Effects of Global Warming on American Flamingos

American Flamingo

• The American flamingo is a species of flamingo found in areas of the Carribean, Yucatan and the Galapagos Islands. The American flamingo is the only species of flamingo to inhabit North America in the wild. The American flamingo is so prevalent in the Caribbean it is often referred to as the Caribbean flamingo, where it lives in swamps, lakes and mudflats with a high concentration of salt. The bright colorings of the American flamingo's feathers of pink and white with black feathers hidden beneath are caused by their diet, which contains the chemical beta carotene.

Habitat

• The effects of global warming will result in the habitat of the American flamingo changing, with higher temperatures drying out mudflats and swamp land the flamingos rely on. To survive the rising temperatures, the American Flamingo will be forced to relocate to find wet areas with a high concentration of salt. The chemical makeup of the water, which changes due to global warming, could introduce higher concentrations of bacteria, resulting in health problems and higher disease rates in flamingos. The change in climate that accompanies global warming may alter the amount of rainfall measured each year. The American flamingo relies upon the rainy season to coincide with its mating season; therefore, a reduced rainfall could be harmful to the number of American flamingos bred in the wild each year.

Food

• Changes within the habitat of the American flamingo can also result in a change in the food available to the birds. Where the types of food available change, the high levels of beta carotene needed to maintain the brightly colored feathers of the American flamingo could be diminished, meaning the feathers could become a duller color or even white. As the effects of global warming are felt by animals throughout the world, the number of predators of the American flamingo have also increased, primarily because those animals increasingly look for food in the wetlands inhabited by the American flamingo. American flamingo predators include the python, coyote and large cats, according to Flamingos World.

Global Warming

• Global warming is a process caused by large amounts of carbon-containing gases, known as greenhouse gases, becoming trapped in the Earth's atmosphere near the surface. The Earth receives energy in the form of light and radiation from the sun, some of which is absorbed while the rest is reflected back into space by the Earth. Gases including carbon dioxide trap large amounts of the sun's radiation in the atmosphere, raising temperatures. During the 20th century, the average temperature of the Earth rose by 1.3 degrees F, according to NOAA Paleoclimatology.