A 2014 Audubon Society identified
314 species the society considers to be either threatened or endangered by 2080
if steps aren't taken to reduce greenhouse gases and curb the change.
PANAMA CITY - If the climate
changes as scientists have predicted, it could spell problems for some of Bay
County's feathered residents.
Take the dunlin, a small brown
wading bird with a long beak that winters along the Gulf shoreline. A 2014 climate
report done by the Audubon Society showed that if "business continues as
usual" when it comes to emissions, by 2080 the dunlin will lose 94 percent
of its summer and breeding range in Northern Canada.
"This is a climate
endangered species," Norman Capra, vice president of the Bay County
Audubon Society, said during a citizen's science presentation Tuesday.
"The dunlin is just one. The snowy plover is also endangered, though the
data is not as striking."
The 2014 study, which looked at
500 species, identified 314 species that would become either threatened or
endangered by 2080 if steps aren't taken to reduce greenhouse gases and curb
the change, according to Capra. It also includes predictions for 2020 and 2050.
Whether the predictions turn out
to be true will be measured both through the annual Audubon Christmas Bird
Count, which 57 Bay County residents took part in this year, and the North
American Breeding Bird Count, which takes place in the summer.
As of now, Capra said the data
collected does not point conclusively one way or the other. During the December
2016 count, birders noticed some unusual birds such as a Baltimore oriole and
some red breasted nuthatches, but it's not enough evidence to prove the birds
are being impacted by a changing climate.
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