Climate Change and Earth’s Biodiversity Essay

Submitted By hipeys
Words: 734
Pages: 3

Does Climate Change Influence Biodiversity?
Part 1
Your task:
To research current data and make a claim about the impact of climate change on biodiversity.
Steps to follow
In order to plan and compose your report, you will do all of the following:
1. Make notes about the information from internet sources.
2. Review and evaluate the results of an Internet search on the topic.
3. Answer questions about the sources.
Directions for beginning
You are working on the United States Panel on Global Climate Change Research. You and your team of ecologists and environmental scientists have been studying some of the most exotic places on Earth.
Team members have scuba-dived around massive colorful coral reefs, studied deep ocean water, hiked through rainforests, collected soil samples in vast deserts, and taken ice cores in the Artic.
Your team is tasked with researching the factors influencing climate change and determine which factor has the greatest impact on decreasing biodiversity. You can use any resource of your choosing, but may want to begin with links from: http://ete.cet.edu/gcc/?/biodiversity_related_links/ In order to present accurate, complete, and valid findings, you should consider the following:
What do the data indicate about Earth’s biodiversity? Identify any trends that occurred in biodiversity.
What appears to be the source(s) of the changes? Can you identify the major cause?
What are the impacts of changes in Earth’s biodiversity?
What strategies do you see that could mitigate or lessen decreased species diversity?
You have been provided with and are encouraged to use a note-taking guide that will help you gather and process your findings.

Note-Taking Guide
Research Source
Published by. . .
Arguments for climate change influencing biodiversity
Arguments against climate change influencing biodiversity
How reliable is the evidence from the source?

Research Questions
After you have reviewed the research sources, answer the questions below. Your answers to these questions will be scored. Also, they will help you think about the sources you have read and viewed, which should help you write your report. Answer the questions in the spaces provided below each question.
1. From the sources you have reviewed, summarize 3 major arguments that support, and 3 major arguments that oppose, the claim that climate change influences biodiversity. For each of the arguments cite at least one source that supports this fact or point of view.
Argument/Fact in Favor that climate change influences biodiversity
Source Supporting This Argument
1.

2.

3.

Argument/Fact in Opposition that climate change influences biodiversity
Source Supporting This Argument
1.

2. Evaluate the credibility of the arguments and evidence presented by these sources. Which of the sources are more trustworthy and why? Which of the sources warrant some skepticism