Animal Migration On Air
WHAT IS IT ?
Most people think of migration as the seasonal movement of birds. Migration typically means travelling from one type of habitat to another. As a matter of fact bird migration is one of the most recognition among people.
FACTS
- The longest migration recorded was flying over pacific ocean over 9 days.
REASON FOR MIGRATION ?
A lot of migrates take advantage of food and weather conditions available in particular ares for specific period of time. Some migrate in search for food,some for weather conditions and some for giving birth and have a safe place for their young ones,for example Bar Tailed Godwit Bird exploits the abundance of food during summer and allows them to extend foraging time.
FACTS
- Some of the migrant animals feed prior to go on their journey to boost their energy for travel and it is known as Hyperphagia.
- The main source of energy used for migration is fat.
- Fat stores about 8- 10 times more energy.
- Some migrants reduce their weight and adjust the internal organs to fly more.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change place a huge role in damaging the migration of animals. The species with in the ecosystem shift according to the space and time but not all species shift together at same time or pace.
Some migrate according to the temp , some according to the temperature and some according to the food etc. for example a Shore bird that migrates from the tropics to the artic each spring to breed and feed on insects, because artic shores are now melting and insects are hatching weeks before the birds arrive, there’s very less food for the red knots chicks.
The main reason for climate change according to me is global warming which leads to the species moving to cooler places.
FACTS
- Nearly 3000 species of animals in the western hemisphere alone will have to find new habitats with more preferred climate conditions.
- It is currently affecting 19% of species listed as threatened on the IUCN Red list of threatened species.
GLOBAL WARMING
The increasing heating has result to increased in carbon dioxide , methane etc. But carbon dioxide carries mere weightage because of deforestation, fossil fuel combustion , slash and burn etc, which has led to the species decline or even extinction.
FACTS
- Species declines threaten the services that nature provides to people , which include functioning as carbon sinks and increasing our resilience to climate change.
- Food production is also being affected as crops have to be moved to cooler areas to survive example: coffee which will need to be grown at higher, cooler altitudes, causing deep disruption to a global industry.
HUMAN INTERFERENCE IN ANIMAL MIGRATION
Humans have impact the animal migrants in many ways. They have impact the migration patterns in so many different ways by their behaviour and infrastructure . For example- sky scrappers, bridges, wind mills etc. The birds collides into the wind mills and kill them.
There are other reasons which affects the migration , to name a few Air Pollution, Noise Pollution ,Hunting and light pollution.
AIR POLLUTION
Air Pollution makes it difficult for them to migrate . It also causes the acid rain and change soils and water. Not only it affects the migration but also the food available for them. It damages the food and damage the food chain and the quality of it.
FACTS
- Changes in the abundance of any species because of air pollution can dramatically influence the abundance and health of dependent species. For example- a loss of some species of fish because of higher levels of aluminium may allow insect population to increase and less of fish will lead to detrimental to eagles , ospreys and other animals depend on fish.
NOISE POLLUTION
Noise pollution has now become one of the important barrier for birds. Sometimes the noise is so loud that it kills them. But sometimes they adapt to the noises and just continue to live with that.
Now a days the bird population has decline near roads recently. It also makes communication difficult for birds. It also leads to the decline of some species in particular areas because they will prefer to migrate to places which are quite and not noisy which will harm the ecosystem and damage the balance.
FACTS
- Noise produced by humans activities is putting the survival of over a ow different species world wide at risk.
LIGHT POLLUTION
Not the natural light but the artificial light that is caused by humans can affect the migration of birds because their migration depends on the proper timed seasonal schedules. Artificial lights a can also mislead them towards the city and take them off track from the correct path.
HUNTING
hunting on the other hand is somewhere also contributes to human interference in animal migration. Because of it many animals have stopped migrating in fear of dying or being hunt down by humans which also leads to the lose of habitat and imbalance.
ARTICLE
REVIEW- According to me this article has talked about how species and animals are affected in different parts of the world and in different temperatures they live in.
To understand the climate change more precisely they have given us really good examples of animals that are being affected by climate change or global arming. It tells how climate change has damage the animals and informs us how animals are loosing their home and have to migrate to survive because of it.
CONCLUSION
It is important to remember to take care of animals, species and environment we have today. We are main source of damaging environment and animals.We are the one who have exploited the resources without even thinking once about the future. Because of animals loose their loved ones their homes and all of this is just to full fill our selfish needs. You don’t have devote your whole life saving the world but you can definitely take small initiatives that contributes to save the environment and animals.