How does the global warming effect evolution?
Answer:
Yes, all environmental factors effect evolution.
It sure helped humans get along far enough to get to 'modern man'.
Climate change affects the environment, so it affects all animals. They adapt to the new environment. The Global Warming we see now (with human influence) is dangerous because it speeds up the process. It will most likely result in the environment changing too fast for many species to adapt. For example many coral reefs are dying off with increased ocean temperatures. They can't adapt fast enough since coral grows and reproduces slowly.
Evolution is based on adapting/surviving or dying. Will it produce enough environmental pressure to significantly alter species' genomes? Highly doubtful given the great number of species who have already survived both hotter and much colder extremes, including homo sapiens.
I'm no expert on evolution, but I can theorize that animals and plants will continue to adapt to the conditions they are given. Already they are migrating to follow the weather conditions that they are accustomed to (moving north to follow the warming trends or moving up a mountain when it gets too hot).
It will, as the earth gets warmer, effect those organizms that require cooler habitats greatly. Those cooler habitats will disappear more rapidly and we may see those animals and plants die out.
Evolution is a slow process, so we don't always see its changes, but I think we will see them more and more as the animals and plants need to adapt more rapidly.
Quick environmental change ends up wiping out organisms that aren't hardy enough to withstand it. the species that co-evolved with them either by commmensalistic, mutualistic or parasitic relationship stand a much greater risk of going extinct themselves.
Warmer temperatures speed up enzyme regulated reactions, and increases the chances of mutations during DNA replication. not that this will make a significant impact, but it may account for a few new species.
so mass extinction throws the breaks on evolution as it throws a wrench into mechanisms of ecological rolls and increased speed in enzyme reactions may cause a few(very few) new species to briefly emerge.
Well, it either causes a species to go extinct or to adapt to their new environment. This is already happening as we speak. Global warming is causing several types of species that are temperature dependent for sex determination. If all that are being born are females, how is it possible for them to procreate in the future. This is already happening to certain turtles and lizards in the Norther regions of the U.S.
I don't know if there's much known on this topic, but obviously if the Earth keeps getting warmer and weather patterns change, then the animals living in affected environments would have to adapt or become extinct.
WHEN THE MONKEYS START DRIVING PRIUS', I START RECYCLING!
it relates to theory of evolution in applied sense.
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