growth rate reversal as was given in one example in the article regarding an aphid and ladybug species.
Ranges will spread as pests’ host plants and pests move, but migration doesn’t follow suit equally or among all species, at least not at the same time. Some insects may move while others may not, or may do so too slowly. All of these little changes can have absolutely profound effects on natural balances. This happens naturally all the time, from year-to-year, some insects do well one year and not the next. While this can cause major problems for some critters, naturally, most adapt or evolve. But the rate of global warming is too fast. Global warming is natural, but the rate is not.
Disruption of Parasitoids
According to the article, parasitoids in particular are going to take the biggest hit as many take longer to adapt and will not be able to keep pace with their host’s migration. They may not be able to follow into colder regions as quickly as their hosts and can take a long time to adapt, if at all, to a surrogate host. In the article there are several examples of the effects these rapid climatic changes can bring about.
Plant Diseases
And just in case you haven’t had enough about hearing what will to make your life as a grower difficult in the future, you can expect more diseases as temperatures increase, especially fungi. The saving grace here is drought areas will become hotter and drier and mitigate any chances for fungi. But as far as the rest of the world… well, preventive treatments, plant spacing, air circulation, and measured irrigation will have to be applied as regular measures if they’re not already. And, just like it is with the pests, there will be significant spreading of geographic ranges.
Weeds
As it applies to pests, biocontrols, and diseases, some weed plants will fare better than others. There will be changes, some will go in our favor while others will not. The result of this imbalance, of course, will not be to our benefit over all.
Stopping Global Warming
This final segment of the article retells what’s already well-told so I won’t go into detail but will instead get all editorial on you as I sum up the situation — not the article — myself:
There is no stopping global warming, the heading is misleading. I state this because as I have written previously, global warming is natural. I think the scientific community has sufficiently proven that these events are cyclic in nature. Global warming will kill us some day. This is in my opinion a given. But I’m talking about a few thousand years from now, or I should be. That’s not the case nowadays because of the accelerated rate of these events the situation seems to be out of hand. Global warming needs to slow down. With the population growing as it is, our best efforts to alter this future might not be enough, or fast enough. I can speculate certain natural catastrophic happenings that could indeed affect a change in this course by grossly altering the earth’s population, but I don’t even want to go there or get that editorial on you.
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