Researchers have for the first time found a connection between the immune systems of different bird species, and the various climatic conditions in which they live.
Researchers have for the first time found a connection between the immune systems of different bird species, and the various climatic conditions in which they live. The researchers at Lund University in Sweden believe that as the climate changes, some birds may be exposed to diseases that they are not equipped to handle.
The results of the study indicate that evolution has calibrated the immune systems of a number of bird species over millions of years, enabling them to deal with diseases specific to the particular environment and climate in which they live.
Rapid climate change increases the risk that these tailor-made immune systems may be insufficient, and not only in birds. Emily O'Connor, one of the biologists behind the study, believes that the results could apply to certain other animals as well, as the immune system genes they examined are common to all vertebrates.
“Evolution may not be able to "keep up" with climate change. There is a risk that many animals simply will not be able to cope with changes in the number and type of pathogens that they will be exposed to”, she says.
Read more at Lund University
Image: Emily O'Connor. (Photo Credit: Aron Hejdström)
