Wildlife population has been moving around due to climate change. Many species affected would move to a place that would be more suitable for them. This has made tracking difficult as they move with the climate, and as the climate shifts they would follow as well. Wildlife population shift is hard to predict with climate change.
Many ecologists have thought that animals would go where the climate would suit them. As the climate changes, animals would move along with it. A study made by ecologists from the University of Massachusetts though shows that it doesn't quite work that way. In their study, Bill DeLuca and David King have found that wildlife population movement has not been consistent.
The two ecologists have studied lowland and higher mountain bird species. They expected the birds to move further upslope as the climate becomes warmer. However, their study showed that the birds didn't do that, and moved further downslope rather than going up.
Earlier studies have already shown that many species are moving downslope, or towards the equator. This is despite the warming trend of the climate. The study of DeLuca and King though is the first to show that the bird population is also doing the same thing, according to the UMassAmherst site. In the study, DeLuca noted that human activities have affected the distribution of mountain species.
Around 28 bird species have been studied in the span of 17 years. These bird species come from 42 mountainsides in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. In the study, nine of the 11 mountain birds have shifted downslope. The study also noted that nine of the 16 lowland birds have moved upslope.
What could have contributed to the shift in bird population is the decline of some trees that are important to the birds. Some of the trees that have declined in recent years include red spruce and paper birch, as Science Daily reports. The trees have been replaced by balsam fir, which higher elevation birds favor. This has made the higher elevation birds move downslope.
While higher elevation birds move downward, lower elevation birds are being driven to move up with the warming climate. Based on earlier studies, the mid elevation around Mount Washington has become warm, which has made the birds move up. It is clear though that in both cases, the birds are moving to find a place suitable for them.
As the climate changes, the wildlife population changes as well. The wildlife population shift is hard to predict with climate change. Another one affecting bird population might be disease, as several ducks in the Netherlands have been affected by bird flu.
