Britain's Birds Fly North In Search Of Cooler Climate
Posted on: Thursday, 31 July 2008, 07:27 CDT
A study of rare bird species in Britain suggests that birds have been migrating northward over the past 25 years largely due to climate change.
The study, consisting of 42 rare bird species, showed that southern European bird species such as the Dartford warbler, Cirl bunting, little egret or Cetti's warbler had become more common in Britain from 1980-2004.
And species usually found in northern Europe, such as the fieldfare, redwing or Slavonian grebe, had become less frequent in Britain.
Scientists believe the findings may translate to an overall migration of other species of animals and plants.
"The species are almost certainly responding to the changing climate," said Brian Huntley of Durham University in England of a report he wrote with researchers at Cambridge University and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Other possible factors such as growing public interest were ruled out. Shifts in farming, pollution, expansion of cities and conservation efforts have all affected wildlife, researchers noted.
While many other forms of wildlife wait longer before seeking new habitats, birds and butterflies are traditionally among the first to adapt to climate change because they are ale to fly long distances.
"It depends on the mobility of the species. Birds and butterflies are two of the groups where there is the best evidence that species are already showing responses to the changing climate," Huntley said.
The shifts in the birds' ranges since 1980 were also consistent with scientists' expectations because of global warming, blamed by the U.N. Climate Panel on human use of fossil fuels in power plants, factories and cars, Huntley added.
The panel predicted last year that warming will bring desertification, floods, melt glaciers, raise world sea levels, bring big shifts in the ranges of species and extinctions.
"This gives us greater confidence in the climate models we use for other groups of species -- butterflies, plants, reptiles and amphibians," Huntley said.
"We rarely have the opportunity to test these kinds of models. We can only wait around for 50 years and wait to see if we were correct. It's better to have historic data" as a benchmark, he said.
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Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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