Climate change makes birds evolve

An increase in average summer temperatures mayaffect the appearance of most birds on the planet. Such an ambiguous conclusion was reached by experts from Chicago, who for four decades collected and measured birds, analyzing in this original way more than 70,716 specimens. Scientists have found that over the past few decades, the body weight of birds has decreased significantly compared to previous periods, which may indicate a strong influence of climate change on the organisms of the living creatures of the Earth. Is it really? Let's try to figure it out together in this article.

Rising temperatures on the planet lead to the evolution of birds

Can climate change affect living organisms?

The question of whether climate change can influencethe state of the organism of a living creature has long been of interest to scientists. After analyzing a huge number of birds, David Willard, an honorary collection manager in the Field Museum in Chicago and co-author of the study, came to the conclusion that he found samples from 52 common species of birds are very different from their counterparts, who died crashing into Chicago buildings for more than four decades back. The scientist found that over the past few decades, the body weight of birds decreased by 2.6 percent, the bones of their legs shortened by 2.4 percent, and the length of the wings increased by an average of 1.3 percent.

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Scientists do not know what exactly causes a decreasebirds in size, however, they believe that this unexpected effect may appear because small animals are easier to keep cool with minimal energy. In addition, the growth of the wings of young birds can be associated with the same reason, at the same time turning sparrows, swallows and tits into even more effective pilots.

Despite the possibility of adaptation of some animals to climate change, global warming can destroy a huge number of modern species

Research done on alpine goats andsalamanders have also shown that they are becoming smaller due to climate exposure. As the Earth’s atmosphere heats up more and more, the living creatures of the planet are trying to actively adapt to the ongoing changes, while changing some aspects of their biology.

Do you think it is possible for humanity to stop global warming, or is it easier for us to adapt to them? Share your opinion in our Telegram chat or on a channel in Yandex.Zen.

Despite the positive opportunity for bird adaptationto climatic changes occurring on Earth, the temperature regime of the planet has a huge impact on the existence of other species, and, unfortunately, not for the better. The processes of hibernation and migration are directly related to the processes occurring in the Earth’s atmosphere, whose changes can provoke significant disturbances in the normal functioning of organisms. Bears who have not hibernated in an excessively warm winter, or birds that do not migrate into the heat, are just isolated examples of such climatic changes.