Effects of Global Warming on Animals

It is believed that one-third of the animal species present on the planet today will become extinct by 2050 as a result of global warming and climate change. The list of extinct animals in the last 100 years validates this fact pretty well.
Given below is a list of ten most gruesome global warming effects on animals across the world.

1. Melting polar ice will result in habitat destruction for polar animals such as the polar bears, Arctic fox, penguins etc. In fact, the effects of global warming on polar bears have already started to show with a significant fall in population of this species in their natural habitat.
2. Rise in the temperature of ocean water will destroy the coral reefs, thus resulting in destruction of the marine ecosystem which is dependent on the coral reefs to a great extent.
3. Rise in sea level will also affect the salinity of water, and this will hamper the growth of mangroves - which support a significant amount of biodiversity on the planet.
4. Changes in seasons will affect the birds and animals which migrate from one region to another in search of food as food stocks will get exhausted before these species make it there.
5. More rains will result in more erosion and this will in turn result in excessive silting of freshwater sources which will spell doom for freshwater bio me animals.
6. Global warming will also affect hibernating animals that will come out of hibernation even before the actual cold season is over but won’t find anything to feed on.
7. The young ones of animals such as walrus and polar bears rest on floating icebergs, and thus melting of these floating icebergs will make them more vulnerable to extinction.
8. As sea levels increase saline water will encroach into low lying regions, such as coastal prairies and marshlands, which will result in loss of habitat for animals inhabiting these regions.
9. Loss of habitat for various animal species will force them to turn their attention towards human settlements which will result on conflict between the two and result is some serious causality on either sides.
10. While most of the animals will bear the brunt of global warming, tropical disease spreading insects, such as mosquitoes, which require warm surroundings, will become more active and so will the diseases that are associated with them.