We all depend on healthy oceans. These vast bodies of water generate more than half of the oxygen we breathe, help regulate the climate and are a source of food, medicine and sustenance for billions of people around the world.

And yet our oceans, and the species who call them home, are under siege from threats as diverse as plastic pollution, overfishing and an emerging deep-sea mining industry. 

That is why ‘It is time to listen to the oceans’ will be the leading message of the first ever Uruguayan Oceans Conference.  On Friday 26 July, marine specialists will gather in the small Lain American nation for a public discussion about how to truly protect the rich marine life of the South Atlantic Ocean. 

Rich waters

Organised by the Oceanosanos (‘Healthy Oceans’), a project of local NGO the Organisation for Cetacean Conservation (OCC-Uruguay) and The Gaia Foundation, the conference will bring together international guest speakers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Spain with some of Uruguay’s leading voices on ocean conservation. 

It will be an opportunity for government officials, the fishing industry, marine specialists, presidential candidates, legislators, journalists, civil society and youth to discuss the future of Uruguay’s waters.

Off the coast of Uruguay, the convergence of a warm ocean current from Brazil and the cold Malvinas (Falklands) current creates one of the richest aquatic systems in the world. The region acts as a migratory route for whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, fish and birds, including more than 100 threatened, vulnerable or critically endangered species.

This abundance of oceanic life makes Uruguay a vital country for marine and coastal protection down the entire coast of Latin America, from Brazil’s north-east coast to the tip of Argentina. 

Uruguay’s rich oceans have also supported the sustainable livelihoods of many small-scale fisher-people for generations. But in recent times these waters and the country’s strategic location on the western side of the South Atlantic have attracted more rapacious, industrial fishing interests.

Over-fishing and brutal practices including shark and ray finning are now jeopardising the health of marine ecosystems, the livelihoods of small fisher-people and the human rights of ship crews from as far away as South East Asia. 

Unregulated fishing

The port of Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital, has become the second most visited port for vessels involved in IUU (illegal, unreported, unregulated) fishing; an industry with deep ties to organised crime worldwide. 

Oceanosanos recently revealed the staggering ecological and human costs of IUU fishing in Uruguayan waters. 

Milko Schvartzman, coordinator of Oceanosanos, said: “Huge fleets of vessels, from China, South Korea and Spain, among other countries, are responsible for the mostly uncontrolled depredation of marine fauna, in their search for squid, hake, rays and sharks.

“The situation is worsened by trans-shipment on the high seas, which can camouflage a multitude of activities related to illegal fishing: the laundering of undeclared fish, corruption, and even the trafficking of drugs, weapons and people.”

Oceanosanos investigations have led to a series of news reports that have put IUU fishing in the national spotlight, and recently screened Ghost Fleet, a powerful film that casts light on the deep ties between IUU fishing and modern slavery, sharing the harrowing stories of people enlisted as crew members in South East Asia and kept for months at sea against their will to work on trawlers; often those fishing illegally. 

Mega port

As a result of these investigations, IUU is now becoming an issue of national political importance.

Members of Oceanosanos have met with candidates for the upcoming Presidential elections to secure their commitment to ending Uruguay’s complicit role in IUU fishing and taking action for ocean health. 

Future decisions about plans to construct a new Chinese-funded mega-port in Montevideo will be a test of that political commitment.

Chinese ShanDong BaoMa Fishery Group Co is proposing and planning to build a huge new fishing port in Montevideo. At a cost of $210 million, and rising, this new industrial-scale port would handle two million tons of merchandise, process 230,000 tons of aquatic products, such as squid, and allow for the repair of 500 deep-sea vessels, per year.

Industrialise fishing

But why is a Chinese fishing company building massive infrastructure on the other side of the Atlantic in Uruguay?

Rodrigo García, Director of OCC Uruguay, said: “There are 164 companies in China engaged in deep-sea fishing, with almost 3,000 vessels distributed in some 30 countries and in international waters such as the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans.”

