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Don MacNeill donmacneill@bellaliant.net
Climate change alters cast of winter birds
Date:
October 17, 2014
Source:
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Summary:
Over the past two decades, the resident communities of birds that attend
eastern North America?s backyard bird feeders in winter have quietly
been remade, most likely as a result of a warming climate.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A mix of birds gather around a snow-covered bird feeder during a winter
day. According to UW researchers, birds typically found in more
southerly regions are gradually pushing north ? a likely result of
climate Chan
/Credit: Martha Allen/Cornell Lab of Ornithology/
GE.
[Click to enlarge image] <javascript:void(0)>
A mix of birds gather around a snow-covered bird feeder during a winter
day. According to UW researchers, birds typically found in more
southerly regions are gradually pushing north ? a likely result of
climate change.
/Credit: Martha Allen/Cornell Lab of Ornithology/
Over the past two decades, the resident communities of birds that attend
eastern North America's backyard bird feeders in winter have quietly
been remade, most likely as a result of a warming climate.
Writing this week in the journal /Global Change Biology/, University of
Wisconsin-Madison wildlife biologists Benjamin Zuckerberg and Karine
Princé document that once rare wintering bird species are now
commonplace in the American Northeast.
Using more than two decades of data on 38 species of birds gathered by
thousands of "citizen scientists" through the Cornell University
Laboratory of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch, the Wisconsin
researchers show that birds typically found in more southerly regions
are gradually pushing north, restructuring the communities of birds that
spend their winters in northern latitudes.
To the causal observer of backyard birds, the list of species becoming
more common includes the readily familiar: cardinals, chipping sparrows
and Carolina wrens. These birds and other warm-adapted species,
according to Princé and Zuckerberg, have greatly expanded their
wintering range in a warmer world, a change that may have untold
consequences for North American ecosystems.
"Fifty years ago, cardinals were rare in the northeastern United States.
Carolina wrens even more so," explains Zuckerberg, a UW-Madison
assistant professor of forest and wildlife ecology.
An estimated 53 million Americans maintain feeding stations near their
homes, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, suggesting that
increases in some species may be attributable to more readily available
sources of food. However, that figure has remained constant, reflecting
only a slight decline since 1991, indicating that environmental factors
beyond the availability of food sources are at play.
The Wisconsin researchers measured the changes over time in the
abundance of 38 bird species at feeders in eastern North America,
specifically looking at the influence of changes in winter minimum
temperature over a 22-year period on the flocks of birds that gather at
backyard feeding stations.
"We conclude that a shifting winter climate has provided an opportunity
for smaller, southerly distributed species to colonize new regions and
promote the formation of unique winter bird assemblages throughout
eastern North America," Princé and Zuckerberg write in their Global
Change Biology report.
"People will likely start seeing new species in their backyards," says
Princé, a UW-Madison postdoctoral fellow. "There can also be subtle
changes in species abundance."
The changes in the mix of overwintering bird species is occurring
against a backdrop of milder winters with less snow, more variable and
intense precipitation events, and a shorter snow season, overall.
Climate models predict even warmer temperatures occurring over the next
100 years, with seasonal climate effects being the most pronounced in
northern regions of the world.
"We've been able to document in past studies that species are shifting
in response to climate change," Zuckerberg says. "This study documents
changes in the (winter bird) community structure. If you have a species
coming into a new area, it can modify the composition of the community."
In any ecosystem, Zuckerberg notes, removing or introducing even a
single species can have a cascade of ecological consequences, many of
them unknown.
"These backyard birds are the canaries in the coal mine," Zuckerberg
says. "Birds have always been very good indicators of environmental
change. Whenever you have a reshuffling of a community of species, you
have less of a sense of what change is going to be."
Princé notes that other environmental changes, such as the pervasive
human impact on landscape, for example, may also be exerting an
influence on the observed changes in the composition of birds attending
winter feeding stations in eastern North America.
"Climate change should not be viewed as the sole driver of changes in
winter bird communities, but this signal is a pretty strong one for
climate change," she explains. "The changes we document are so broad in
scope that anything that is occurring at a local level is swamped out by
the scale of this analysis."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Story Source:*
The above story is based on materials <http://www.news.wisc.edu/23208>
provided by *University of Wisconsin-Madison* <http://www.wisc.edu/>.
