Help Counter the Effects of Climate Change
March 17, 2009
Help the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center fight the effects of global change by voting for our grant proposal.
Vote for the Project!Project Proposal
Hurricanes pose one of greater threats to coffee production zones within the Central America/Caribbean region. Field-based research and personal experience from coffee producers reveal that landscapes with more vegetation complexity (i.e., forest-like cover) ride out the damaging effects of high winds and heavy rain more than exposed or less-forested ones.
Global warming has led to stronger hurricanes in recent years, and climatologists now predict the Central American/Caribbean region will experience long-term drying as the climate changes. Dry soils threatened by heavy rains can spell disaster: little infiltration and much flooding lead to landslides. A diverse canopy cover like coffee agroforestry systems can do much to mitigate both problems.
The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center will work with coffee communities to get adequate tree cover established to counter the effects of climate change on coffee communities, and provide habitat as well. We have the network and the expertise.
Swamp Sparrow Family Planning
March 9, 2009
The 2 subspecies of swamp sparrows found in the Middle Atlantic States (e.g. Maryland and Delaware) of the United States have different strategies for raising young. The inland subspecies lives in the cool mountain bogs of Maryland, only a few hundred miles from its coastal cousin found in the salt marshes along the coast.
The coastal birds tend to lay fewer eggs in a nest than their mountain relatives, but often re-nest several times during the breeding season. Recent research suggests 2 likely reasons for this disparity.
First, the coastal plain birds’ nests suffer from more predation. Second, since the temperatures are higher along the coast, fewer eggs hatch. So for the coastal plain swamp sparrow, the adage “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” makes perfect sense.
Russian Boreal Forest Avifauna
March 9, 2009
Recent bird studies across the boreal forest in Russia show that bird abundance is lowest in the center of the continent. About 4 out of 5 birds in the boreal forest are migratory. The migrants in the eastern end mostly winter in the tropics, while those in the western end winter in temperate areas, such as around the Mediterranean.
Geographic features sout of the boreal forest probably cause these patterns of bird diversity. At the western end, high mountains and deserts, such as the Sahara and the Himalayas, deter migrants from reaching tropical wintering areas, whereas access to the tropics through eastern Asia is largely unimpeded.
In North America, the eastern boreal forest (New England, Maine, Great Lakes area) is more similar in climate, bird abundance, and migration strategy to the Russian far east than it is to Scandinavia, which is the traditional area for comparative studies.
Pete Marra Interviewed
March 6, 2009
Listen to Pete Marra, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center scientist, discuss recent advances in songbird research on the Kojo Nnamdi radio show.
