[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7156\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EChanging climate is narrowing options for migrating birds\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Some species of migrants might be affected by a changing climate,\u2019 said Professor Stuart Bearhop, an animal ecology expert from the University of Exeter in the UK.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There is evidence from a number of populations that climate change probably is going to have some impact on the demography (population levels).\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Bearhop ran the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/106595\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ESTATEMIG\u003C\/a\u003E project, which studied the migration of Brent geese along their journey from Ireland to the Arctic where they breed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe found that the volatility of today\u2019s seasons was affecting the geese\u2019s population levels because the weather was playing havoc with their breeding patterns.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Wet years are predicted to increase with climate change as temperature rises, but, of course, because they travel so far north, it doesn\u0027t mean rain, it means snow,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBrent geese are more likely to breed when the weather is cold and clear, but when there is more snow there are fewer places to safely raise their young and feed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;There is evidence from a number of populations that climate change probably is going to have some impact on the demography.\u0026#039;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Stuart Bearhop, University of Exeter, UK\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team observed that in the colder years the birds were breeding later in the year, causing ripple effects for their populations. The geese did not have enough time to raise their offspring to independence before winter, or there was not enough food for them to survive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Bearhop says the snowy years saw more offspring die or be abandoned by adults. That means if snowy years persist then it could pose a long-term risk to the population of these birds.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBrent Geese\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Bearhop chose Brent geese because they follow a routine migration and their young stay with their parents for at least a year. These reliable patterns reveal useful insights into population levels and what could be affecting their migration.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo gather their data, STATEMIG researchers observed the geese in Ireland and Iceland before the birds flew to the Arctic to breed around July. In Ireland and Iceland they attached identity tags to the birds and took some physical measurements to use as reference points over several years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen the geese returned to Ireland and Iceland around late August, with their chicks, the researchers could compare the population levels and get an idea of how environmental factors had shaped their journeys.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There are multiple factors that have likely driven the evolution of migration, these likely differ among species and the debate is about which ones are most important,\u2019 said Prof. Bearhop.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDebate\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Bearhop says the two key reasons birds migrate is because of a competition of territory and to take advantage of seasonal \u2018pulses\u2019 of vegetation growth or gluts of insects to ensure they have enough food to raise their young.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESTATEMIG\u2019s research emphasises the importance of the latter and Prof. Bearhop hopes it could lead to further research that explores how changes to feeding grounds will affect populations of migratory birds.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Dr Sissel Sj\u00f6berg, a bird migration researcher from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, scientists understand some parts of why birds migrate, like knowing where they eat and breed, but they do not have the tools to accurately understand them during the entire migration.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor instance, there are high resolution tags that can be put on some big birds to track their location, but these do not fit on smaller birds which make up most of the ones migrating.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@alignleft@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022 Tiny backpacks worn by noctural small birds contain a pressure sensor which provides an update every five minutes of the birds\u2019 behaviour during migration. Image credit - Dr Sissel Sj\u00f6berg \u0022 height=\u00221050\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/IMCEUpload\/launch_sm.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022 Tiny backpacks worn by noctural small birds contain a pressure sensor which provides an update every five minutes of the birds\u2019 behaviour during migration. Image credit - Dr Sissel Sj\u00f6berg \u0022 width=\u00221400\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003ETiny backpacks worn by noctural small birds contain a pressure sensor which provides an update every five minutes of the birds\u2019 behaviour during migration. Image credit - Dr Sissel Sj\u00f6berg\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese tags also do not provide insights into other aspects, like altitude or how they traverse over huge, inhospitable areas where they may not be able to land, like the Sahara desert or the Pacific Ocean.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Sj\u00f6berg is the principal researcher of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/209639\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EBIRDBARRIER\u003C\/a\u003E project which is putting tiny backpacks on nocturnal small birds migrating long distances, such as red-backed shrikes and great reed warblers. These backpacks contain an activity log with a pressure sensor to determine heights and provide updates every five minutes of their behaviour during the journey, which can be correlated with weather forecasts or detailed landscape maps.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It is clear they go higher in their flights then we thought before,\u2019 said Dr Sj\u00f6berg, adding that experts previously thought their size limited them to flying at 2,000-3,000 metres above sea-level, but she has observed them fly at almost 6,000m.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Sj\u00f6berg says they could be doing this to find stronger winds that carry them longer distances, which require less energy to fly in and increase their chances of survival.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe says the biggest risk for these birds is to stop in the hostile terrains they cross because it could be difficult to take off again or find the same heights. Safe places to land are crucial to these birds on their intercontinental journeys because they have favourable conditions, including sources of food, but in some places they are getting smaller, for instance, in the Sahara where the desert is expanding.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Those (safe) areas are getting smaller and smaller so there is more competition,\u2019 said Dr Sj\u00f6berg, who will continue to collect data from the backpacks for several more months before analysing it for some new insights.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe hopes that her research will help identify the most important areas for birds, which could help inform authorities on how to better protect these safe havens.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. 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