During the second term of the 2024/2025 Academic Year, Cari-Bois partnered with the Scotiabank Foundation to empower ten (10) students with climate journalism skills as part of the third edition of Cari-Bois’ Youth Journalism Project. For their third assignment, students wrote an article about the effects of climate change on biodiversity. This story was written by Jade Gonowrie of Brazil Secondary School.
Biodiversity is the variety of all living things.
All species play an important role in our ecosystems, as plants and animals depend on each other to survive.
The present level of biodiversity loss is a global concern, and climate change has a role to play.
For example, rising temperatures are affecting aquatic habitats like coral reefs , ponds , lakes , rivers and oceans.
This can cause the marine biodiversity population to deteriorate.
Climate change has affected Trinidad and Tobago’s biodiversity in many ways, and the organisms that call Trinidad’s Arena dam home can be used as a case study for these effects.
At the Arena dam, the white and black belly whistling ducks rely on the duckweed that grow on the surface of the water.
The duckweed feeds off of the nutrients in the water from fish and other animal waste.
All these organisms rely on each other to survive, and because of climate change, the biodiversity of the dam can decrease.
Over the past several years, water levels in the dam have continued to drop, and these drying conditions can affect the amount of duckweed in the dam and fish.
If populations of the duckweed and fish begin to decrease, this can mean less food for other animals, and the dam’s food web can be disrupted.
There are many ways to slow the loss of biodiversity, like undertaking conservation projects in areas where climate effects are affecting species populations.
A very special thank you to the Scotiabank Foundation for supporting the development of young people through initiatives like the Cari-Bois Youth Journalism Project.