The original article was written by Terry Devitt. /Note: Materials may
be edited for content and length./
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Journal Reference*:
1. Karine Princé, Benjamin Zuckerberg. *Climate change in our
backyards: the reshuffling of North America's winter bird
communities*. /Global Change Biology/, 2014; DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12740
<http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12740>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Cite This Page*:
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* APA
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141017183444.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News%29#citation_apa>
* Chicago
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141017183444.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News%29#citation_chicago>
University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Climate change alters cast of winter
birds." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 October 2014.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141017183444.htm>.
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<h1 id="headline" class="story" style="COLOR:
rgb(0,66,118)">Climate change alters cast of winter
birds</h1>
<div style="WIDTH: 490px; FLOAT: left">
<div style="WIDTH: 65px; FLOAT: left; FONT-WEIGHT:
bold; COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); FONT-STYLE: italic;
TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px">Date:</div>
<div id="date_posted">October 17, 2014</div>
<div style="WIDTH: 65px; FLOAT: left; FONT-WEIGHT:
bold; COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); FONT-STYLE: italic;
TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 10px 0px;
PADDING-RIGHT: 10px">Source:</div>
<div id="source" style="MARGIN: 10px 0px">University
of Wisconsin-Madison</div>
<div style="WIDTH: 65px; FLOAT: left; FONT-WEIGHT:
bold; COLOR: rgb(102,102,102); FONT-STYLE: italic;
TEXT-ALIGN: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px;
PADDING-RIGHT: 10px">Summary:</div>
<div style="MARGIN: 10px 0px 10px 75px">
<div id="summary" style="FONT-SIZE: 13px">Over the
past two decades, the resident communities of
birds that attend eastern North America’s
backyard bird feeders in winter have quietly
been remade, most likely as a result of a
warming climate.</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr class="gray" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5px">
<div id="story" style="HEIGHT: 2412px; WIDTH: 605px;
FLOAT: right; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px;
PADDING-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN: 5px 0px 0px;
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<div id="story_photo">
<div id="photo_container">
<div class="triggers"> </div>
<div id="caption_container">
<div id="caption" style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px">A
mix of birds gather around a snow-covered
bird feeder during a winter day. According
to UW researchers, birds typically found in
more southerly regions are gradually pushing
north — a likely result of climate <font
color="#000000">Chan</font>
<div id="credit" style="HEIGHT: 38px; WIDTH:
67px; FLOAT: left"><em>Credit: Martha
Allen/Cornell Lab of Ornithology</em></div>
GE.</div>
<div style="WIDTH: 178px; FLOAT: right;
TEXT-ALIGN: right">
<div class="ignoreprint"><a
moz-do-not-send="true" class="image"
href="javascript:void(0)" rel="#photo1"><font
color="#0066cc">[Click to enlarge
image]</font></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="photo1" class="overlay">
<div class="details">A mix of birds gather
around a snow-covered bird feeder during a
winter day. According to UW researchers, birds
typically found in more southerly regions are
gradually pushing north — a likely result of
climate change.
