A new study shows the effect climate change is having on birds across the country including over 50 species in Alaska.
Alaska is suffering the effects of climate change in a drastic way. Retreating Arctic sea ice, coastal erosion, changing permafrost levels, increased fires and bark beetle infestations are just some of the ways the state has been impacted. National Audubon released a report earlier this month projecting how climate change will affect birds across the country through the year 2080. The data was then broken down by state and species of birds studied.
Audubon Alaska’s executive director Nils Warnock says the study looked at 588 different species across the nation. He says the birds were looked at in the context of what is called the climate envelope.
“They look at ok where a bird lives, what the average temperature is, precipitation, and other climate variables and then they model this against some of the climate change models that are coming out. The well, scientifically justified, well developed justified models and they look at, and they project into the future how that climate envelope might change for each of these birds. How the bird’s distribution may change through the next oh I think it goes from the current period to 2080.”
The study predicts that 21.4 percent of the existing bird species will lose “more than half of the current climactic range by 2050 without the potential to make up losses by moving to other areas.” The study looked at birds that are common in Alaska including the American Dipper.
The American Dipper catches all of its food underwater. The Audubon’s climate model forecasts only 12 percent of its current summer climate space remaining available by 2080.
The Common Raven was also studied. The model predicts only 39 percent of the raven’s climate summer space will remain stable by 2080.
Warnock says even if a person doesn’t believe in climate change, it’s almost impossible to not notice the changes in Alaska. He says the cause of the change is what people disagree on.
“But if you look at say temperature in Alaska, Alaska has warmed at double the national average. Our average temperatures in the last 50 years have gone up I think in the summer by over three degrees and our winter temperatures have gone up in the last 50 years by six degrees. That’s a lot of temperature change. And that’s affecting our boreal forests, our permafrost, our permafrost, our sea ice. And all of those things are affecting our bird populations and they affect us.”
Audubon has some suggestions as to what humans can do to help turn around the climate change effects and helps bird populations in general. Making backyards bird-friendly by providing food and shelter and reducing energy used in the home are the best solutions to human interference in a bird’s life.