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Index of Subjects
Index of Subjects --Apple-Mail=_4A34E636-E4D5-4D3A-8B6F-B49881830D6D Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Oh my! More global warming stuff. With its serious tone, it almost = sounds humorous. I guess a researcher must keep a straight face when = reporting results like this, if he wishes to keep the grant-money = flowing. There is no evidence that birds have to evolve in order to change their = geographic range. That is what the author implies. Does he think that = birds actually evolve a map of their territory in their wee brains? One = thinks of the European Starling, introduced once into New York City, and = now (little more than a century later) covering much of the continent. = That is not evolution, but just a population spreading into opportune = habitat. The obvious reason the birds in this study have not moved north as fast = as the researchers expected, is probably that the birds are finding = enough food where they are. It is as simple as that. It is not = computerized climate charts which influence bird behavior, so much as = food supply. Birds found the feeders in our yard in hours or days. They did not need = to evolve to adapt to the new food source: they are opportunistic, and = always on the lookout. They also learn: that is why we noticed the = birds lurking close to the house as the weather cooled this fall, = looking for the feeders which we had not yet set up for the season. It is simply ridiculous to suggest that the insects are moving north = faster than the birds because the insects are evolving faster. And, the = author implies, the birds will not now be able to find those insects who = have outpaced them in the race to move northward! No, the birds can = find their food: they even learn new food supplies, as the chickadees = have learned to eat the caterpillars of the Gypsy Moth. I have seen = birds exploit new food sources merely by watching birds of other = species. How long did that take? In some cases, but a few minutes! (Lund University, by the way, is normally regarded as one of the most = renowned in Sweden.) Birds are fun to study, but any honest ornithologist must admit that = they are not a good index of climatic change. As climatologists have = known for over a century, plants are the best index of climate, because = they cannot migrate and move about: they are stuck where they are = growing. We know from pollen studies that shifting climates of the past = are well documented by changes in plant distribution. Birds are very mobile, and most of them are really quite adaptable. = They are about the poorest group of organisms to study for hints about = climatic change. On 30 Jan 2012, at 7:23 AM, Angus MacLean wrote: > This describes a study by Swedish researchers re birds & butterflies: >=20 > http://www.world-science.net/othernews/120117_warming >=20 > Have there been similar studies in this hemisphere? > Angus >=20 --Apple-Mail=_4A34E636-E4D5-4D3A-8B6F-B49881830D6D Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii <html><head></head><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; = -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Oh = my! More global warming stuff. With its serious tone, it = almost sounds humorous. I guess a researcher must keep a straight = face when reporting results like this, if he wishes to keep the = grant-money flowing.<div><br></div><div>There is no evidence that birds = have to evolve in order to change their geographic range. That is = what the author implies. Does he think that birds actually evolve = a map of their territory in their wee brains? One thinks of the = European Starling, introduced once into New York City, and now (little = more than a century later) covering much of the continent. That is = not evolution, but just a population spreading into opportune = habitat.</div><div><br></div><div>The obvious reason the birds in this = study have not moved north as fast as the researchers expected, is = probably that the birds are finding enough food where they are. It = is as simple as that. It is not computerized climate charts which = influence bird behavior, so much as food = supply.</div><div><br></div><div>Birds found the feeders in our yard in = hours or days. They did not need to evolve to adapt to the new = food source: they are opportunistic, and always on the lookout. = They also learn: that is why we noticed the birds lurking close to = the house as the weather cooled this fall, looking for the feeders which = we had not yet set up for the season.</div><div><br></div><div>It is = simply ridiculous to suggest that the insects are moving north faster = than the birds because the insects are evolving faster. And, the = author implies, the birds will not now be able to find those insects who = have outpaced them in the race to move northward! No, the birds = can find their food: they even learn new food supplies, as the = chickadees have learned to eat the caterpillars of the Gypsy Moth. = I have seen birds exploit new food sources merely by watching = birds of other species. How long did that take? In some = cases, but a few minutes!</div><div><br></div><div>(Lund University, by = the way, is normally regarded as one of the most renowned in = Sweden.)</div><div><br></div><div>Birds are fun to study, but any honest = ornithologist must admit that they are <i>not</i> a good index of = climatic change. As climatologists have known for over a century, = plants are the best index of climate, because they cannot migrate and = move about: they are stuck where they are growing. We know from = pollen studies that shifting climates of the past are well documented by = changes in plant distribution.</div><div><br></div><div>Birds are very = mobile, and most of them are really quite adaptable. They are = about the poorest group of organisms to study for hints about climatic = change.</div><div><br></div><div><br><div><div>On 30 Jan 2012, at 7:23 = AM, Angus MacLean wrote:</div><br = class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type=3D"cite"><div>This = describes a study by Swedish researchers re birds & = butterflies:<br><br><a = href=3D"http://www.world-science.net/othernews/120117_warming">http://www.= world-science.net/othernews/120117_warming</a><br><br>Have there been = similar studies in this = hemisphere?<br>Angus<br><br></div>