Biodiversity News
Below are links to stories on Biodiversity, especially relating to aviation and airports.
Thames Estuary and Marshes SPA – one of the top 5 UK sites for wintering or migrating birds
The salt marshes on the Peninsula are part of the Thames Estuary and Marshes Special Protection Area, designated for its internationally important populations of wintering birds. The site regularly supports some 33,000 wintering waterfowl, of which avocets and ringed plovers occur in internationally important numbers. In summer, there are important breeding populations of avocets, marsh harriers, Mediterranean gulls and little terns.
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Three recent bird strike incidents for aircraft including Qantas and Thomas Cook
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Climate risks greater for long distance migratory birds
Birds embarking on long distance migrations are more vulnerable to shifts in the climate than ones making shorter journeys, a study in the Proceedings of the Royal Society suggests. Scientists say the increasingly early arrival of spring at breeding sites in Europe makes it harder for the birds to attract a mate or find food if they arrive after the optimum time. The researchers warn the "increasing ecological mismatch" can lead to a decline in bird populations.
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Birds of prey and robot bird being used to keep birds away from airports
East Midlands airport is to use the assistance of an eagle owl, owned by GB Pest Control, to help keep pigeons away from flight paths. They see traditional methods as equally effective as chemical based pest control or shooting, and far better for the environment. In the Netherlands, a company has produced a remarkably life-like flying robot bird, the Ro-Bird, which flaps realistically and is apparently effective in chasing off birds.
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Climate change could destroy 80% of rainforest by next century
A study by the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology in California has shown that fewer than 1/5 of plants and animals which currently live in the world's rainforests will still be here in 90 years time - due to climate change and deforestation. Rainforests currently hold more than half of all the plant and animal species on Earth. There will be severe alterations in species composition. Steep declines in CO2 emissions are needed. (Telegraph)
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British wildlife faces climate change devastation, warns Environment Agency
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Ocean acidification rates pose disaster for marine life, major study shows
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Wildlife crisis worse than economic crisis – IUCN
Life on Earth is under serious threat, according to a detailed analysis of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The 2010 target to reduce biodiversity loss will not be met. 1,159 species are extinct, extinct in the wild, or critically endangered. Climate change is not currently the main threat to wildlife, but this may soon change. A significant proportion of species that are currently not threatened with extinction are susceptible to climate change.
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Bird Strikes A Growing Problem At US Airports
Despite renewed efforts by New York officials to keep skies around the city's airports clear of wildlife, a passenger plane was damaged after hitting a bird as it landed this week in what is a growing industry problem. While the flight landed safely at La Guardia airport on Tuesday, it became one of about 7,000 planes a year in the US to be involved in a so-called bird strike, of which 14% suffer damage, industry data shows. (Planet Ark)
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Climate Change Turning Seas Acid, Academies Warn
Climate change is turning the oceans more acid in a trend that could endanger everything from clams to coral and be irreversible for thousands of years. 70 academies from around the world urged governments meeting in Bonn for climate talks to take more account of risks to the oceans in a new UN treaty for fighting global warming due to be agreed in Copenhagen in December. Rising acidity causes problems for coral and for shell formation. (Reuters)