ShanDong BaoMa’s planned port would support Chinese and other fleets industrialise fishing in the South Atlantic. It would increase the amount of fishing in Uruguayan waters, including of overfished and endangered species, allowing foreign vessels to stay longer and process fish and other marine creatures directly in Montevideo.

Whereas today Chinese vessels must travel back every two years for refitting and repairs, the new port would mean they could stay in South Atlantic waters indefinitely. 

Oceanosanos questions the compatibility of the Government’s duties to “ensure conservation, the management, the sustainable development and the responsible use of hydrobiological resources and the ecosystems ” (fishing law 19.175, article 2) and the construction of the port. 

“The pressure on [fish]stocks that are already exploited to the limit or over-exploited will increase,” says Milko Schvartzman.

Mobilized opposition

This week reports revealed ShanDong BaoMa will not be permitted to build its port at the company’s preferred location of Punta Yeguas. This constitutes a huge success for the Oceanosanos project and the many communities, fisher-peoples and youth groups who have mobilised in opposition to the port.

García is cautiously optimistic about the victory: “There was a lot of pressure and added to that was a pre-electoral period. The port will not be carried out in Punta Yeguas, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be elsewhere.” 

This caution appears to be well-placed as, according to reports from within Uruguay, the company has been offered an alternative site at nearby Punta Sayago, just 1km away, by the Uruguayan Government. There is work still to be done.

In the midst of these struggles marine experts will come together with officials holding the power to help protect Uruguay’s waters at the nation’s first Oceans Conference. 

IUU and port impacts will feature high on the agenda, as will establishing effective Marine Protected Areas, ensuring that local fishermen can maintain sustainable livelihoods based on the sea, combatting plastics and marine pollution.

Natural heritage

García is hopeful the conference – declared of national interest by the Ministry for Housing, Territorial Ordering and the Environment – will be a starting point for actions within Uruguay to ensure the health of oceans for future generations in the wake of the rejection of the original port plans.

He believes Uruguay is a small country with big potential as a voice in marine conservation. And, critically in an election year, the people of Uruguay seem to be with the ocean protectors.

García said: “The Uruguayan citizenship is very interested and concerned about the marine situation, the contamination of plastics, and development projects that affect the natural heritage and sovereignty of this country.”

This Author

Fiona Wilton, is Programmes Coordinator for Sacred Lands and Wilderness at The Gaia Foundation. Based in Uruguay, she works closely with Gaia partner organisation Organización para la Conservación de Cetáceos (OCC Uruguay) to support their efforts to protect the South Atlantic.

Hannibal Rhoades is Communications Coordinator at The Gaia Foundation. His articles have featured in publications including The Ecologist, Intercontinental Cry, Truth Out, Ecological Citizen, Resilience, Red Pepper, Eco-instigator, Kosmos Journal and others.

Get involved

Tune in to Uruguay’s first oceans conference:

• Free Entry – registration required 
• When?  Friday 26 July – 5.30pm-8.30pm
• Where?  Kibón Avanza (Rambla Charles De Gaulle), Montevideo, Uruguay

For more information contact: 

• Milko Schvartzman  
• Rodrigo García 
• Fiona Wilton

Concern is mounting for the safety of greyhounds being raced at four tracks across England this week despite temperatures reaching an all-time high.

Animal welfare campaigners from the League Against Cruel Sports and the greyhound welfare group Greyt Exploitations say races should be cancelled as temperatures breach 39C or 100.F in parts of the UK.

The greyhounds will be transported from their kennels and then paraded and raced at the tracks in the extreme conditions, putting them at risk of heatstroke, according to campaigners. 

Soaring temperatures

Nick Weston, Head of Campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “There have already been reports of dogs dying after just being walked in this heat, let alone racing.

“These races still going ahead despite the soaring temperatures is yet another clear example of how greyhound welfare is out far behind profit, and why this ‘sport’ needs to end in the UK.

“This flies in the face of the advice being given to animal lovers caring for their own pets during the current heatwave.”

Five of the six greyhound races due to take place during the day yesterday were cancelled but racing went ahead at Sunderland. 

