Mountains and seas make it difficult for birds to escape climate change. As a Swiss study shows, many European birds cannot move their habitat to cooler areas fast enough. Certain species may even be threatened with extinction.
According to the study, natural obstacles affect the distances the birds travel and the direction they fly. “We already knew that the birds are not changing their habitat fast enough to stay in the climate conditions that are right for them. Now we have part of the explanation for this phenomenon,” says study author Laura Bosco. The research team used data from the European breeding bird atlases from the 1980s and 2010s. It includes all bird species in Europe.
Birds in the Alps, such as the snow sparrow, the rock ptarmigan or the mountain pipit, suffer from the obstacles. These species prefer to stay at the alpine elevations they are familiar with. Traversing a lower valley can be difficult for them. The researcher is also concerned about bird life in the coastal areas. “Birdlife in coastal areas often consists of rare species,” Bosco said.
Two-thirds live in cooler areas
Overall, two-thirds of European bird species have migrated to cooler areas in the last 30 years. Today they live an average of 100 kilometers further north or east. Knowledge about natural barriers should contribute to the protection of species. The results were recently published in the journal “Pnas”.
Source: Krone
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