Moose and global warming
The moose is now in danger because of a changed carbon cycle
The reality of climate change
Essentially, climate change is the prolonged altering of the global climate because of the greenhouse effect. Now, normally the greenhouse effect isn't bad. It traps the heat inside of the atmosphere to keep the earth warm, but because of the excess CO2 and methane produced by people, it is causing the Earth to become overheated. Humans have been altering the carbon cycle, or the transfer of carbon within nature, by producing more than nature can handle through factories, cars, and the emission of fossil fuels. This causes more CO2 to be emitted and the overall temperature of the Earth to rise.
The Carbon Cycle
This image shows the transfer of carbon among nature and human interactions.
World Fossil Fuel consumption
This image is from howfueleffectsus.wordpress.com. It shows the rate in which the world has been consuming fossil fuels. And as you can see the rate has grown significantly since even 1980
The effects of climate change
The effects of climate change are only a few, but the effects that exist are incredibly dangerous. There are two main groups of climate change effects. Changes in the environment, and changes in biological events. Some of the environmental effects are changes in the level of the ocean, changing overall temperature, changing duration of the seasons, and increased chance of extreme weather. The biological effects include, but are not limited to, the changing time of breeding in a season, habitats transforming into ones that can't sustain life already there, and changes in the range in which particular species roam. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, any altering in the biotic factors in the habitat that an animal lives, will dramatically impact the species living there.
The Moose
The moose is a wild and beautiful animal. From National Geographic, it states that the moose is the largest of all the deer species and can be easily spotted because of its large antlers and its large muzzle as well as the flap of skin that hangs on its neck. Moose, despite being humongous animals are nimble in water, paddling through the water and even submerging entirely for 30 seconds or more. They can also run at about 35 mph over short distances and 20 mph as a good trotting pace.
During breeding season, bulls call out to attract females and will fight one another to maintain dominance. Once the pair have bred, they tend to ignore each other. The cows give birth in the spring and the calves grow exponentially, able to outrun a man at just 5 days old.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/moose/
It roams the Northern US, all of Canada and all of Alaska. Below in an image from mooseworld.com, it displays the total range of all species of moose.
Moose and climate change
If climate change didn't exist, the struggle moose population would once again be able to thrive in the Northern US and Southern Canada. From the National Wildlife Federation, the moose is now impacted negatively indirectly and directly through global warming. With the increase in temperature, it causes moose to loose weight due to heat stress, a drop in pregnancy rates, and a higher risk to disease. It also keeps the moose under the weight necessary to bear calfs, keeping natality rates low. With the rise in temperature, an increase in the tick population has been seen. The spike in ticks have caused moose to become incredibly weak due to blood loss and left moose anemic because of the lack of iron. In the winter of 2014 alone, 64% of tagged moose died of tick related illnesses.