The Greyhound Board of Britain GBGB, the self-regulatory body for greyhound racing in Great Britain, recently announced a new hot weather policy which states that greyhound racing should be cancelled at 34C or above.

Absolutely scandalous 

This is despite the Society of Greyhound Veterinarians suggesting: “If the temperature is in the region of 28 to 30C serious consideration should be given to suspending racing and that racing should not take place in environmental temperatures in excess of 30C”.

Trudy Baker, Coordinator at Greyt Exploitations, said: “It is absolutely scandalous that while the RSPCA are advising to keep dogs in the cool when temperatures are hitting 30°C or more and the Society of Greyhound Vets has advised that racing should not take place in environmental temperatures in excess of 30°C.

“The GBGB’s new Hot Weather Policy uses a maximum temperature of 34°C at which dogs can race with no reference to humidity levels that play an important part in the dogs ability to keep cool.”

“There is still no requirement for trainer’s vans or track kennels to have air-conditioning despite a previous incident where a greyhound died of heatstroke while being kennelled at a track”

Greyhound racing in the UK sees approximately 15,000 greyhounds being kept for racing at any one time. The greyhound industry figures indicate that nearly 1,000 greyhounds died last year. Many were put down trackside due to injuries.

Greyhounds stop racing at around three years old and many are put down as they are deemed as no longer valuable.

This Article

This article is based on a press release from the League Against Cruel Sports. 

Friends of the Earth is urging Boris Johnson to put responding to the climate emergency at the heart of his new government after the Met Office confirmed the UK’s maximum temperature record for July has been broken.

Friends of the Earth chief executive, Craig Bennett said: “The dangerous heatwave battering Britain is a stark warning to Boris Johnson on the urgent need to end the country’s reliance on climate-wrecking fossil fuels.

“Developing the UK’s vast renewable power potential, insulating our heat-leaking homes and investing in modern, carbon-free transport systems would slash emissions, create thousands of new jobs and put the UK at the forefront of building a cleaner, safer future.”

Cutting emissions

Bennett continued: “The first hundred days are crucial – will the new Prime Minister take decisive action to deal with the climate emergency, or dish up more hot air?”

Alongside cutting emissions in the first place, Friends of the Earth is calling for doubled tree cover to protect people from the impact of extreme weather such as heatwaves and to help absorb carbon from the atmosphere. 

Friends of the Earth wants decisive action to address the climate emergency in the first 100 days of the new Johnson administration including passing an emergency climate budget in the Autumn which must allocate billions of pounds of investment in areas like public transport, creating warm homes and planting millions of trees:

By the end of 2020 Friends of the Earth wants commitments on:

•  Transport: Invest in brilliant and cheap public transport, cycling and walking everywhere. New petrol and diesel cars shouldn’t even be for sale within the decade.

•  Power: Start aiming for 100% clean energy from the wind, sun and sea.  Electricity can’t come from dirty fuels anymore and fracking should be banned.

•  Buildings: Fund a massive insulation scheme and shift to eco-friendly heating – this will end the misery of cold, expensive-to-heat homes.

•  Agriculture and land use: Double tree cover and let wildlife thrive – our land is too precious to be given over to intensive farming.

•  Infrastructure: Start making climate change a deal-breaker in all spending decisions.  That means projects that fuel climate change, like airport expansion, can’t go ahead.

•  International justice: It’s time the UK paid its fair share to support more vulnerable countries to cut carbon pollution and deal with the impacts of climate change. 

This Author

Marianne Brooker is The Ecologist’s content editor. This article is based on press release from Friends of the Earth. 

Image: Mark Ramsay, Flickr. 

Almost £1.2 billion worth of food a year goes to waste on UK farms or ends up in uses such as feeding livestock instead of people, analysis suggests.

A study by waste and resources body WRAP found 3.6 million tonnes of vegetables, fruit, cereal crops, dairy and meat is wasted or not sold on for human consumption from farms, accounting for seven percent of total UK production.

The figures include 1.6 million tonnes of food at the point of harvest or slaughter which goes to waste, being sent of landfill, ploughed back into the ground, composted or used for energy and fertiliser in “anaerobic digestion”.

