Skip to main content
CWF logo
Sign In
Username

Password
Forgot?
Not a Member?   Register Today
Français
Donate
Shop
Subscribe
  • Donate
    • Ways to Give
    • Single
    • Monthly
    • Shop CWF
    • Adopt-an-animal
    • Fundraise
    • In Tribute
      • In Honour
      • In Memory
    • Gift of Securities
    • Symbolic Gifts
    • Legacy Giving
    • Corporate
      • Major Gifts
      • Sponsorship
  • About Us
    • Why Canada's Wildlife Needs Us
    • Contact Us
    • Supporter Centre
    • FAQs
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Board Of Directors
    • Foundation
    • Senior Staff
    • Reports
    • Privacy & Policies
      • Accesssibility
      • Policies
  • What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Coasts & Oceans
    • Forests & Fields
    • Lakes & Rivers
    • Endangered Species & Biodiversity
    • Education & Leadership
    • Connecting With Nature
  • Resources
    • Check out our resources
    • DIY
    • Downloads
    • Encyclopedias
    • Events
    • For Educators
    • Games
    • Printed Materials
    • Reports & Papers
  • News & Media
    • Blogs
    • Brand Guidelines & Logos
    • In the News
    • Magazines
    • Newsletters
    • Press Releases
  • Blog
  • Magazine
  • Shop
  • Site Search
  • Sign In
  • Français
  • Donate
  • What We Do
  • Resources
  • News & Media
  • About Us
  • Français
  • Site Search
  • Sign In
  • Français
  • Ways to Give
    • Single
    • Monthly
    • In Honour
    • In Memory
    • Adopt an Animal
    • Shop CWF
    • Symbolic Gifts
    • Fundraising
    • Legacy Giving
    • Gift of Securities
    • Corporate
    • Holiday Fundraiser
    • Grant Wildlife Wishes
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Supporter Centre
    • FAQs
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Board Of Directors
    • Foundation
    • Senior Staff
    • Reports
      • └ Annual
      • └ Financial
    • Privacy & Policies
      • └ Accesssibility
      • └ Policies
  • What We Do
    • Coasts & Oceans
    • Forests & Fields
    • Lakes & Rivers
    • Endangered Species & Biodiversity
    • Education & Leadership
    • Connecting With Nature


    • Agriculture & Habitat
    • American Eels
    • Aquaculture
    • Backyard Birds
    • Bats
    • Bioblitz
    • Camping and Nature
    • Chinook Salmon
    • Conservation Awards
    • Educator Training
    • Expecting Parents
    • Family Nature Club
    • Fish Passage
    • Freshwater Turtles
    • Gardening For Wildlife
    • Gardening in Schools
    • Monarchs
    • National Wildlife Week
    • Photo Club
    • Pollinators
    • Right Whale
    • River Barriers
    • Rivers to Oceans Week
    • Teens in Nature
    • Wildlife in Winter
    • Young Adults in Nature
  • Resources
    • DIY
    • Downloads
      • └ Booklets & Handouts
      • └ Colouring Pages
      • └ E-cards
      • └ Podcasts
      • └ Reports & Papers
      • └ Wallpapers
      • └ Webinars
    • Events
    • Encyclopedias
      • └ Native Plants
      • └ Invasive Aquatic Species
      • └ Common Animal Fact Sheets
      • └ Common Plant Fact Sheets
    • For Educators
      • └ Curriculum Fit
      • └ Educational Units
      • └ Lesson Plans
      • └ Resource Sheets
    • Games
      • └ Interactive
      • └ Quizzes
      • └ Crafts & Activities
    • Printed Materials
      • └ Calendar
      • └ Magazines
      • └ Manuals
      • └ Posters
  • News & Media
    • Blogs
    • Brand Guidelines & Logos
    • In The News
    • Magazines
    • Newsletters
    • Press Releases
  • Why Support Wildlife
  • |
  • What We Do
  • |
  • Get Involved
Donate
Adopt
Facebook Twitter Wordpress Youtube Instagram Pintrest

Troubled Water, Troubled Times

cwf-fcf.org > English > Resources > For Educators > Resource Sheets
  • Resources
  • For Educators
  • Curriculum Fit
  • Educational Units
  • Lesson Plans
  • Resource Sheets
  • Webinars
Subjects: Science

Related Links

  • Give Ocean Life a Safe Harbour

Future Forecast

Climate change resulting from human activities could be the greatest environmental threat facing life on this planet. Scientists use computer-generated global circulation models to determine which regions are at risk and how. They show, for example, that aquatic ecosystems are especially vulnerable because of their lim­ited ability to adapt to climatic changes; that, as a northern nation with a longer coastline and more freshwater than any other coun­try, we may be among the hardest hit. What else do they forecast?

