Australian Birds Getting Smaller: Climate Change Blamed
A new study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, has documented that some Australian birds are getting smaller. The study, which was based on measurements of museum specimens collected over the past century, has confirmed that birds in Southeast Australia have shrunk from 2-4% on average.
The research team, led by Janet Gardner of Australian National University, concluded that these trends are likely due to global climate change. Smaller bodies shed heat faster than larger ones, and as Earth gets warmer, the team expects these trends to continue and accelerate. While this is the first research in Australia to reveal such trends, the article cites similar trends of shrinking mammals and birds that have been documented in Britain, Denmark, Israel, and New Zealand.
Scientists commenting on the study said this was both good news and bad. It was “alarming”, they said, that global warming may be causing evolutionary change, but also hopeful in that some species may be able to adapt to changing circumstances.
Another scary side effect of global warming. How could this affect other animals?
I recently visited Green Island off the coast of Cairns, Australia. Conservationists there told me about the impacts on the fish in the area of the outer reef surrounding Green Island. The impacts of climate change and human interference has caused some fish to show breeding behaviors off season or sometimes even all year long. Fish that may be silver all year long except the breeding season are now displaying colors that should only be for a portion of the year.
Every small change is scary. I spent three months studying Australian environment and wildlife. A majority of the wildlife is suffering all over the country, excluding feral cats, dogs, foxes, and cane toads of course.