By putting combinations of colored bands on birds, researchers can monitor individuals and thus gain valuable information about their habits, distribution and longevity. Dan Strickland, the world's leading authority on Gray Jays (Perisoreus canadensis), has been studying them for more than 40 years in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada. His studies reveal that climate change is linked to a contraction of their range along its southern edge and suspects that warming temperatures are also forcing the birds higher on the mountainous slopes where they breed in the western U.S. In both areas, but especially at the southern and lower limits of the species, warmer temperatures probably spoil the perishable food items the birds cache for the winter. The loss of stored food has been linked to declines in breeding success in Algonquin Park and suggests that, in the coming decades, the Gray Jay’s range will continue to shift northward and higher upslope.
Science Art-Nature: These birds, as the title says, are lovely and wild. They serve as an essential educational asset whose analysis can be applied to species at risk that are more difficult to study. |
