-
- HANOVER, New Hampshire (ENS)
- Global climate change could greatly reduce the number of songbirds migrating
between North and South America. Researchers from Dartmouth College and
Tulane University have shown that El Niño cycles, which could worsen
due to global warming, reduce the birds' ability to survive and reproduce.
-
- Many neotropical songbirds are marked by bright colors
(Photo by William Paff, courtesy Cornell Lab of Ornithology(CLO))
-
- El Niño is the pattern in the Pacific Ocean in
which warmer water triggers droughts, floods and other weather disasters,
as well as reducing the food supply for many marine species. Many scientists
believe the recent increase in the frequency and strength of El Niño
cycles can be attributed to rising global temperatures.
-
- In the Caribbean, where many so-called neotropical songbirds
spend their winters, El Niño leads to drier winter weather. That,
in turn, reduces the available seeds and insects to feed birds, which must
work hard to store up enough fat to migrate back to nesting grounds in
North America.
-
- The thinner, weaker birds that do survive the migration
are less fertile, and less likely to reproduce successfully. "Our
data show that the global climate cycle known as El Niño affects
migratory birds both on their breeding grounds in North America and in
their winter quarters in the tropics," said researcher T. Scott Sillett.
In a paper published in today's issue of the journal "Science,"
Sillett and Richard Holmes, both of Dartmouth College, and Thomas Sherry
of Tulane University analyzed 13 years of data on the black-throated blue
warbler, a migratory songbird. They found that survival and reproduction
rates for these birds were lower than average during El Niño years
and higher during La Niña years when Pacific Ocean waters are cooler
than average.
-
- The New Hampshire researchers studied black-throated
blue warblers (Photo courtesy CLO)
-
- Neotropical migrants such as the black-throated blue
warbler breed in North America and spend the winters in Latin America and
the Caribbean. In recent years scientists have become alarmed by population
declines in many neotropical migrant species.
-
- "Most birds breeding in North American forests during
the summer are neotropical migrants. Besides their aesthetic value, they
eat huge quantities of insects, and research has revealed that migratory
songbirds can actually enhance tree growth by consuming leaf eating caterpillars,"
Sillett said.
-
- Part of the difficulty in determining the causes of songbird
declines has been the inability of researchers to determine where particular
birds went during migrations. Sillett, Holmes and Sherry were able to determine
that their group of black-throated blue warblers always nests in New Hampshire
and winters in Jamaica. "Tracking individual songbirds throughout
the year is very difficult, so being able to link summer and winter populations
of a migratory species is a unique strength of our study," said Holmes.
-
- The researchers found evidence that the climate changes
associated with El Niño years diminished the birds' food supply,
causing low reproductive success in their New Hampshire breeding grounds
and low survival rates among adults wintering in Jamaica. In contrast,
reproductive success and adult survival were much higher during La Niña
years.
-
- El Niño events can reduce the reproductive success
of some neotropical migrants, like this blue-winged warbler (Photo by Betty
Cottrille, courtesy CLO)
-
- Poor reproductive success during El Niño summers
resulted in fewer young birds arriving on the winter grounds in the fall.
-
- "Adult survival and fecundity were lower in El Nino
years and higher in La Nina years," the researchers wrote. "During
El Nino years in Jamaica, reduced rainfall probably leads to a decreased
amount of food available for warblers in the winter dry season and, hence,
to lower survival."
-
- "La Nina years, in contrast, tend to be wetter and
thus would result in increased food availability and higher survival,"
the researchers reported.
-
- Although the El Niño cycle is a natural phenomenon,
many climatologists believe that global warming is escalating the cycle's
frequency and severity. This could lead to stronger and more common El
Niño and La Niñas cycles in the future.
-
- "If the El Niño cycle becomes stronger, it
could increase the chances of having years when warbler survival and reproduction
rates reach extreme lows, perhaps even approaching zero," Sillett
said. "More intense El Niño cycles could thus elevate the risk
of extinction for neotropical migrant species with small population sizes."
-
- Ruby throated hummingbirds are also neotropical migrants,
traveling vast distances each year (Photo courtesy Paul Conover)
-
- Other species are affected as well, the researchers noted.
The El Nino cycle has also impacted populations of seabirds, birds of prey
such as hawks, monkeys and other primates, rodents and other animals. They
pointed out that subtle changes linked to global warming, such as an alteration
of the El Niño cycle, could have profound impacts on some species.
-
- "Evidence is accumulating that bird populations
are being affected by global warming associated with long term climate
change," the researchers wrote.
-
-
- MainPage
http://www.rense.com
-
-
-
- This
Site Served by TheHostPros
|