Migrating birds face longer journeys due to climate change, experts warn
OPS_admin | Apr 16, 2009 | Comments 0
Birds face longer migration due to climate change, experts warn
Journey could increase by 250 miles, posing serious threat to many species
Migrating birds such as the garden warbler and whitethroat will face longer journeys because of climate change, experts warned today.
A team of scientists led by Durham University has demonstrated that while the birds’ breeding ranges are likely to shift northwards, their wintering areas will not, thus increasing the length of their journeys by up to 250 miles. The study, published in the Journal of Biogeography, has serious implications for many of the birds returning this month to Britain to breed.
The research team used computer simulation models similar to those used by weather forecasters to analyse how climate change might affect the migration patterns of European Sylvia warblers.
Every year these tiny birds – some weighing as little as 12g – travel thousands of miles northwards from their African winter-quarters to breed in Europe and Asia. Up to 500 million birds undertake this epic journey to take advantage of the long summer days and glut of insect food in temperate latitudes.
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