The National Audubon Society has identified 314 North American birds that are being significantly threatened by global warming.
The study found 126 of those species will most likely lose over 50 percent of their current ranges, and in some cases up to 100 percent, by the year 2050.
"It's a punch in the gut. The greatest threat our birds face today is global warming," said Audubon Chief Scientist Gary Langham, who led the investigation. "That's our unequivocal conclusion after seven years of painstakingly careful and thorough research. Global warming threatens the basic fabric of life on which birds -- and the rest of us -- depend, and we have to act quickly and decisively if we are going to avoid catastrophe for them and for us."
To make their findings the team looked at 30 years-worth of North American climate change data and tens of thousands of historical bird observations Audubon Christmas Bird Count and U.S. Geological Survey's North American Breeding Bird Survey to help find a link between where birds live and the climate conditions that support their ecosystems. Understanding these links helped researchers predict which birds would and would not be able to survive in the future.
"The prospect of such staggering loss is horrific, but we can build a bridge to the future for America's birds," said Audubon President and CEO David Yarnold. "This report is a roadmap, and it's telling us two big things: We have to preserve and protect the places birds live, and we have to work together to reduce the severity of global warming."
The team found some species will be able to adapt to future climate change, but many of the United States' iconic species will not. The Bald Eagle could have a decrease in summer range of a whopping 75 percent over the next 65 years. The Common Loon, which is a trademark of Minnesota, could completely disappear from the lower 48 states by 2080. The Baltimore Oriole, which is the mascot of Baltimore's baseball team, could move north from the mid-Atlantic to more favorable climates.
"We know that climate variables -- including temperature and precipitation -- determine where most birds live and where they don't, because it is too hot, for example," said Terry Root, a Nobel Prize-winning Stanford University professor who serves on Audubon's board of directors but was not involved in the study. "The Audubon study determined the climate variables that dictate where all North American birds live today and then brilliantly used climate forecasts to project where birds will most likely occur in the future. We all will see the effects of changing climate in our own backyards. We just cannot ignore such a sobering wake-up call."
The findings, which were funded in party by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, could help shape public policy and provide new tools for scientists to determine the effects of climate change.
