Birds may sing a song of climate change

Laurent examined the abundance patterns of 14 songbird species, including the black-capped chickadee, and compared populations with temperature changes

March 30, 1999
Web posted at: 11:58 AM EST

Winter songbird populations may serve as a short-term ecological indicator of climate change, according to a University of Michigan study showing a link between temperatures in the Great Plains over the last 30 years and the abundance of several common species of winter songbirds.

Chad Laurent, a sophomore at the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment, has studied the relationship between winter temperatures from 1960 to 1990 and the populations of 14 species of winter songbirds using statistics from the National Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count. His research shows that particular bird populations are directly affected by winter temperatures.

"One year's winter temperatures alone don't seem to affect the abundance of certain species," said Laurent. "But when you look at average temperatures for three years, you can begin to see the correlation. Birds who track temperature move very quickly in response to temperature variations."

Laurent examined the abundance patterns of 14 songbird species, including the black-capped chickadee, the horned lark, the white-breasted nuthatch, the American goldfinch, the American tree sparrow, and the dark-eyed junco, in four Great Plains states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.

His research correlated low, medium and high abundance of temperature-linked species with average winter temperatures over several different periods of time, from one to five, 10, and 30 years. The study refines previous research by Prof. Terry J. Root, of the School of Natural Resource and Environment, which has shown that some species of wintering birds are associated primarily with vegetation while others are associated mainly with temperatures.

"Since watching and feeding winter songbirds is such a popular pastime in this country," says Laurent, "elucidating the effects that global warming has on bird abundance has tremendous potential to increase public awareness of the problem."

Laurent will present his research, part of the university's Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, April 14 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

For more information, contact Diane Swanbrow, University of Michigan, (734)647-4416, email: swanbrow@umich.edu.

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