Lettuces

In addition, two million tonnes of food which had been intended for human consumption is “surplus”, produce at risk of being waste which ends up as livestock feed, redistributed to charities or is used for things such as colourants.

Food waste and surplus occurs as products are graded, packed and washed, or are rejected by customers, Wrap said.

The report found wasted food would have had a market value of around £650 million and and surplus food is estimated to be worth more than £500 million. It is hoped the report can help reduce waste.

It found sugar beet topped the list in terms of the total annual amount of waste, with 347,000 tonnes, followed by 335,000 tonnes of potatoes and 152,000 tonnes of carrots.

But other crops saw a very high proportion of their produce wasted, with almost a quarter of lettuces, 104,000 tonnes, going to waste.

Vast

Peter Maddox, director of WRAP said: “This is the most detailed study of food surplus and waste in primary production undertaken for the UK, and a key finding has been the range of waste across all food categories.

“This tells us is there is huge potential to reduce the amount of surplus and waste by promoting best practice, and that’s where our work is now focused.”

He said Wrap wanted to see increased redistribution of surplus food, as has happened in the retail sector.

Peter Andrews, head of sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Food waste is a major source of carbon emissions and we support Wrap’s efforts to mitigate it.

“The challenges involved in tackling food waste in farming are vast, but if we are to be serious about these environmental and social challenges of food production and consumption then we can leave no stone unturned.

Supply chain

“Retailers are working closely with their suppliers to minimise waste, for example by using more accurate prediction of demand, finding ways to use surplus production, and settings clear targets for future improvement.”

Jack Ward, chief executive of the British Growers Association said growers wanted to maximise sales of the produce grown on their land, because a failure to do so puts already slim margins under even greater pressure.

“As the sustainability of our food production systems comes under increasing scrutiny, reducing waste at every point in the food supply chain will be an increasing priority.

“Having new insights into the scale of food waste and under-utilised production on farm is a positive step forward, and a resource that should be of use to many growers and the wider supply chain.”

This Author

Emily Beament is the PA environment correspondent.

Almost £1.2 billion worth of food a year goes to waste on UK farms or ends up in uses such as feeding livestock instead of people, analysis suggests.

A study by waste and resources body WRAP found 3.6 million tonnes of vegetables, fruit, cereal crops, dairy and meat is wasted or not sold on for human consumption from farms, accounting for seven percent of total UK production.

The figures include 1.6 million tonnes of food at the point of harvest or slaughter which goes to waste, being sent of landfill, ploughed back into the ground, composted or used for energy and fertiliser in “anaerobic digestion”.

Lettuces

In addition, two million tonnes of food which had been intended for human consumption is “surplus”, produce at risk of being waste which ends up as livestock feed, redistributed to charities or is used for things such as colourants.

Food waste and surplus occurs as products are graded, packed and washed, or are rejected by customers, Wrap said.

The report found wasted food would have had a market value of around £650 million and and surplus food is estimated to be worth more than £500 million. It is hoped the report can help reduce waste.

It found sugar beet topped the list in terms of the total annual amount of waste, with 347,000 tonnes, followed by 335,000 tonnes of potatoes and 152,000 tonnes of carrots.

But other crops saw a very high proportion of their produce wasted, with almost a quarter of lettuces, 104,000 tonnes, going to waste.

Vast

Peter Maddox, director of WRAP said: “This is the most detailed study of food surplus and waste in primary production undertaken for the UK, and a key finding has been the range of waste across all food categories.

“This tells us is there is huge potential to reduce the amount of surplus and waste by promoting best practice, and that’s where our work is now focused.”

He said Wrap wanted to see increased redistribution of surplus food, as has happened in the retail sector.

Peter Andrews, head of sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Food waste is a major source of carbon emissions and we support Wrap’s efforts to mitigate it.

“The challenges involved in tackling food waste in farming are vast, but if we are to be serious about these environmental and social challenges of food production and consumption then we can leave no stone unturned.

