Date: November 8, 2018
Source: University of Bath
Climate
change could be responsible for a substantial decline in populations of
shorebirds, say researchers from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University
of Bath, following a study published in Science analysing population
data over a period of 70 years.
Historically,
the rates of nest predation -- eggs being stolen from nests by predators -- are
higher in the tropics, presumably due to higher variability of potential
predators.
To
counter this, shorebirds such as plovers and sandpipers migrate to the Arctic
to lay their eggs as a safe place in which to build their nests and raise their
young. Tropical birds, on the other hand, tend to have longer lifespans and
longer periods of seasonal reproduction so their populations can generally
withstand higher nest predation.
However
an international team of researchers, including researchers from the
Universities of Bath and Sheffield, have found that rates of daily nest
predation in the Arctic have increased threefold in the last 70 years.
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