BBC Animals 'hit by global warming'

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>

> * Animals 'hit by global warming' *

>Migrating birds and animals are already feeling

>the effects of global climatic change, says a UK

>government report.

>Full story:

>http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/sci/tech/4313726.stm

 

Animals 'hit by global warming'

By Tim Hirsch

Environment Correspondent, BBC News

 

Climate change could lead to the extinction of

many animals including migratory birds, says a

report commissioned by the UK government.

 

Melting ice, spreading deserts and the impact of

warm seas on the sex of turtles are among threats

identified.

 

The report is being launched at a meeting of EU

nature conservation chiefs in Scotland.

 

It says that warming has already changed the

migration routes of some birds and other animals.

 

The UK's Department of Environment, Food and

Rural Affairs (Defra) commissioned the research,

which was led by the British Trust for

Ornithology.

 

The meeting, in the Scottish holiday resort of

Aviemore, was called to discuss ways in which

wildlife might be helped to adapt to global

warming.

 

Times already changing

 

Scientists have already observed a wide range of

changes in the migration patterns of birds, fish

and turtles, apparently in response to warming

which has already taken place.

 

Some species normally associated with more

southerly countries, such as the little egret,

the loggerhead turtle, and the red mullet, are

increasingly seen in and around the UK.

 

Wading birds such as the ringed plover are now

spending the winter in the east of Britain rather

than on the west coast, and chiff-chaffs are

remaining in the UK throughout the year rather

than migrating south.

 

While many species have been able to adapt to

new conditions simply by moving their ranges

further towards the poles, the study warns that

this option is not available to other animals,

such as polar bears and seals whose habitat is

disappearing rapidly with the melting of Arctic

sea ice.

 

Even subtle changes in sea temperature can have

dramatic impacts on wildlife with rapid depletion

of the tiny plankton organisms which form the

base of the food web in the oceans.

 

This is thought to have contributed to a recent

drastic decline in the breeding success of some

Scottish seabirds, as the fish on which they

depend were suddenly deprived of food.

 

Some of the other threats from climate change identified in the study include:

* Increased storminess damaging

the breeding colonies of albatross, already

facing heavy pressure from accidental capture on

long-line fishing hooks

* Sea level rise destroying beach

nesting sites for sea turtles - for example,

nearly a third of beaches used by turtles in the

Caribbean would be lost with the rise anticipated

during this century, and seals and wading birds

also face destruction of their coastal habitats

* Warmer seas could lead to some

turtle species becoming entirely female, as water

temperature strongly affects the sex ratio of

hatchlings

* Growing water scarcity in many

regions could further destroy the wetland areas

on which migrating waterfowl depend.

* The spreading extent of the

Sahara desert could threaten long-range

travellers such as the swallow, as they will be

unable to " fuel up " in previously fertile regions

on the desert's edge.

" Our changing climate is already affecting a

wide range of migratory species, " said Humphrey

Crick from the British Trust for Ornithology, one

of the report's authors.

 

" They range from the swallow crossing the Sahara

to the albatrosses of the southern oceans; but

this report shows that the potential impacts are

really widespread.

 

" There is some scope for helping species adapt

to climate change, but we need to find global

solutions to help animals that swim, fly and walk

thousands of miles each year. "

 

Too far, too fast

 

Nature has always had to adapt to changing climate conditions.

 

Indeed, it is one of the driving forces behind

the process of evolution which has produced the

staggering variety of life on Earth.

 

But the fear is that the changes currently under

way are simply too rapid for species to evolve

new strategies for survival.

 

Their options are also being narrowed by the

rapid conversion of ecosystems such as the

draining of wetlands, felling of forests and

development of coastlines - so if their existing

habitats are hit by global warming, there is

literally no place to go.

 

The report has important messages for

conservation officials gathered in Scotland for

this meeting convened by Defra.

 

They are being urged to make more use of

" biological corridors " to widen the options

available to migrating species as climate change

takes hold.

 

The whole approach to conservation may have to

be radically changed - the most

perfectly-protected nature reserve could end up

being of little use if the animals breeding there

face starvation because they have nowhere to

migrate.

 

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/4313726.stm

 

Published: 2005/10/05 23:03:43 GMT

 

© BBC MMV

 

 

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