Supply chain

“Retailers are working closely with their suppliers to minimise waste, for example by using more accurate prediction of demand, finding ways to use surplus production, and settings clear targets for future improvement.”

Jack Ward, chief executive of the British Growers Association said growers wanted to maximise sales of the produce grown on their land, because a failure to do so puts already slim margins under even greater pressure.

“As the sustainability of our food production systems comes under increasing scrutiny, reducing waste at every point in the food supply chain will be an increasing priority.

“Having new insights into the scale of food waste and under-utilised production on farm is a positive step forward, and a resource that should be of use to many growers and the wider supply chain.”

This Author

Emily Beament is the PA environment correspondent.

Almost £1.2 billion worth of food a year goes to waste on UK farms or ends up in uses such as feeding livestock instead of people, analysis suggests.

A study by waste and resources body WRAP found 3.6 million tonnes of vegetables, fruit, cereal crops, dairy and meat is wasted or not sold on for human consumption from farms, accounting for seven percent of total UK production.

The figures include 1.6 million tonnes of food at the point of harvest or slaughter which goes to waste, being sent of landfill, ploughed back into the ground, composted or used for energy and fertiliser in “anaerobic digestion”.

Lettuces

In addition, two million tonnes of food which had been intended for human consumption is “surplus”, produce at risk of being waste which ends up as livestock feed, redistributed to charities or is used for things such as colourants.

Food waste and surplus occurs as products are graded, packed and washed, or are rejected by customers, Wrap said.

The report found wasted food would have had a market value of around £650 million and and surplus food is estimated to be worth more than £500 million. It is hoped the report can help reduce waste.

It found sugar beet topped the list in terms of the total annual amount of waste, with 347,000 tonnes, followed by 335,000 tonnes of potatoes and 152,000 tonnes of carrots.

But other crops saw a very high proportion of their produce wasted, with almost a quarter of lettuces, 104,000 tonnes, going to waste.

Vast

Peter Maddox, director of WRAP said: “This is the most detailed study of food surplus and waste in primary production undertaken for the UK, and a key finding has been the range of waste across all food categories.

“This tells us is there is huge potential to reduce the amount of surplus and waste by promoting best practice, and that’s where our work is now focused.”

He said Wrap wanted to see increased redistribution of surplus food, as has happened in the retail sector.

Peter Andrews, head of sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Food waste is a major source of carbon emissions and we support Wrap’s efforts to mitigate it.

“The challenges involved in tackling food waste in farming are vast, but if we are to be serious about these environmental and social challenges of food production and consumption then we can leave no stone unturned.

Supply chain

“Retailers are working closely with their suppliers to minimise waste, for example by using more accurate prediction of demand, finding ways to use surplus production, and settings clear targets for future improvement.”

Jack Ward, chief executive of the British Growers Association said growers wanted to maximise sales of the produce grown on their land, because a failure to do so puts already slim margins under even greater pressure.

“As the sustainability of our food production systems comes under increasing scrutiny, reducing waste at every point in the food supply chain will be an increasing priority.

“Having new insights into the scale of food waste and under-utilised production on farm is a positive step forward, and a resource that should be of use to many growers and the wider supply chain.”

This Author

Emily Beament is the PA environment correspondent.

Almost £1.2 billion worth of food a year goes to waste on UK farms or ends up in uses such as feeding livestock instead of people, analysis suggests.

A study by waste and resources body WRAP found 3.6 million tonnes of vegetables, fruit, cereal crops, dairy and meat is wasted or not sold on for human consumption from farms, accounting for seven percent of total UK production.

The figures include 1.6 million tonnes of food at the point of harvest or slaughter which goes to waste, being sent of landfill, ploughed back into the ground, composted or used for energy and fertiliser in “anaerobic digestion”.

Lettuces

In addition, two million tonnes of food which had been intended for human consumption is “surplus”, produce at risk of being waste which ends up as livestock feed, redistributed to charities or is used for things such as colourants.

Food waste and surplus occurs as products are graded, packed and washed, or are rejected by customers, Wrap said.

The report found wasted food would have had a market value of around £650 million and and surplus food is estimated to be worth more than £500 million. It is hoped the report can help reduce waste.

