The Projected Effects of Climate Change on Lake Erie's Biological Processes

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The effects of climate change acting upon Lake Erie are expected to impact future water temperature and water levels. These alterations will impact the Lake’s physical and chemical processes, leading to a wide range of biological consequences. Some of these biological modifications will include increased survival of non-native species, increased respiratory metabolic processes, altered growth and survival rates, altered species distribution, and modified spawning patterns. These physical, chemical, and biological changes are expected to result in several economic ramifications, some of which will include an extended shipping season, increased shipping and dredging costs, and negative effects on cold-water fish yields. Current efforts and actions taken to address global climate change at international, national, provincial, state, and municipal levels emphasize the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in climate change action plans. Although it is important to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through mitigation measures so that the effects of climate change may be delayed and/or lessened, the fact remains that our climate will continue to change into the future. Therefore, it is essential that climate adaptation measures are placed at the forefront of current climate change efforts, to ensure that the world does not find itself unprepared and suffer unnecessary losses. Overall, it is essential that regions which contain freshwater bodies that are relied upon by several different parties for a wide variety of uses, such as the Great Lakes Region, make proactive decisions that take climate change effects into consideration. These climate-conscious decisions will help to ensure that these regions are able to successfully adapt to the effects of climate change, and in turn, safeguard the long-term sustainability of the Great Lakes region.