Climate change could impact critical food supplies for migratory birds

Date:  April 4, 2018

Source:  Cornell University

Climate change could disrupt a critical fueling-up stage for migratory birds just as they're preparing to depart on their autumn journeys to Central America, according to research published in the journal Ecology Letters.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology research ecologist Frank La Sorte developed computer models of predicted changes in climate for every week of the year in the Western Hemisphere. These models were then overlaid with weekly estimates of abundance for 77 migratory bird species that fly between breeding grounds in North America and non-breeding grounds in Mexico and Central America. La Sorte used bird observations from the eBird citizen-science database, an online program run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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