If recent winters seem toastier than usual, you are on to something: Winter has become the most rapidly warming season as the effects of human-caused climate change continue.
But humans aren’t the only ones noticing winter changes: So are birds. In recent decades, their winter ways have shifted. But how much — and why?
A new study in Global Change Biology offers answers, with the help of a unique data set. Researchers drew on data from Audubon’s annual Christmas bird count. Since 1900, the conservation organization has asked birders to conduct a census of birds they see and hear in their area during a 24-hour period each December and early January.
[For bird lovers, Christmas is time to count their feathered friends]
To assess the effects of climate change and land use on birds in the United States, researchers looked at 90 years of data on 89 bird species stretching from 1930 to 2019. They studied bird species whose preferred winter habitat overlapped with places where volunteers did bird counts — mostly in the eastern United States.
The researchers created a model that took into consideration the average temperature, precipitation, and the habitat’s use by humans. They found that over the 90-year period, temperatures rose, precipitation increased and humans’ use of land changed. Grasslands and wetlands declined and urbanization rose. Along the way, all of the birds’ winter ranges shifted.
The declines in grasslands and wetlands affected birds who are constrained to those habitats most — think water birds such as herons. These days, they only spend the winter where those kinds of habitat remain — a shrinking number.
[Birds are shrinking. These scientists say it’s a consequence of global warming.]
“Birds tell us that climate change is already having an effect on them, but not all birds are equally vulnerable to climate change,” said Sarah Saunders, a quantitative ecologist at Audubon and the study’s primary author, in a news release. “If we want to give birds the best chance at survival, habitat conservation needs to be part of our efforts to fight climate change.”
To really understand what’s happening to birds, the researchers suggest, it’s critical to look at multiple drivers of global change. They call for more investigation of the complex interplay between land use, climate change and bird distribution — and more robust protections in both areas.
“We can still secure a future for birds and people, but the science is clear,” said Saunders. “We need to act on climate now.”
Read more
Biden officials finalize a rule making it harder to kill birds, reversing Trump
Climate change is disturbing hundreds of bird species, including our beloved osprey
Albatrosses, known for monogamy, may be pushed to ‘divorce’ because of climate change, study finds
"bird" - Google News
January 27, 2022 at 03:00PM
https://ift.tt/K04vzN1qV
Birds' winter habits are shifting as climate, land use change - The Washington Post
"bird" - Google News
https://ift.tt/f29EXsPdJ
https://ift.tt/v0zNEnOoJ
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Birds' winter habits are shifting as climate, land use change - The Washington Post"
Post a Comment