Evolution in the Global Warming
Evolution takes place mostly by natural selection, it leads to changes in the appearance and genetics of individual animals over time to adapt to environmental changes. According to IPCC's prediction, the average global temperature is going to increase from 1.5°C to 4.4°C in the next 80 years. How the ever-warming environment is going to affect animals' evolution?
This project took research on bumblebees, one of the most sensitive species responses to the temperature change. By studying the current populations living in equatorial, cold regions, and high altitudes. We made prediction on how bumblebee is going to look like to adapt future extreme conditions.
Frame
Edinburgh Science Festival 2023
University of Edinburgh
April 2023
The Team
Jenny Hu
Miao Yu
Yihan Sun
Yuexia Wang
Brief
The project was created as a part of the Edinburgh Science Festival 2023 exhibited in the Inspace. The team and I worked on the topic "Designing Ecologies". We created a physical interactive installation to question how human behaviour would impact global warming and further influence the existence of non-human species.
The Design Process
Data as a bridge between today and future
The desk research began with a global warming forecast of four scenarios in 100 years. Based on IPCC's prediction, due to different levels of carbon emission and natural resources exploration, the average temperature is going to rise from 1.5°C to 4.4°C in 2100. Whether to control the temperature within +1.5°C or do nothing and wait for the worst scenario, the choice is handed to humans.
We decided to show the consequences of the increasing temperature through the possibilities of bumblebees' evolution. By studying the physiological structure and habits of current bumblebees, we made predictions on how they are going to change morphologically under different temperatures.
The Current
Among the most important pollinators, bumblebees’ bodies are designed to adapt to cold climates. While flying, their thoraxes vibrate to raise muscle temperature to at least 30°C. Plus fuzzy hair act as a warm coat. It means bumblebees cannot tolerate hot climates because they are so good at remaining and generating heat.
2030-2060
+1.5°C
Bumblebees migrate north to cooler and high latitudes regions. In order to adapt to the new habitat, their bodies will have these changes:
Larger wings: fly higher and longer distances
Larger thoraces: drive the wings and maintain body temperature
Thicker hair with thicker black stripes: keep warm in the cold environment
2060-2100
+4.4°C
No where to hide from the heat, so bumblebees have to evolve to survive in the heatwaves. Their bodies will have these changes:
Shrinking body size: cool down body temperature
Longer and narrower wings
Less or no body hair: stay cool
Muscular legs: dig underground nests with the queen bee
Inspired by traditional techniques used in photography such as Chronophotography and Zoopraxography. The physical installation requires audiences to manually turn the handle to witness the entire evolution process continuously and smoothly.
