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he public will not experience this but This is a multipart message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0037_01D525C1.63515C90 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Amen to all. =20 =20 What the public will experience is destabilized water supplies as = climate change and deforestation progress: How =E2=80=98bout last = year=E2=80=99s droughts and those of 2016, and how might deforestation = aggravate their effects? =20 =20 Reduced water quantity is likely to have some immediately obvious = effects on water quality if flows are compromised and stagnation = enhanced. One other thing I am noticing is a tendency for colour levels = in fresh water bodies to drop during drier summers --- dark water lakes = become less dark. That leads to greater light penetration and hence = greater susceptibility to cyanobacterial blooms. How sure am I about = that? Cannot assign a probability level, but the data sure as hell are = suggestive. =20 Otherwise, the science of cyanotoxicology is an evolving one, but in a = nutshell, more and more very nasty toxins generated by more and more = blue-green algae are being discovered. =20 =20 I=E2=80=99ll keep saying that environmental concerns are no different = from long-term economic concerns. =20 From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca = [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of Nick Hill Sent: June 18, 2019 8:38 AM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Bird Habitats =20 John=20 That question..what's it good for..started me thinking about Endangeted = Eastern Mountain Avens.=20 =20 And got me thinking that one main role these species play is as = sentinels of environment integrity. =20 We lose Avens or Plymouth Gentian but despite environmental abuses, we = maintain the common species. We convert a high biodiversity world with = myriad niches and high functionality to a low diversity world.=20 =20 The loss of the rare, of the warblers of the flycatchers goes hand in = hand with degradation of habitat. Loss of woodland humus loss of = floodplain loss of water quality, bank shading , temperature controls. = The public will not experience this but will hear reports of less trout = of more invasive species of lakes closed to summer camps. =20 We must up our game of communicating why it matters What they are good for in plain speech=20 =20 Very glad the warblers and chimney swifts showed that intensive poorly = timed forestry operations were counter indicated.=20 =20 Here's to Minister Rankin, Lahey and a New Forestry. In the words of = Ringo Starr =20 You know it dont come easy=20 =20 Nick =20 =20 On Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 6:47 AM John and Nhung, <nhungjohn@eastlink.ca> = wrote: Yup, we sure present migratory birds (and a lot of other species) with a = bewildering number of challenges, as we reduce the challenges ma nature = throws our way. Gonna be interesting to see how it ends, but I hope I = get to do without that level of excitement. We do have an ethical = obligation as a species to do what we can to do unto them as we would = have nature do unto us. What goes around comes around. =20 Anyway, I=E2=80=99m preaching to the converted. =20 =20 Makes me think of a conversation I had with a coupla guys about ten days = ago. I was waiting for my number to be called and was talking about the = work our group (Tusket River Environmental Protection Association) is = doing to protect some rare lakeside plant species in the catchment. =20 =20 The question I got was, =E2=80=9CWhat good are they?=E2=80=9D =20 I appreciate that question. It tells me we still have an enormous = amount of public education to do, if we want a critical mass of the = public to support some of the worthy initiatives we espouse. =20 From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca = [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of John Kearney Sent: June 17, 2019 9:40 PM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: [NatureNS] Bird Habitats =20 Hi All, Most birds in Nova Scotia are migratory and thus occupy four different = kinds of habitat over the course of a year; breeding habitat, aerial = habitat, stopover habitat, and winter habitat. Birds are subject to = increasing levels of human-induced mortality in all of these habitats. =20 Mortality in breeding habitats is particularly worrisome since it can = involve the death of all the young of local populations as in the case = of clearcutting. The relationship between local and regional populations = is not well understood or documented. There is scientific evidence that = adult forest birds show fidelity to a breeding site while yearling birds = disperse. We don=E2=80=99t know how resilient these adult birds are to = landscape changes when they return in the next breeding season, and if = there is a threshold of change at which resilience is no longer = possible. =20 Since a great part of our migratory birds are neotropical migrants, they = spend a very large part of the year flying to and then flying back from = Mexico, and Central and South America. One has only to look at a = satellite photo of North America at night to see how this aerial habitat = is highly polluted by lights which disorient migrants, causing death by = exhaustion or from collision into wind turbines, gas flares, and urban = buildings. Birds from all types of breeding habitats are represented in = this aerial habitat and the piles of dead birds collected in a morning = on a city block represent birds of the fields, forests, and wetlands. =20 During this voyage, the Nova Scotia birds must come down in the morning = to refuel. As they get further from Nova Scotia, the availability of = habitat similar to their breeding habitat may decline or refueling for = long-distance flight might require quite a different diet than one for = nourishing nestlings, and hence quite a different type of habitat. At = the Mount Auburn Cemetery in the middle of the city of Boston, one will = find hundreds of forest birds in the ornamental trees surrounding the = groomed lawns and quiet pools of the large cemetery. In these stop-over = habitats birds may be particularly vulnerable to predation by cats and = other predators, like the Peregrine, that specialize in hunting in open = areas like cities and coastal thickets. =20 Birds spend the winter in habitats that are under increasing levels of = destruction and disturbance through the growth of coffee plantations, = other types of deforestation, mining, tourism, and urbanization. = Mortality in these winter areas is not well understood but appears to be = very substantial for some species. =20 Finally, on top of all these threats to birds, is climate change which = drastically affects all four of their habitats. =20 Conservation efforts are required on a very broad front, and habitat = preservation and restoration are a continent-wide problem affecting the = survival of Nova Scotia=E2=80=99s birds. =20 John =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 ------=_NextPart_000_0037_01D525C1.63515C90 Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quote