  • As temperatures rise, ocean waters could expand and polar ice caps, glaciers, and sea ice could melt faster than before, raising sea levels by up to one metre, causing higher tides, submerging islands, eroding shorelines, inundating farmlands, flooding coastal wetlands, and polluting ground and surface waters.
  • Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, typhoons, and tor­nadoes, may happen more often, with more severe impacts on coastal and inland areas.
  •  Rain and snow could increase in some regions, such as the Great Lakes, but decrease in others, such as the Prairies.
  • As the Arctic warms up, huge amounts of methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) frozen under the ocean may escape into the atmosphere, further increasing the greenhouse effect.
  • Warmer temperatures in the Arctic could also diminish the albedo effect — the reflection of sunlight off the Earth's sur­face — as less snow and ice curbs the planet's ability to reflect solar heat back into space and allows it to stay in the Earth's atmosphere.
  • Farmers may enjoy longer growing seasons, but increasing cycles of drought and flood would stress freshwater resources, lower river and lake levels, and make it harder to cultivate crops.
  • Human health could suffer from increasing heat and the north­ward spread of tropical diseases, such as dengue fever and malaria.
  • Higher water temperatures could change the course and intensi­ty of major ocean currents, disrupting entire ecosystems, and altering the dispersion of nutrients and warmth that sustain marine life.

Between the Devil and the Deep, Blue Sea

Climate change could mean troubled times ahead for an untold diversity of aquatic life, from the equator to the ends of the Earth:

  • The fate of countless plants and animals will depend on their ability to move from unfavourable climatic conditions to ones that meet their survival needs. Those that are endangered, slow- moving, or isolated in fragmented areas could find themselves stranded. Physical barriers, like urban developments and open seas between remote islands, may prevent some life forms from moving to suitable habitats.
  • Migrators whose arrival and departure dates are no longer in sync with the rhythms of nature may miss the food sources they need to survive, the warm weather they need to breed, and the wind and ocean currents they need to travel.
  • Changes in the timing and duration of ice cover will affect the life cycles of many species. Northern wildlife associated with sea ice, such as polar bears, seals, walruses, narwhals, belugas, guillemots, and arctic cod, could suffer great population declines.
  • Some marine mammals and birds may flourish as a result of climate change. Those that cannot adapt may become extinct.
  • Unseasonable warmth could collapse the snow dens of ringed seals and polar bears, imperilling their young.
  • Changing distributions, migration patterns, and growth rates of salmon, cod, mackerel, and herring will disrupt commercial fisheries.
  • Heavier rainfall in coastal regions could result in more polluted run-off entering estuaries and bays, which provide food and shelter for fish and shellfish and are important stopovers for migratory birds.
Printer friendly

Copyright Notice
© Canadian Wildlife Federation
All rights reserved. Web site content may be electronically copied or printed for classroom, personal and non-commercial use. All other users must receive written permission.

Facebook Twitter Wordpress Youtube Instagram Pinterest
CWF

About Us

  • Ways to Give
  • Contact Us
  • Supporter Centre
  • Corporate Sponsorship
  • Careers
  • Funding
  • Board of Directors
  • Foundation
  • Reports
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy & Policies

What We Do

  • Endangered Species & Biodiversity
  • Lakes & Rivers
  • Coasts & Oceans
  • Forests & Fields
  • Education & Leadership
  • Connecting With Nature

Explore

  • Agriculture & Habitat
  • American Eels
  • Aquaculture
  • Bats
  • Below Zero
  • Bioblitz
  • Canadian Conservation Awards
  • Canadian Conservation Corps
  • #DoMoreForWildlife
  • Fish Passage
  • Freshwater Turtles
  • Gardening For Wildlife
  • Great Canadian Campout
  • Monarchs
  • Mother Goose
  • Photo Club
  • Pollinators
  • Reconnecting Canadians
  • Right Whale
  • River Barriers
  • Salmon
  • Rivers to Oceans Week
  • Wild About Birds
  • WILD Education
  • WILD Family Nature Club
  • WILD Outside
  • WILD Spaces

News & Media

  • Blogs
  • Newsletters
  • Press Releases
  • Magazines
  • In the News
  • Branding Guidelines & Logos

Resources

  • DIY
  • Downloads
  • Encyclopedias
  • Events
  • For Educators
  • Games
  • Reports & Papers
  • Manuals

Partner Websites

  • AquaticHabitat.ca
  • BanWithAPlan.org
  • Canadian Marine Animal Response
  • Foundation
  • Hinterland Who's Who
  • iNaturalist.ca
  • Love Your Lake
  • Quest for Canada's Great Whales
Français - Accueil

© 2021 Canadian Wildlife Federation. All Rights Reserved.

Charitable registration # 10686 8755 RR0001