Climate change hurting wildlife food sources, expert says

March 3 marks World Wildlife Day and a zoologist says it’s a day to recognize the actions we take that impact many organisms in the planet.

Kaitlyn Gaynor is an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia’s Zoology department. She says it’s important we understand how climate change is impacting the survival of some animals.

“We share this planet with so many other species that are experiencing the same kind of environmental changes that we are. Humans are increasingly engaged in all sorts of activities that are having negative impacts on other species.”

Gaynor says excessive rainfall, droughts, and heat waves can change the availability of food.

At the Vancouver Aquarium, there are four penguins at risk. The African penguins are a type of penguin that doesn’t live on snow.

Jessica DeBenedetto, the aquarium’s assistant curator of marine mammals, says the penguins are an endangered species.

“A lot of that has to do with human interactions. Fishing, overfishing. Depleting their natural food resources. So we are competing with the African penguins for their food source. That can be really depleting their food source and causing them not to be able to find the nutrients that they need.”

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The aquarium says it’s important for humans to do their part to help. DeBenedetto lists some ways that people can help such as eating sustainable seafood and reducing the use of single-use plastic.

“Something as simple as bringing your own reusable coffee mug to work in the morning or to your local coffee shop instead of using the disposable ones is a really simple way that you guys can have an impact on helping the animals that are endangered.”

Gaynor’s research includes humpback whales in the Pacific Ocean, their behaviour, and changing food source which has now moved closer to shore.

“So normally they’d be eating krill, but with the changing temperatures, they were feeding more on anchovy.”

As humans and wildlife coexist, Gaynor says animals may look for food provided by humans.

“The raccoons of Vancouver love to find whether it’s crops that we’re planting or livestock that we’re grazing. And so animals, very understandably, will seek them out. And that often creates some conflict with people.”