Warming World Reshapes Cast of Winter Birds in Northeast

Our warming world may be impacting what birds show up where during the winter. Scientists have found that the resident communities of birds that appear at eastern North America's backyard bird feeders in winter have changed as temperatures have increased.
(Photo : Flickr: Finiky)

Our warming world may be impacting what birds show up where during the winter. Scientists have found that the resident communities of birds that appear at eastern North America's backyard bird feeders in winter have changed as temperatures have increased.

For the average bird watcher, seeing cardinals, chipping sparrows or Carolina wrens frequenting their backyard birdfeeders is nothing out of the ordinary. But in this warming world, these and other warm-adapted species have greatly expanded their wintering range, a change that may have unforeseen consequences for North American ecosystems, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison wildlife biologists Benjamin Zuckerberg and Karine Princé.

In a new paper published in the journal Global Change Biology, Zuckerberg and Princé analyzed more than two decades of data on 38 species of birds gathered by thousands of citizen scientists.

"Fifty years ago, cardinals were rare in the northeastern United States," Zuckerberg explained in a press release. "Carolina wrens even more so."

The scientists measured the changes over time in the abundance of 38 bird species at feeders in eastern North America. More specifically, they examined the influence of changes in winter minimum temperature over a 22-year period on the flocks of birds that gather at backyard feeding stations.

"We've been able to document in past studies that species are shifting in response to climate change," Zuckerberg said. "This study documents changes in the (winter bird) community structure. If you have a species coming into a new area, it can modify the composition of the community."

"These backyard birds are the canaries in the coal mine," he added. "Birds have always been very good indicators of environmental change. Whenever you have a reshuffling of a community of species, you have less of a sense of what change is going to be."

And with climate models predicting temperatures to warm even more over the next century, milder winters with less snow could become the norm, making it so we don't even recognize the bird species in our backyards anymore.

Oil Rigs Make Surprisingly Productive Homes for Fish

A leaky oil rig may be absolutely terrible for our ocean's ecosystems, but what about one that's functioning perfectly? A recent study has determined that large oil or gas platforms off the California coast are actually serving as ideal bases for highly productive marine habitats, boasting a stunning amount of healthy aquatic life. (Photo : Flickr: Berardo62)

A leaky oil rig may be absolutely terrible for our ocean's ecosystems, but what about one that's functioning perfectly? A recent study has determined that large oil or gas platforms off the California coast are actually serving as ideal bases for highly productive marine habitats, boasting a stunning amount of healthy aquatic life.

That's at least according to a study recently conducted by researchers from Occidental College, the University of California, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management off the West Coast.

The study, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), details how fish communities that have made their homes under well-maintained oil rigs are up to 27 times more productive than California reefs.

And while reef communities may not be at their best along the West Coast due to increasing ocean acidification, warming waters, and general pollutants, the same rig-based habitats were found to boast 10 times more fish than the most productive reef habitats around the world.

This was determined after a research team annually surveyed 16 oil or gas platforms and seven rocky reefs along the Californian coast for 15 years, starting in 1995. (Scroll the read on...)

(Photo : Flickr: InAweofGod'sCreation )

They paid special attention to fish population count, size, and diversity in these unique habitats. From this, they worked out the weight of fish supported each year per square meter of sea floor for each habitat. They even reportedly accounted for the chance that some fish "just passing through" could affect the data.

In a surprising show of data, the researchers determined that the productivity of rig-based communities supported 105 to a whopping 887 grams of fish per square meter of habitat. By comparison, the most productive reef they examined, a coral reef in Mo'orea, French Polynesia, had a fish productivity of 74.2 grams per square meter per year.

So what the heck is going on here? Study author Jeremy Claisse told New Scientist that it's really just about surface area and how high these platforms reach from the ocean floor.

"The platform structures support a diverse community of invertebrates that, along with floating resources such as plankton, provide the base of the food web supporting fish," he explained.

If handled properly, Claisse and his colleagues add, man-made structures can actually be beneficial to the ocean floor.

Spanish Frogs' Lot Worsens With Emergence of Deadly Viruses

It just got a lot worse to be a frog living in Spain right now. Spanish frog species already combating the same deadly chytrid fungus that is wreaking havoc on amphibian populations all over the world now must also deal with a pair of lethal and fast-spreading viruses. (Photo : Flickr: Gilles San Martin)

It just got a lot worse to be a frog living in Spain right now. Spanish frog species already combating the same deadly chytrid fungus that is wreaking havoc on amphibian populations all over the world now must also deal with a pair of lethal and fast-spreading viruses.

The viruses, are part of the Ranavirus group and are often referred to as Common midwife toad virus (CMTV). Viruses of this kind have previously been found to cause declines in the UK's common frog population. However, this is the first time that a CMTV has affected a region's entire amphibian group, slaughtering frogs, salamanders, and even some of the predators that eat them.

The infection isn't pretty either.

"They hemorrhage throughout their tissues, vomit blood and pass it out through their guts, and suffer huge open ulcers," Stephen Price of University College London (UCL) told New Scientist.

He added that some CMTV infections have been seen to even cause amphibian limbs to fall off.

The gruesome mass deaths occurring in Spain recently prompted Price and his colleagues from UCL, Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) in the UK, and the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) in Madrid to launch a study of the ongoing outbreak.

