Climate change is leading to more frequent, intense storm events across the globe. The recently released report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicated that among other consequences of climate change, heavy rains fueled by warmer air will increase the number of deadly floods across the planet, a trend that many researchers say is already underway. Floods are the most common natural disasters in many areas, they are getting worse. As climate change continues to exacerbate sea-level rise and extreme weather, our nation’s floodplains are expected to grow by approximately 45 percent by the end of the century, extending the destructive reach of these disasters.
In addition to human communities, severe weather can harm birds and other wildlife. Heavy rainfall can reduce foraging time for many bird species. Flying insects are inactive during heavy rain, so birds such as aerial insectivores – which are experiencing strong population declines across North America – are unable to find food during storms. This means that nesting birds have less food to feed their young, causing nestling growth to slow in insectivores, such as Tree Swallows, after heavy rains.
Heavy rains also flood nests of birds that nest on beaches and barrier islands – like terns, plovers, and Black Skimmers – or on floating vegetation in wetlands, such as Seaside Sparrows, rails, and bitterns. Some experts associate these precipitation changes with the loss of forests, swamps, and marshes, which reduces evaporation of water from soil and plants into the atmosphere, and creates unpredictable weather patterns. Loss of these habitats also directly impacts breeding and wintering birds that rely on these areas to find food and nesting or roosting sites.
Increasingly severe storms can impact birds during the most perilous period of their annual cycle: migration. Heavy rainfall and strong winds can ground birds during their journeys, requiring them to rest, feed, and build their strength back up before continuing on their migration. With intense and long-lasting rainstorms becoming more frequent, these stopover periods are likely to become longer for many birds, leading to prolonged migrations and potentially higher mortality.
In addition, various studies have indicated that some migrant declines may be due to rainfall variation, the consequences of which may carry over from one stage of a migrant’s annual cycle to another. For example, recent research demonstrated that Kirtland’s Warbler first-time breeders were much more sensitive to changes in winter rainfall in the Caribbean than experienced adults, which could have important consequences for their migration timing and subsequent reproductive success during the breeding season in Michigan.
Precipitation has been shown to be a more important predictor than temperature for understanding long-term changes in bird species’ distributions and abundances. In particular, December snowfall has carry-over effects months later since the melting snow runoff is what affects stream flows, plant growth, and insect abundance in the spring and summer. While increased precipitation generally has positive effects on western birds due to the otherwise dry conditions in the region, future changes in evaporation rates and storm timing and intensity may lead to mismatches in bird breeding times with food availability and abundance, thereby reducing productivity.
For the Blue Grosbeak, timing of breeding is associated with monsoons in New Mexico, which is thought to relate to important insect populations for feeding young. The increasing variability of heavy rains because of warming temperatures means that prey populations may no longer sync up with the energetically demanding breeding times of many bird species in North America.
Without immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, climate change is projected to increase the frequency with which birds have to weather heavy precipitation events. Birds don’t have the same technology and early warning system for severe weather events like we do, but we can help birds – and communities – prepare for a storm by prioritizing the restoration and conservation of our natural infrastructure. As the impacts of climate change increase, habitats ranging from forests and wetlands to coastlines and barrier islands that absorb heavy rainfall and protect against sea-level rise become more important than ever for birds and people alike.
Day be day my habbit of watching wild animal and biodiversity increased , and i spent my every free time with this kind specific channels , which are only focused to provide details about this beautiful creatures.
Channels like bbc earth, national geographic, wild and discovery entertain you in new way where you are getting knowledge for your every second. So no doubt this is good way to utilize your time in productive way.
Because mom says me that, ” knowledge never wasted, and every single knowledgeable thing become useful at some stage of your life”. And i personally believe it .
Yesterday i have watched a series on “BBC Earth” that is focused on extinction of animal and biodiversity, and it really changed my opinion perspective towards life and specially towards human beings.
Extinction: The Facts is a 2020 documentary film by the natural historian David Attenborough which aired on the BBC. It depicts the continuing sixth mass extinction, caused by humans, and the consequences of biodiversity loss and climate change.
facts we learned by watching Extinction: The Facts, presented by Sir David Attenborough
I never seen this person earlier , but i personally become fan of him, or i would like to mention here there i definitely want to join there team, team which specifically focused that how we can make this earth safer and better place for each and everyone. Not only for future human generation but for our wild life too.
This weekend show become my favorite and i want everyone to pay attention on this must and priority show , with what has been heralded as a landmark . Extinction: The Facts presented by Sir David Attenborough, did not mince its words, offering a very real, often terrifying look at the state of our planet today.
As its name suggests, the hour-long film addressed the questions of why one million out of the eight million species on earth are now threatened with extinction (spoiler: it’s because of the actions of one species – humans); and what that means for the planet today and in the future.
Having watched the program , I encourage you to do the same . No doubt the film will eventually be available overseas, although I have not been able to confirm that as yet. So in the meantime, if you’d like to get the low-down on what has been called a ‘surprisingly radical‘ documentary, or if you just like spoilers, we’ve curated some of the most eye-opening facts and quotes from the program right here.
