How Does Climate Change Affects Bird Migration

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how does climate change affects bird migration

Global warming and climate change have brought about a lot of changes on our planet and one of these include changes in bird migration. Steadily rising temperatures have been making birds to begin their patterns of migration either too late or to early from the usual.

If these changes continue on the same pace and scale, then it won’t be wrong to assume a total disruption and change in the way birds migrate.  If you wish to understand how climate change affects bird migration, then you can go through the following given information.

how does climate change affects bird migration

  • Warmer temperatures are causing birds to start their migration earlier than usual and this has also led to alterations in the amount of time within which they complete their entire migrations. Ofcourse variations may occur from species to species but there is a certain change.
  • Most of the species of birds appear to time their arrival on the grounds of breeding based on climate as well as the environment factors.
  • For example, hummingbirds are known to be stimulated to migrate by changes in temperature and sunlight. So if the temperatures go high early on, then these birds might be prompted to migrate too early but may not be able to survive the various changes in climate which they migrate through.
  • Another thing that may be influenced in bird migration as a result of climate change is the speed of migration. Different species of birds migrate at different speeds and this makes the tracking of climate change on their migrating patterns.  The speed at which a certain bird migrates influences the likelihood of their survival through the routes of migration.
  • It is a fact that birds which take time through their migration routes are more capable of assessing their surroundings and in the situation where the temperatures are not warm enough, they may move on. This helps because if they arrive too early at a destination then they may face the possibility of limited resources and adverse conditions.
  • On the other hand, Species which tend to move too quickly through their migration route might be less capable of adapting to temperature change and this is something that can put them at a risk. Arriving at a destination too late is as much of a disadvantage as arriving there too early because high quality mates and breeding territories may have already been claimed by the others.
  • It is very difficult to track the migration patterns of hummingbirds and this is due to the solidarity of humming birds. But at the same time, these birds may also be main examples of how specific environmental conditions are important in order to complete a migration route successfully.
  • Because of their size, hummingbirds are very sensitive to temperatures and thus venturing into a climate that is a few degrees too cold can be detrimental for this specie.
  • It is interesting to note that even butterflies are affected by climate change as far as migration is concerned.

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