Sponsored by
Bird populations hit by climate changes
NEW research by The University of Sheffield has shown major oil spills and a changing climate have had a far greater impact on British sea bird populations than previously thought.
A team led by Professor Tim Birkhead from the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences showed for the first time that major oil spills double the mortality rate of adult guillemots in Britain - even if the pollution occurs hundreds of miles from the birds' breeding grounds.
The research, to be published in the November issue of Ecology Letters, also shows a direct link between a warmer climate in the North Atlantic and a higher mortality rate among British guillemots.
Professor Birkhead's long-term guillemot study has been carried out on Skomer Island, Wales, since 1972.
Their findings show that highly publicised oil spills in southern Europe, such as the Prestige oil tanker disaster off the coast of Galicia, Spain, in November 2002, have far-reaching consequences on seabirds breeding far from the scene of the initial pollution.
The research also suggests seabirds are vulnerable to changes to the ecosystem caused by global climate change from man's burning of fossil fuels.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