<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; PADDING-TOP:
2px"><em>Credit: Martha Allen/Cornell Lab of
Ornithology</em></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end story_photo -->
<p id="first" style="FONT-SIZE: 15px; LINE-HEIGHT:
18px">Over the past two decades, the resident
communities of birds that attend eastern North
America's backyard bird feeders in winter have
quietly been remade, most likely as a result of a
warming climate.</p>
<div id="text" style="FONT-SIZE: 13px">
<p>Writing this week in the journal <em>Global
Change Biology</em>, University of
Wisconsin-Madison wildlife biologists Benjamin
Zuckerberg and Karine Princé document that once
rare wintering bird species are now commonplace
in the American Northeast.</p>
<p>Using more than two decades of data on 38
species of birds gathered by thousands of
"citizen scientists" through the Cornell
University Laboratory of Ornithology's Project
FeederWatch, the Wisconsin researchers show that
birds typically found in more southerly regions
are gradually pushing north, restructuring the
communities of birds that spend their winters in
northern latitudes.</p>
<p>To the causal observer of backyard birds, the
list of species becoming more common includes
the readily familiar: cardinals, chipping
sparrows and Carolina wrens. These birds and
other warm-adapted species, according to Princé
and Zuckerberg, have greatly expanded their
wintering range in a warmer world, a change that
may have untold consequences for North American
ecosystems.</p>
<p>"Fifty years ago, cardinals were rare in the
northeastern United States. Carolina wrens even
more so," explains Zuckerberg, a UW-Madison
assistant professor of forest and wildlife
ecology.</p>
<p>An estimated 53 million Americans maintain
feeding stations near their homes, according to
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, suggesting
that increases in some species may be
attributable to more readily available sources
of food. However, that figure has remained
constant, reflecting only a slight decline since
1991, indicating that environmental factors
beyond the availability of food sources are at
play.</p>
<p>The Wisconsin researchers measured the changes
over time in the abundance of 38 bird species at
feeders in eastern North America, specifically
looking at the influence of changes in winter
minimum temperature over a 22-year period on the
flocks of birds that gather at backyard feeding
stations.</p>
<p>"We conclude that a shifting winter climate has
provided an opportunity for smaller, southerly
distributed species to colonize new regions and
promote the formation of unique winter bird
assemblages throughout eastern North America,"
Princé and Zuckerberg write in their Global
Change Biology report.</p>
<p>"People will likely start seeing new species in
their backyards," says Princé, a UW-Madison
postdoctoral fellow. "There can also be subtle
changes in species abundance."</p>
<p>The changes in the mix of overwintering bird
species is occurring against a backdrop of
milder winters with less snow, more variable and
intense precipitation events, and a shorter snow
season, overall. Climate models predict even
warmer temperatures occurring over the next 100
years, with seasonal climate effects being the
most pronounced in northern regions of the
world.</p>
<p>"We've been able to document in past studies
that species are shifting in response to climate
change," Zuckerberg says. "This study documents
changes in the (winter bird) community
structure. If you have a species coming into a
new area, it can modify the composition of the
community."</p>
<p>In any ecosystem, Zuckerberg notes, removing or
introducing even a single species can have a
cascade of ecological consequences, many of them
unknown.</p>
<p>"These backyard birds are the canaries in the
coal mine," Zuckerberg says. "Birds have always
been very good indicators of environmental
change. Whenever you have a reshuffling of a
community of species, you have less of a sense
of what change is going to be."</p>
<p>Princé notes that other environmental changes,
such as the pervasive human impact on landscape,
for example, may also be exerting an influence
on the observed changes in the composition of
birds attending winter feeding stations in
eastern North America.</p>
<p>"Climate change should not be viewed as the
sole driver of changes in winter bird
communities, but this signal is a pretty strong
one for climate change," she explains. "The
changes we document are so broad in scope that
anything that is occurring at a local level is
swamped out by the scale of this analysis."</p>
</div>
<!-- end text -->
<hr>
<div id="story_source">
<p><strong>Story Source:</strong></p>
<p>The above story is based on <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.news.wisc.edu/23208"
rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><font
color="#0066cc">materials</font></a>
provided by <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="blue" href="http://www.wisc.edu/"
rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><strong><font
color="#0066cc">University of
Wisconsin-Madison</font></strong></a>. The
original article was written by Terry Devitt. <em>Note:
Materials may be edited for content and
length.</em></p>
</div>
<!-- end story_source -->
<hr>
<div id="journal_references">
<p><strong>Journal Reference</strong>:</p>
<ol class="journal">
<li>Karine Princé, Benjamin Zuckerberg. <strong>Climate
change in our backyards: the reshuffling of
North America's winter bird communities</strong>.
<em>Global Change Biology</em>, 2014; DOI: <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12740"
rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><font
color="#0066cc">10.1111/gcb.12740</font></a>
</li>
</ol>
<hr>
</div>
<!-- end journal_references -->
<div id="citations">
<p><strong>Cite This Page</strong>:</p>
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</ul>
<div class="panes">
<div id="citation_mla" class="content"
style="DISPLAY: block">University of
Wisconsin-Madison. "Climate change alters
cast of winter birds." ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily, 17 October 2014.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141017183444.htm>.</div>
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