Birds adapting to climate change

Science Daily: Individual birds can adjust their behaviour to take climate change in their stride, according to a study by scientists from the University of Oxford. A study of the great tit (Parus major) population in Wytham Woods, near Oxford, has shown that the birds are now laying their eggs, on average, two weeks earlier than half a century ago. The change in their behaviour enables them to make the most of seasonal food: a bonanza of caterpillars that now also occurs around two weeks earlier due to warmer spring temperatures.

‘We found that, in this great tit population, female birds are able to adapt their behaviour from year to year to respond to changing environmental conditions,’ said Professor Ben Sheldon, of the Edward Grey Institute in Oxford’s Department of Zoology, lead author of a report of the research in this week’s Science. ‘In this case, they have been able to keep track with the changes that have happened over recent decades, showing that population responses to climate change can be driven by the adaptability of individuals rather than genetic changes…

A great tit caught in a net, Júlio Reis (User:Tintazul), Wikimedia Commons, under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license