Help Protect Great Tits, Fight Global Warming, Scientists Say (With Pictures)
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 05.12.08
This is a post about birds. What did you expect?
Researchers have found that at least one species of bird is coping well with global warming in the UK: Great Tits. They are laying their eggs earlier in the spring to better synchronize with the arrival of caterpillars. But the Great Tits in the Netherlands haven't been able to adjust, so this seems to be a local phenomenon. Many Great Tits could be affected.
"The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) commented that other species are likely to fare much worse than great tits as temperatures rise."
It is not yet clear why Great Tits in the UK are doing that well, but finding out the reason why is very important to further our understanding of how animals will adapt to climate change.
The great tits are laying eggs now about two weeks earlier in the year than they were 47 years ago.The timing is crucial, because for the two-week period after they hatch, the chicks have to gobble down huge quantities of winter moth caterpillars which only emerge for a short period.
And great tit babies are pretty voracious. Each breeding pair usually has 8-9 of them per brood, and each will eat about 70 caterpillars a day.
Birds
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More Great Tits
::Great tits cope well with warming
::Great Tit at RSPB
::Great Tit at Wikipedia
We hear so much about the canaries-in-the-coal-mine stories; some species like this will benefit, at least in the short term, from a warming climate. Some plants will no doubt do better while others decline as ecosystems change.
So while this may bode well for the great tits, let us not forget the middling and lesser tits. All tits have their place in this world, and in spite of slight differences in shape and size we should hold them all in equal esteem.
If we fail at this, our boobies and buffleheads can't be far behind.
Great tits may be coping well with global warming, but regular tits may need support.
^.~
Fighting urge to make Giggity Giggity Giggity comment... struggle too great......
I'll know things are getting bad when Audubon starts a "Page 3" section.
Well, both a heartwarming and sad story, depending on whether you're a British or a Dutch Great Tit!
I, for one, am fascinated by the fact that the same species of bird, just a couple of hundred miles apart, is having such a different time coping with climate change: one success, one failure. You'd think the birds everywhere would adapt the same as they have the same intellect and instincts to work with. I hope the scientists discover why there's such a behavioral difference. Maybe that could be a key to helping other species - not least us! - adapt to such changes.
I hope those little feather Dutch birds don't take too long to catch on!
Steve N. Lee
author of eco-blog http://www.lionsledbysheep.com
Worrying news for fans of great tits everywhere...
:)
Awesome title!! I laughed my ass off every time you said "great tits"....but a very interesting phenomenon that some are coping while others are not. Maybe they should try breeding the two types of tits together...
Dave
LOL @ John's comment.
Very well said, sir.
We can't forget that global warming could also affect the nice bushes which great tits often are found near.