And if the realities of the damage already done to the biodiversity of the planet makes you want to take action, we’ve included some suggestions on the simple steps we can all take to help protect the planet and the species on it, at the end of the article.
1. This is not a future crisis. It’s happening now.
Species of plants and animals are already going extinct, because of what humans are doing to the planet. Since 1500, 570 plant species and 700 animal species have gone extinct. Now, one million species out of eight million species on earth are threatened with extinction. The biggest issue is the rate of extinction. While the disappearance of species from Earth is ongoing and rates of extinction have varied over time; historically, extinction has happened over millions of years, but now, it’s happening over tens of years. In fact, it’s happening 100x faster than the natural evolutionary rate, and it’s accelerating.
2. Extinction is happening everywhere. And to everything. And it has a huge ripple effect.
From the Amazon, to Africa, to the Arctic, we are losing species of insects, mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and more. And the consequences of these losses has a massive ripple effect. When you look at biodiversity, ecosystems, food chains – everything is interconnected. When you remove or damage one part of that well-oiled machine, the rest of it malfunctions. When it comes to the biodiversity machine, all parts, from the tiniest ant, to the tallest tree, to the largest whale, to the tallest branch, they are all necessary for it – and the planet, and us humans – to survive.
For example, at least 10% of insect species are at risk of extinction. The ripple effect from that loss will impact on the food chain for hundreds of thousands of other species that rely on insects to survive, as well as the loss of pollinators to ensure crops can grow. A 10% loss of insect species will effect three quarters of the world’s food crops.
Under the ground, 30% of lands globally have been degraded, which means a loss of diversity in the soil – the consequences of while could be catastrophic, as it means food production is already being impacted.
25% of our plant species are at risk of extinction. That impacts the air we breathe. the level of co2 in the air, how clean our water is. Trees are vital to intercept rainfall and hold the ground together with their roots. Where we lose trees, we gain landslides.
3. There are eight million species on planet earth, but only one species is responsible for the extinction of others: humans.
There are many ways we humans royally mess up our own home:
Poaching. Any animal, it seems, can be bought for the right price. From rhinos, to pangolins, they are purchased as status symbols or for fantasy medical purposes.
Over-fishing. At any one time, 100,000 trawlers are operating in our seas. The seas have been decimated of fish. Losing the smaller species of fish, like cod, has a ripple effect to the larger fish and sea animals that prey on them and depend on them for survival.
Consumerism. Although population growth does have some impact on biodiversity, it is the demand for consumption that has a greater effect on the planet. The world’s developing countries have a higher population growth; but it is the developed countries, which have a lower population growth, but a higher demand for consumption, that are putting a strain on nature’s resources. Many of the products we use are produced in an unsustainable way and in places that don’t have the same environmental laws and regulations that a country such as the UK has.
Climate Change. This will be the biggest threat faced by species. The Paris Agreement states that all governments should try and limit climate change to no more than 2’C. All calculations show we’re on track for a 3-4 degree rise in temperatures. Increasing temperatures force some species to move to cooler locations. Eventually, they run out of places to go.
Destruction of habitats. 90% of the wetlands around the world have already been lost. 75% of land that is not covered by ice has already been converted. Mostly to feed one species – humans, and often humans from the other side of the world to where the clearance has happened. We are unwittingly supermarket-shopping our way into disaster, with cheap food and access year-round to a variety of food (rather than seasonal, locally grown produce). Research shows the main drivers of biodiversity loss are soy (the majority of which goes into animal feed, particularly chicken feed), cocoa, coffee, palm oil and beef. Livestock accounts for 60% of the total mammals on earth, humans 36% and wild animals just 4%.
Humans are behind every single pandemic, so stop blaming the bats. It is human impact on the environment that drives emerging diseases. Not just wildlife trade and animal markets – which are an ideal environment for viruses to spread, due to the density of highly-stressed animals in proximity to people (when stressed, animals shed viruses at a higher rate); but also because of our daily intrusion into wildlife habitat. Forests have thousands of viruses that we haven’t come into contact with yet. Deforestation and construction that encroaches into those forests exposes humans to those viruses. And before you know it, we’re in another pandemic. In fact, according to the documentary, it is estimated that there will be five new emerging diseases affecting people every year.
Ok, I’m angry, sad, terrified and feeling helpless. Is there anything I/we can do to help save the planet and prevent species extinction?
Extinction: The Facts gives examples of where change has happened in the past, with positive outcomes: like the replacement of CFCs in aerosols and refrigerators, with an alternative that didn’t create a hole in the ozone layer in 1996; or how governments in three East African countries collaborated with conservation organizations and local communities to save the mountain gorilla, which only a few decades ago was on the brink of extinction.
The documentary identified a number of changes that need to be made, and we have added to those the actions individuals can take towards each one below.
1. Reset the way we run our economies. We’re coming out of a global pandemic and into a global recession. But research has shown that investment in projects that are good for the environment, can also provide a strong way out of the depression with quick, labor-intensive actions that have powerful and positive economic outcomes.
Autumn 