by Harper Gordon

We are actively destroying our planet and we need to stop. 

As someone who wants to go into marine biology, climate change with animals is a very important topic to me and should be to you, too. Thinking about it now it doesn´t seem to matter but this is the plant we are inheriting. Over 100 million ocean animals die in a year. On average that’s 227,777 per day.

How does climate change affect ocean animals? Specifically whales and turtles? 

Climate change affects ocean animals through rising ocean temperatures, leading to habitat loss and migration; ocean acidification, which impairs shell and skeleton formation; and deoxygenation, creating “dead zones.” These changes disrupt food webs, alter migration patterns, and increase stress on many species, with some, like coral reefs and ice dependent animals, facing an especially high risk of extinction.

Whale Sharks

Climate change affects whale sharks by altering their food sources and forcing them into dangerous waters, increasing their risk of ship strikes.

Whale sharks are filter feeders whose diet primarily consists of plankton, krill, and fish eggs. They also eat small fish and squid. Despite their massive size, they consume these small food sources by swimming with their mouths open, filtering large quantities of seawater to strain out their prey.

Sea Turtles

Climate change affects sea turtles by causing more females to hatch due to warmer sand temperatures, leading to skewed sex ratios that threaten future reproduction. It also disrupts their food sources, alters migratory patterns, and endangers nesting habitats through rising sea levels and increased storm intensity. These combined impacts pose a severe threat to their long-term survival.

A sea turtle’s diet varies by species, with some being carnivores (like Loggerheads eating crabs and conchs), herbivores (like adult Green sea turtles eating seagrass and algae), or omnivores (like Hawksbills eating sponges or Olive Ridleys eating a mix of plants and animals). Other species, such as Leatherbacks, are specialists that primarily eat jellyfish and sea squirts.

As a person going into marine biology this is a big issue to me. We live our normal everyday lives acting like our earth isn’t crumbling and it is not acceptable. As an adult I plan to attend UCLA. So I can be the change I wish to see. 

We can and should all work together and be the change.