Climate Change: Bird Species at Risk in Bogs

An entire ecosystem may be threatened by climate change. Scientists have found that several rare upland bird species are being put at risk together with other ecosystem functions in blanket bogs.

In this latest study, the researchers created a model to show climate change predictions. They looked at the different birds found in blanket bogs and looked at how increasing temperatures impact the hydrology of this ecosystem. They also looked at sources of food, such as the "daddy longlegs," and how they would be impacted by climate change.

What did they find? Based on a peatland model, the scientists found that by 2051 to 2080, dunlins could see a 50 percent decline in numbers. In addition, the golden plover could go down by 30 percent and the red grouse could drop by 15 percent. This would actually all be driving by the declining abundance of the birds' prey: the daddy longlegs, also known as the crane fly.

The findings suggest that large-scale projects to restore degraded and eroded blanket bogs could be critical in securing future bird populations. In addition, these projects could also help secure water supplies and the crucial role of blanket bogs as a carbon store.

"This is one of the first studies to follow this bug-to-bird link, down the food chain, between climate change and something happening to an entire ecosystem with relevance to people. There is a very strong relationship between the moisture of the peat and the survival of the larvae of the crane fly during summer," said Andreas Heinemeyer, one of the researchers, in a news release. "July and August are peak times: if it is too dry, the larvae just desiccate and die and are then not available for the bird chicks the following year."

The findings reveal a bit more about this ecosystem and show that conservations efforts may be necessary in the future.

The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

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