akes it extremely hard for calcifying (shell using) organisms such as oysters, clams and calcareous plankton to build and maintain shells necessary for their protection. As a result of these consequences we may see smaller populations of such animals, which in the long run can relay them to be overexploited by their prey, eliminating them from the ecosystem. Another possibility of could be that the predators themselves cannot detect these animals because of new appearances (no shells), which in turn could prove to be harmful for the predators by reducing their food source. In any case, the food chain of aquatic animals is affected as a result of acidification. This disruption may also affect the people who harvest these fish not only for consumption but for their economies, as they now would have to adapt and find different sources of food and income or migrate, decreasing the biodiversity of the area. “Overall, [acidification] is expected to have dramatic and mostly negative impacts on ocean ecosystems- [even though] some species (especially those that live in estuaries) are finding ways to adapt to the changing conditions.” (The Ocean Portal Team, 2018).

Figure 1.2 shows that mechanism by which increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere cause decreased carbonate ions in the water resulting in fewer calcifiers.

Plants and herbivores

Finally, greenhouse gases may affect the growth rates and biodiversity of plants and associated organisms. Although some might think that increasing greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (main component photosynthesis), must be beneficial to plants, we cannot take away from the other negative aspects they bring. As the earth heats up, we get more depletion of essential resources, such as water (during times of droughts), which can then decrease the moisture levels of the soils restricting the rate of photosynthesis. Another issue increasing temperatures can have is denaturation of certain proteins. Since plants are not homeotherms the regulation of their temperatures depends on the environment they are in, and if the temperatures are too high it can cause harmful effects on the enzymes necessary for photosynthesis, an example being rubisco binding to O2 instead of CO2. Not only do these gases decrease their ability to grow but also degrade the nutritional value the plants. Samuel Myers, research scientist in environmental health at Harvard, noted that “We know unequivocally that when you grow food at elevated CO2 levels in fields, it becomes less nutritious, … atmospheric CO2 levels predicted for mid-century—around 550 parts per million—could make food crops lose enough of those key nutrients to cause zinc deficits in 150 million to 200 million [people].” (Sneed, 2018) Furthermore, “Numerous studies have already documented shifts in the timing of plant growth at high latitudes associated with recent climate change” (Post and Forchhammer, 2007). These shifts in timing of growth can cause trophic mismatches to occur between herbivores which could then later have negative impacts on survival and reproduction patterns as it would change the performance peaks for these populations. So not only do greenhouse gases have an effect on the plant species but also those that use plants as their carbon resource

Conclusion

The increasing and rising levels of greenhouse gases in pour atmosphere is alarming, even though it is clear that they pose issues to many environments in our ecosystems. The effects they have on climate & weather, growth patterns, and resource availability shape how populations survive and how they are forced to adapt or face extinction. It is a major concern that needs to be addressed on the worldwide scale and there are many small ways us as individuals can address the problem. Increasing public transport (reducing driving), walking, recycling more, and using less plastic are just some small examples we can follow to help reduce the emissions. It is our responsibility to ensure that we create sustainable energy to reduce the emissions of these gases or face the major consequences to the biodiversity.