...for wildlife threatened by climate change.
If you weren't convinced by my post on Monday, or have been unaffected by the burgeoning number of green hearts that have appeared on sleeves this week, here are five more examples of climate change impacts on wildlife. These reinforce the message that climate change is affecting wildlife today and unless we wean ourselves off fossil fuels, will have disastrous consequences in the future.
1. Nearly half of all North American birds are at risk from climate change. Our Birdlife partner in the US, Audubon Society (here), looked at how species ranges might change during the 21st century. Their research provides a "field guide to the future of North American birds" and shows that of the species they looked at, nearly half are at risk with some species expected to lose half their range.
Just like our Climatic Atlas for European Breeding Birds, the Audubon relies on climate change modeling, but new research is emerging that shows nature is changing in ways that are consistent with the models. For example...
2. Moths are on the move . A recently published paper (here) shows that several macro-moths that reach northern edge of range in the UK increased between 1970-2010, whereas those at their southern range edge in northern parts of the UK decreased, as would be expected under climate change
3. Common montane birds are declining in northern Europe (see here), right in line with predictions from climate models.
And evidence is also reinforcing the importance of protected areas to help wildlife cope with environmental change...
4. Studies of bittern populations in the Netherlands show (here) that they are more able to recover from severe winter weather in less fragmented habitats
And there are more unintended consequences that flow from climate chaos...
5. Scientists have shown (here) that longer ice-free periods reduce the time that polar bears can hunt seals on ice floes in Arctic Canada, so they are having to resort to increased egg predation at Common Eider and Thick-billed Murre colonies to compensate.
And if none of this evidence convinces you, then watch this video and see if this pulls the heart strings.
Go on, show the love...