Saturday, March 28, 2009

Ample evidence Florida's feeling effects of climate change

An article in the Palm Beach Post (Florida) has several detailed lists of climate impacts on various Florida species: …People who study South Florida's environment say global warming is starting to have a significant impact on Florida's fish, fowl and flora. Among those beginning to see the signs is [Don] Hammond, a private researcher in Charleston, S.C., who retired after 35 years with that state's Department of Natural Resources. He now runs a company called Cooperative Sciences Services. His fish, tagged in waters between South Florida and North Carolina, appear to be migrating farther north. Last year, one in five were hooked anew between North Carolina and Massachusetts, and one swam its way to the waters off of Nova Scotia.

…To help separate fact from conjecture, the University of South Florida is turning its 756-acre Ecological Research Area into an an outdoor lab to track the effects of climate change. The site, operational this spring, will monitor the usual indicators of seasonal change — such as the migration of birds — to see if they are happening earlier than in the past, said George Kish, coordinator of the project….

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