There has been lots of talk this week about climate change. Here in South Florida, most people know about our vulnerability to one aspect of climate change: sea level rise. For a park already 95% covered by water, some might say thats not a big deal. That could certainly be argued, but there are many other aspects of climate change that could have drastic impacts on Biscayne. As the amount of carbon in our atmosphere has increased (an irrefutable fact), the pH of the ocean has decreased...that is, has become more acidic. That minute change impacts how animals like snails and corals incorporate calcium into their shells and skeletons. As might be expected, the impacts are likely to be noted first in the smallest creatures, things like the shelled epiphytes living on the blades of seagrass. So who cares about tiny snails? Turns out that most of the nutritional value of seagrasses for large plant-eaters like manatees and turtles comes not from the grass itself, but from the critters on the grass blades. So increased carbon in the atmosphere can impact some of our most iconic animals. Voltaire said men argue, nature acts. Indeed. (GAB)
Posted on: Thu, 15 May 2014 12:24:31 +0000
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