It found sugar beet topped the list in terms of the total annual amount of waste, with 347,000 tonnes, followed by 335,000 tonnes of potatoes and 152,000 tonnes of carrots.

But other crops saw a very high proportion of their produce wasted, with almost a quarter of lettuces, 104,000 tonnes, going to waste.

Vast

Peter Maddox, director of WRAP said: “This is the most detailed study of food surplus and waste in primary production undertaken for the UK, and a key finding has been the range of waste across all food categories.

“This tells us is there is huge potential to reduce the amount of surplus and waste by promoting best practice, and that’s where our work is now focused.”

He said Wrap wanted to see increased redistribution of surplus food, as has happened in the retail sector.

Peter Andrews, head of sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Food waste is a major source of carbon emissions and we support Wrap’s efforts to mitigate it.

“The challenges involved in tackling food waste in farming are vast, but if we are to be serious about these environmental and social challenges of food production and consumption then we can leave no stone unturned.

Supply chain

“Retailers are working closely with their suppliers to minimise waste, for example by using more accurate prediction of demand, finding ways to use surplus production, and settings clear targets for future improvement.”

Jack Ward, chief executive of the British Growers Association said growers wanted to maximise sales of the produce grown on their land, because a failure to do so puts already slim margins under even greater pressure.

“As the sustainability of our food production systems comes under increasing scrutiny, reducing waste at every point in the food supply chain will be an increasing priority.

“Having new insights into the scale of food waste and under-utilised production on farm is a positive step forward, and a resource that should be of use to many growers and the wider supply chain.”

This Author

Emily Beament is the PA environment correspondent.

Theresa Villiers – who supports a no deal Brexit and has voted against a ban on fracking exploration – has been appointed secretary of state for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by Boris Johnson during his first day as prime minister.

The Conservative MP takes over from Michael Gove who had spent 18 months at DEFRA and surprised some environmental campaigners by supporting more progressive policies, from banning plastic straws to meeting campaigners calling for a ban on trophy hunting. 

The Chipping Barnet MP is, it seems, being rewarded for supporting Johnson’s argument in favour of a ‘no deal’ Brexit. However, crashing out of the European Union could mean the UK losing much of its environmental protections and regulation.

Shale

The UK would also be vulnerable to trade deals – including with the US – that would result in the import of food produced to lower standards such as hormone treated meat and chlorinated chicken, campaigners have argued. 

The new environment secretary does not have a particularly high profile – beyond confessing on Question Time that she had tried to smoke cannabis at university on more than one occasion. She has previously served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and a minister in the Department for Transport. 

In her time as an MP she has voted against a ban on shale gas exportation and has appeared to downplay the concerns about fracking in a statement on her website, which stated: “We need to strike the right balance between the legitimate concerns of landowners, and the benefits to society as a whole of permitting development.”

According to They Work for You: “Theresa Villiers voted not to ban the exploitation of unconventional petroleum for at least 18 months and not to require a review of the impact of such exploitation on climate change, the environment, the economy, and health and safety be carried out and published.”

Action

Further, she tied against a bill in 2013 setting a target for the amount of greenhouse gas produced by the UK – significant because she now holds some of the responsibility for ensuring the government meets the 2030 net zero target emissions. It is also reported that Villiers voted against a 2012 bill requiring the Green Investment Bank to support lower carbon emission targets. 

However, she said in a statement on Facebook this year: “Action on climate change is vital. Significant progress has been made, with a third of our electricity now generated by clean renewable power sources. We are also the first major developed economy to make a commitment that we will end the use of unmitigated coal in electricity generation.”

She has also made public statements against the expansion of Heathrow Airport – although not going quite as far as Johnson in promising to lye down in front of the bulldozers to stop any development. She said in 2016: “We should not make a serious problem even worse by trying to expand Heathrow.”

Villiers has argued recently that “excessive, long-distance transport of live animals for slaughter can cause great suffering”. This has given some campaigners hope that she will be open to discussions about animal welfare. She has voted for the cull on badgers. She has also voted against bans on smoking.  

