Birds need to adapt to climate change, but evolution is a slow process.
Birds need to adapt to climate change, but evolution is a slow process. Model species such as the great tit are an indispensable yardstick for our ability to predict the future impact of climate change on nature. Using innovative methods, a team from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) took a sneak peek into the birds’ future.
Can species keep up with the climate change yet to come? How fast can they adapt? We need to understand this before we can properly predict the effects of climate change on nature at large. “It’s important to know", stresses research leader Marcel Visser, "because climate change and evolution need to keep a relatively even pace for species to keep up.”
Read more at: Netherlands Institute of Ecology
Four key phases inside the nest box: laying eggs (top left), two days after the eggs are hatched (top right), a week after they are hatched (bottom left) and two weeks later - when the young are about to leave the nest. (Photo Credit: Melanie Lindner/NIOO-KNAW)
