Impact of Climate Change on Aquatic Fauna of Economic Importance in Niger Delta, Nigeria

Abstract

The study discusses the impact of climate change on aquatic lives in the Niger Delta region. To realise this, the study basically adopted a library search design of reviewing literatures of climate change impact on aquatic lives in the Niger Delta region. Meteorological data (rainfall, temperature and humidity) were also extracted from literatures to explain the evidence of climate change in the areas. The meteorological data showed that, temperature, rainfall and humidity have changed over the last 10 years. This change translates to climate change because it is at least up to a decade (10-year period), and it showed a 1.5&#176C rise in temperature from 2003 to 2013 and an increase of 342.2 mm in the amount of rainfall in Niger Delta. These clearly paint the picture of global warming. Furthermore, in the same period, there was a decrease of 9% in the amount of humidity in the area. Thus, it is very clear that the climate is changing over time within this region. This certainly has some effects on the aquatic Fauna in the region. In fact, for the next 10 years, the aquatic fauna that now inhabit various habitats may no longer be able to adapt to the changes, leading to their extinction and total elimination from the habitats in question. And as such, these aquatic fauna will either modify their body structure and function in order to tolerate the change in climate, migrate to new and comfortable habitat or even stand the risk of becoming extinct. To abate the impact of climate change in the region, introduction of new water management reform and policy implementation, and carbon sequestration amongst others were recommended. This electronic document is a “live” template. The various components of your paper [title, text, heads, etc.] are already defined on the style sheet, as illustrated by the portions given in this document.