Warming in the Arctic Affects Body Size Of Red Knot Shorebirds
Climate change is drastically affecting the sizes of some breeds of migratory birds. Red knot shorebirds, which fly about 5,000 kilometers over the Arctic in the summer to find habitat in the tropical areas, are now believed to be shrinking in stature. Making the situation worse for these winged creatures is the fact that these changes can threaten their very own existence.
A new study published in the journal and cited by BBC.com indicated the shrinking in body size of the red knot (scientific name: calidris canutus). A team of researchers, who has been monitoring the bird for more than three decades, noticed some noticeable "change in body size and also a change in body shape."
Research team head, Dr. Jan van Gils of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, told the publication:
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"What is peculiar about this is that we have strong evidence that this is an effect of climate change and people have seen in other species changes in body size in response to climate change."
The study particularly tracked the red knots roosting in Northern Russia and moving to the Southern Hemisphere. They employ satellite imaging techniques to observe the rate of development of the birds as related to the melting of the snow.
Scientists confirmed that the current situation could contribute in the increase of their extinction rate, given that these birds are already in the high-risk extinction category in the first place.
As further stipulated in the study, it is the warmer temperature that directly contributes to the big changes in the landscape where they fly to breed. The data retrieved indicates that the insects are emerging earlier than expected. This makes the chicks miss the time where their food is abundant. In effect, their bills have grown even shorter than the usual. With the shorter beaks, the young birds will be forced to eat less nutritious foods.
"Shorter-billed birds were forced to live on seagrass, which is a poor food source for these birds. The poor survival of shrunken first-year birds clearly contributes to the current population decline seen in red knots nowadays," van Gils said, according to Xinhuanet.com.