Based on annual surveys across 15 locations in Picos de Europa National Park (PNPE) between 2005 and 2012, the researchers found that six amphibian species were experiencing waves of mass death from the viruses. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : Flickr: AJ Cann) A tadpole suffering from ranavirus

"We've identified a striking example of two viruses that are repeatedly overcoming the species barrier with catastrophic consequences," Price explained in a recent release. "This presents us with a great opportunity to understand more about the ecology and epidemiology of important multi-host pathogens."

But experts will have to work fast. According to the researchers, the viruses haven't begun to impact amphibian populations suffering from chytrid fungus infection just yet, but it's only a matter of time before threatened frog species will be finding themselves fighting a biological war on two fronts.

"Indications are that related viruses are beginning to emerge in other locations in Europe and it's important to understand the origins and movement of these viruses to try to limit further amphibian declines," Price added.

Thankfully, the researcher have already discerned a potential genetic origin of the viruses, which could help them develop ways to fight it if drastic conservation action becomes necessary.

The study was published online in Common Biology on October 16.

Killer Fungus Strikes Montana Trout

A potentially deadly fungus is sweeping through a river in Montana, trashing the immune systems of local trout and making them increasingly susceptible to other illnesses. Local experts are worried that this could disrupt future populations in the area, as the fungus is disrupting spawning season. (Photo : Flickr: Michael Meiters )

A potentially deadly fungus is sweeping through a river in Montana, trashing the immune systems of local trout and making them increasingly susceptible to other illnesses. Local experts are worried that this could disrupt future populations in the area, as the fungus is disrupting spawning season.

Around this time every year, brown trout in Hole River near Melrose in southwest Montana can be found digging into their riverbed with their tails, creating spawning nests called redds.

However, the hard labor of making redds and the intense sparing matches that break out between males over the right to fertilize a clutch of eggs have been known to compromise a thin layer of slime that traditionally helps protect these fish from illnesses.

"The fungus is taking advantage of these fish when their ability to fight an infection like this is at its lowest point," Fisheries Manager Travis Horton of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) department explained in a statement.

However, he's quick to add that while this can be alarming, with anglers reporting small waves of dead brown trout washing up along the riverside, it's not yet a cause for concern.

That's because the fungus is naturally occurring in these spots, and has been frequently observed affecting parts of the river with denser populations of trout. You can even think of the fungus as a kind of population cap, Horton suggests.

"The important thing to remember is this is a system of stress," he added. "The fungus is natural and although the incidence is locally high, it isn't a cause for alarm."

Local biologists, however, are keeping a wary eye on the fungus - a grey and fibrous freshwater mold which appears to be especially prevalent this year. But Horton stipulates that Big Hole is simply experiencing a "perfect storm" of growing conditions.

Bitterroot-based fisheries biologist Chris Clancy also assured local fishermen that the fungus doesn't appear to be infecting any more trout than usual, despite its growth.

"Occasionally, a fisherman will see a fish not acting well in some quiet water and notice that it's covered in a growth that looks like cotton," Clancy told the Ravalli Republic.

But, he adds, it's nothing to lose sleep over.

Jellyfish Falls: An Underestimated Boon to Deep Sea Ecosystems

You may have heard of whale falls, but a new study of deep sea ecosystems is arguing that it is actually jellyfish falls that are utterly essential to the complex and little-understood life of the deep sea. (Photo : Pixabay)

You may have heard of whale falls, but a new study of deep sea ecosystems is arguing that it is actually jellyfish falls that are utterly essential to the complex and little-understood life of the deep sea.

A study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences details how  massive "blooms" of jellyfish who float around the ocean's surface tend to die off en masse, causing the carcasses of semi-transparent invertebrates to fall to the deep depths of the ocean floor in waves at a time.

Even though these creatures are made up of primarily water, ecologists have stipulated in the past that these jellyfish falls did more harm than good on the ocean floor, as deep-sea animals might avoid dead jellyfish, leaving them to a slow degradation processes via microbial life. That, in turn, could be depleting oxygen at the seafloor, making life harder for fish and invertebrate scavengers, including commercially fished species.

However, the new study shows that this unsettling scenario was actually very far off the mark.

"We just had a hunch that dead jellyfish were important to deep-sea ecosystems in some way... We therefore decided to film what the fate of jellyfish carcasses were at the seafloor," lead author Andrew K. Sweetman, of the international Research Institute of Stavanger in Norway, explained in a statement.

According to the study, Sweetman and his team deployed several landers laden with deceased jellyfish to the deep ocean floor in the hopes of seeing how local ecosystems reacted to its arrival. (Scroll to read on...)

(Photo : A. Sweetman, C. Smith, D. Jones) Hagfish and crustacean amphipods scavenging jellyfish baits in the deep sea.

"When we later retrieved the landers and found no jellyfish attached to the bait plates we were pleasantly surprised," he added. "However, our surprise jumped to another level when we looked at the camera images and saw just how fast the jellyfish baits were consumed and the sheer number of scavengers that were consuming the baits. It just blew our minds."

According to the researchers, an unexpectedly wide variety of deep-sea creatures rushed these jellyfish falls just like they would with a nutrient-rich whale fall.  With jellyfish falls occurring very frequently across the globe, the role of jellyfish material in deep-sea food webs might be seriously underestimated.