BIOL 1050 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Little Ice Age, Ergotism, Ocean Acidification

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIOL 1050
• Professor: Steve Bowley

Document Summary

Weather: short term events, daily/weekly min. and max. temp, monthly rainfall. Climate: long term average of environmental parameters (temp, rainfall) When looking at climate change, time frame is essential ex. Shortened growing seasons (1-2 months) and increased precipitation which led to: less crop production, higher prices ex. Wheat and rye, insufficient hay for overwintering animals: greater storage losses of grain, greater ergot i(cid:374)festatio(cid:374), whi(cid:272)h led to ergot poiso(cid:374)i(cid:374)g a(cid:374)d st. a(cid:374)tho(cid:374)(cid:455)"s fire, famine, population decline. Composition of forests changed: after 1400, beeches were replaced by oaks, then later pines (we know this bc of the pollen record, glaciers began advancing. However, since 1950, temps have increased by . 6c. Co2 levels are increasing: co2 levels impact plant growth: generally beneficial, to a point, more so in some plants. In addition, not all plants respond the same: higher co2 levels means more pollen production.