This Author

Brendan Montague is editor of The Ecologist.
 

Animals like roe deer and magpies are not able to adapt quickly enough to keep pace with the changing climate, scientists say.

Although some species respond to increasing temperatures, research suggests these adaptations may not be happening at a rate that guarantees the long-term persistence of some populations.

Populations of European roe deer, song sparrow, common murre and Eurasian magpie were among those at risk.

Temperatures

The meta-analysis published in Nature Communications suggests historical timing of species’ life cycle events (phenology) like migration and breeding is mismatched to current climate.

Scientists say animals can potentially respond by altering their phenology, but only if there is enough genetic variation in their behaviour or development.

The team reviewed 10,090 scientific abstracts and extracted data from 71 published studies that represented 17 species in 13 countries, to assess animal responses to climate change, focusing particularly on birds.

Lead author Viktoriia Radchuk from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in Germany, said: “Our research focused on birds because complete data on other groups were scarce.

“We demonstrate that in temperate regions, the rising temperatures are associated with the shift of the timing of biological events to earlier dates.”

Conservation

Co-author Steven Beissinger, professor at the University of California in Berkeley, added: “This suggests that species could stay in their warming habitat, as long as they change fast enough to cope with climate change.”

However, senior author Alexandre Courtiol, also of Leibniz-IZW, said: “This is unlikely to be the case because even populations undergoing adaptive change do so at a pace that does not guarantee their persistence.”

The scientists said it was of greater concern that the data analysed included predominantly common and abundant species such as the great tit, the European pied flycatcher or the common magpie, which are known to cope with climate change relatively well.

Stephanie Kramer-Schadt of Leibniz-IZW concluded: “Adaptive responses among rare or endangered species remain to be analysed. We fear that the forecasts of population persistence for such species of conservation concern will be even more pessimistic.” 

The researchers hope their analysis and the assembled datasets will stimulate research on the resilience of animal populations in the face of global change. They further hope it will contribute to a better predictive framework to assist future conservation management actions.

This Author

Nina Massey is the PA science correspondent.

Animals like roe deer and magpies are not able to adapt quickly enough to keep pace with the changing climate, scientists say.

Although some species respond to increasing temperatures, research suggests these adaptations may not be happening at a rate that guarantees the long-term persistence of some populations.

Populations of European roe deer, song sparrow, common murre and Eurasian magpie were among those at risk.

Temperatures

The meta-analysis published in Nature Communications suggests historical timing of species’ life cycle events (phenology) like migration and breeding is mismatched to current climate.

Scientists say animals can potentially respond by altering their phenology, but only if there is enough genetic variation in their behaviour or development.

The team reviewed 10,090 scientific abstracts and extracted data from 71 published studies that represented 17 species in 13 countries, to assess animal responses to climate change, focusing particularly on birds.

Lead author Viktoriia Radchuk from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in Germany, said: “Our research focused on birds because complete data on other groups were scarce.

“We demonstrate that in temperate regions, the rising temperatures are associated with the shift of the timing of biological events to earlier dates.”

Conservation

Co-author Steven Beissinger, professor at the University of California in Berkeley, added: “This suggests that species could stay in their warming habitat, as long as they change fast enough to cope with climate change.”

However, senior author Alexandre Courtiol, also of Leibniz-IZW, said: “This is unlikely to be the case because even populations undergoing adaptive change do so at a pace that does not guarantee their persistence.”

The scientists said it was of greater concern that the data analysed included predominantly common and abundant species such as the great tit, the European pied flycatcher or the common magpie, which are known to cope with climate change relatively well.

Stephanie Kramer-Schadt of Leibniz-IZW concluded: “Adaptive responses among rare or endangered species remain to be analysed. We fear that the forecasts of population persistence for such species of conservation concern will be even more pessimistic.” 

The researchers hope their analysis and the assembled datasets will stimulate research on the resilience of animal populations in the face of global change. They further hope it will contribute to a better predictive framework to assist future conservation management actions.

This Author

Nina Massey is the PA science correspondent.