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What Effect Does Climate Have on Wildlife? |
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In a Nutshell:
After students learn that climate change is affecting everything
from newts to polar bears, they research habitat requirements
for a local species and consider how climate change would affect
it. They also consider whether changes in their own region are
caused by climate change or by other human-caused factors. |
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Goal:
To help students understand the international scope of climate
change impacts, while at the same time encouraging them to think
critically about the issue, identifying other variables that
may be causing changes near their communities. |
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Background Learning:
Teachers should be familiar with the basic science
of climate change and its anticipated impacts as reviewed in:
Teachers should read at least two of the backgrounders
that correspond specifically to this lesson plan, and be familiar
with the websites and additional resources that are listed in the
backgrounders:
Teachers should read “Warming risks extinction
for million plants, animals: study” at http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/01/07/
climate_spp040107 (see More Information section).
Teachers should read “A Change of Season” in the January/February 2003 issue of Up Here (see More
Information section).
High School Students should be familiar with the
basic science of climate change and its anticipated impacts as reviewed
in:
High School Students should read the backgrounders
that correspond specifically to this lesson plan:
High School Students should read “A Change
of Season” in the January/February 2003 issue of Up Here
(see More Information section). |
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Learning Outcomes:
Click on the icon for your territory to review the learning outcomes that are addressed by this lesson:
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Introduction to Lesson Plan:
This lesson is designed: first to expose students to the possible
effects of climate change -particularly on wildlife; then to
encourage them to consider the possible impacts in their region;
and finally, to consider what other factors might be contributing
to changes in northern wildlife ranges.
The student handout, “What Effect Does Climate have on
Wildlife?” and the CBC web article, “Warming risks
extinction for million plants, animals: study” (see More
Information) will introduce the concept that climate change is
a global phenomenon. As an exercise in analyzing and making sense
of a wide range of information, students will categorize the
impacts of climate change described in the handout.
In Canada, many species appear to be extending their range northward.
Through the readings and class discussions, students should become
familiar with species whose ranges appear to be extending north.
Secondly, they should consider both the impacts of these shifts
and their likely causes.
Impacts will include things such as reductions or increases
in food availability and increased or decreased competition for
food and cover. For example, moose in the Yukon have been expanding
their range onto the north Richardson Mountains. Local knowledge
indicates that willows have also spread further north along the
creeks toward the Beaufort Sea, suggesting that the shift in
moose distribution may be in part related to climate change.
There are other examples in the Backgrounders and in sources
listed in More Information.
It is easy to say that climate change is the cause
of these range extensions, but there may be other factors at
play. Encourage students to think critically about cause and
effect claims. The additional reading (see More Information section)
will help them understand that it is often difficult to pin down
cause and effect in the natural world. For example, northern
range extensions may actually be a result of habitat modifications
in some cases. Logging activities often encourage white-tailed
deer to move into an area. White-tailed deer are a primary prey
species for cougars. Could forest modifications therefore be
the reason for increased cougar sightings in the north? Or is
climate change the reason? Students should be encouraged to ask,
“How can we know? What research needs to be done to answer these
questions?”
Other factors that may lure species into new areas include new
roads, cut lines or trails, all of which can provide travel corridors
for animals. Extensive hunting or trapping of a particular species
may cause changes in the abundance and distribution of other
species. For example, if a prey species is reduced or eliminated
in one area, predators may have to move into a new region to
look for food. Or they may begin to prey on a species that they
don’t normally eat. Students are encouraged to think critically
about these issues. It is important for students to realize that
although range extensions will happen due to climate changes,
there may be other factors that contribute to this. |
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Activity:
Part 1
- Have students read the January 7, 2004,
CBC web article “Warming risks extinction for million plants,
animals: study” (see
More Information) for a brief summary of recent computer modeling
predictions.
 Have students read the student handout
“What Effect Does Climate have on Wildlife?” located in the student
handout section.- Make a class list of all the species identified
in the handout.
- Have students make cutouts or some other
kind of identifier for each species.
- Hang a world map in
your classroom and have students pin the species identifiers
to the corresponding countries
or regions.
- As an exercise in analysis, ask the students
to classify the impacts into four or five major groupings.
