Climate change is for the birds ;^b (note local announcement at the end)
David (dstrother@pop.dn.net)
Fri, 02 Apr 1999 16:45:31 -0500
From: C <thclax00@UKCC.UKY.EDU>
Birds may sing a song of climate change
Saturday, March 27, 1999
Laurent examined the abundance patterns of 14 songbird species,
including the black-capped chickadee, and compared populations
with temperature changes.
Winter songbird populations may serve as a short-term ecological
indicator of climate change, according to a University of
Michigan study showing a link between temperatures in the Great
Plains over the last 30 years and the abundance of several common
species of winter songbirds.
Chad Laurent, a sophomore at the U-M School of Natural Resources
and Environment, has studied the relationship between winter
temperatures from 1960 to 1990 and the populations of 14 species
of winter songbirds using statistics from the National Audubon
Society's annual Christmas Bird Count. His research shows that
particular bird populations are directly affected by winter
temperatures.
"One year's winter temperatures alone don't seem to affect the
abundance of certain species," said Laurent. "But when you look
at average temperatures for three years, you can begin to see the
correlation. Birds who track temperature move very quickly in
response to temperature variations."
Laurent examined the abundance patterns of 14 songbird species,
including the black-capped chickadee, the horned lark, the
white-breasted nuthatch, the American goldfinch, the American
tree sparrow, and the dark-eyed junco, in four Great Plains
states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.
His research correlated low, medium and high abundance of
temperature-linked species with average winter temperatures over
several different periods of time, from one to five, 10, and 30
years. The study refines previous research by Prof. Terry J.
Root, of the School of Natural Resource and Environment, which
has shown that some species of wintering birds are associated
primarily with vegetation while others are associated mainly
with temperatures.
"Since watching and feeding winter songbirds
is such a popular pastime in this country," says Laurent,
"elucidating the effects that global warming has on bird
abundance has tremendous potential to increase public awareness
of the problem."
Laurent will present his research, part of the university's
Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, April 14 on Capitol
Hill in Washington, D.C. For more information, contact Diane
Swanbrow, University of Michigan, (734)647-4416, email:
swanbrow@umich.edu .
Copyright 1999, Environmental News Network
http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/1999/03/032999/songbird_2375.asp