Arctic Terns May Navigate Climate Dangers

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Arctic terns – which fly on the longest migrations of any animal on Earth – may be able to navigate the dangers posed by climate change, new research suggests.

Arctic terns – which fly on the longest migrations of any animal on Earth – may be able to navigate the dangers posed by climate change, new research suggests.

The birds live in near-perpetual daylight, breeding in the north of our planet and flying to Antarctica for the Southern Hemisphere summer, covering enough distance in their lifetime to travel to the moon three times.

The new study, led by the University of Exeter and the Met Office, examined the likely impacts of climate change on arctic terns outside of the breeding season, investigating changes to prevailing winds, primary productivity (which affects food availability) at key sites visited by Arctic terns and Antarctic sea ice.

Read more at: University of Exeter

Photo credit: TheOtherKev via Pixabay