For
example, “reproductive
changes,” “range expansion” and “range
reduction” could be three of the headings. There
are no “correct” groupings. Just help students
find logical categories.
- Establish a wall chart with
the major grouping (such as “reproductive changes”) as column headings.
Lead the class in categorizing specific impacts from
the handout and listing them in the appropriate columns.
For
example, if the students had a column called “reproductive
changes” they would will likely list “painted
turtles” in
this column, since the handout says that warmer temperatures
skew the sex ratios of painted turtles. The class can
continue to add to this list later. Incidentally, the
impacts may
not appear to be negative. Some species will thrive
under climate change.
- Ask students to select one of
the species or regions and have them do some research
to see what other information
they can find about habitat requirements and/or impacts
of climate change. Ask them to summarize their findings
in point
form, and to cite references fully.
Part 2
- Ask the students to read “Southern species head
north,” Your
Yukon, Column 129, available at http://www.taiga.net/yourYukon/col129.html,
or one of the other articles listed in More Information that
is pertinent to your region.
- Ask students to select a local species
and research its specific habitat requirements. Food, shelter,
temperature requirements,
predators, parasites, snow cover and migration corridors
are examples of habitat features they should consider. In the
Yukon,
a good starting point for basic species information is http://www.environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca/fishwild/info.shtml.
In the Northwest Territories, http://www.nwtwildlife.rwed.gov.nt.ca/NWTwildlife/nwtwildlife.htm.
is a good source. Ask the students to write a brief paper
(1 to 2 pages) listing the basic habitat requirements of the
species.
Assign students to read the results of at least two other
students, so that they are familiar with the habitat requirements
of
at least three local species.
- Now ask students to consider
what would happen to the regional habitat under climate change.
Examples of questions you can
use to start the discussion are: Would the vegetation change?
Would the fire regime change? How would that affect the
species of plants? Would the sea/lake/river ice change?
- Ask students
to consider how these changes would impact the local species
they researched. You will probably want
to devise questions that are pertinent to your region. The
following
are examples of the types of questions you could pose:
 Which species would thrive?- Which would merely survive?
- Which would disappear from the region?
- Where would they go?
- If longer, warmer, drier summers led to more frequent and intense
forest fires, what would happen?
- How would fire affect food and cover requirements?
Ask students to add their conclusions to the paper they wrote
in 2.
- Lead a class discussion about species that appear to
be extending their range north. What might be the explanation
for these changes? (If you need some ideas to get started,
see http://taiga.net/coop/indics/moose.html) for a brief,
simple discussion of factors that could be behind the expansion of
moose into the North Slope). With the class, generate
a list of research questions that would help to fill in any information
gaps. Find out if there is research going on near your
community and ask the researcher to speak to your class about their research.
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Handouts:
Click on the icon for the handout that supports this lesson – Student
Handout: What Effect Does Climate Have on Wildlife? |
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Student Web-Exchange:
Students can post a 200–600 word essay on their research
on range extensions to the climate change north student
exchange.
Click on the icon for information on how to post material. |
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Evaluation:
Through the reports students wrote in 4., evaluate each student’s
understanding of the habitat requirements for the species that
they researched. Evaluate each student’s understanding of how
climate change may impact this species. |
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Enrichment Ideas:
Science, Northern Studies
Impacts of Range extensions: Discuss the impacts on other species
when a new species moves into a region.
Map the Range: Select a bird, fish or mammal and mark its range
on a map. If climate change were to continue, indicate in another
colour how this range might change. Discuss the implications.
Food Web: Select a bird, fish or mammal and create a visual
diagram of what that species requires for food and habitat. Discuss
what happens if a new species moves in or this species moves
out.
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About the Author:
Libby Gunn lived in the Northwest Territories for 14 years.
She was curator at Fort Smith’s Northern Life Museum and spent
many years developing and delivering interpretive programs for
Wood Buffalo National Park. She is a certified trainer with Interpretation
Canada and is the author of Thebacha Trails, a natural history
guide to the region around Fort Smith, NWT.
She has also worked at Nahanni National Park, as a reporter for
the Yukon News, and as a Wildlife Viewing Technician for Yukon
Environment. She is currently a park warden at Wood Buffalo National
Park.
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