Nature Confused By Climate Changes
5 plants and animals utterly confused by climate change
Livia Albeck-Ripka and Brad Plumer, May 4, 2018 (NY Times via Seattle Times)
“Every year, as the seasons change…species stay in sync with each other by relying on environmental cues…[But not all species are adjusting to this the changing climate] at the same rate…[S]ome are falling out of step…[Scientists call this] phenological mismatch…[The early spider orchid] tricks solitary male bees into thinking the plant is a mating partner — a key step for pollination…[W]ith spring coming earlier, female bees are now emerging sooner and luring the male bees away from the lovelorn orchid…[In Finland,] the Northern lapwing and Eurasian curlew have usually built their ground nests on barley fields after farmers have sown their crops in the spring. But as temperatures have risen, the birds are now increasingly laying their eggs before the farmers get to the fields, which means their well-concealed nests are more likely to get destroyed by tractors and other machinery…[In winter, Caribou in western Greenland] eat lichen along the coast. In the spring and summer, they venture inland to give birth to their calves and eat the Arctic plants that grow there…[But] caribou calves appear to be dying early in years when the spring plant growth preceded the caribou’s calving season…[The European pied flycatcher, Snowshoe hare, and other species face similar fates]…” click here for more
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