Global Warming Pushing Multiple Waterfowl Species Away From Tropics Towards Higher Latitutdes
Some experts theorize that in the past, climate change promoted the evolution of new species in the tropics, contributing to the rich biodiversity found near the equator. if that was the case, however, the trend is now shifting. New research has confirmed that climate change is rapidly forcing waterbirds to move away from the world’s tropical regions and toward the poles.
An international team of scientists led by Dr. Tatsuya Amano of the University of Queensland reviewed more than a million records of waterbird species and determined that temperature increase is drastically affecting the abundance of equatorial species.
“Using 1,303,651 count records of 390 species, we show that with temperature increase, the abundance of species and populations decreased at lower latitudes, particularly in the tropics, but increased at higher latitudes. These contrasting latitudinal responses indicate potential global-scale poleward shifts of species abundance under climate change,” wrote the researchers. “The negative responses to temperature increase in tropical species are of conservation concern, as they are often also threatened by other anthropogenic factors.”
EDIT
The investigation was focused on data collected by the International Waterbird Census and Christmas Bird Count since 1990. An analysis of this data revealed that 69 percent of the tropical species exhibited negative responses to temperature increases. “The global dataset of waterbird abundance is the fruit of invaluable, long-term survey efforts in over 100 countries and covers regions for which there is little information on climate change impacts,” said Dr. Amano.
EDIT
https://www.earth.com/news/waterbirds-are-being-forced-out-of-the-tropics-by-climate-change/