Well, it seems to me that seabirds have survived warm and cool periods during the Holocene just fine, but, hey, if they want to play with poop, that’s on them
Ancient poo offers insight into how seabirds will fare as climate warms
Scientists were collecting peat cores on South Georgia’s Bird Island when they made a surprising discovery – one which offers new insight into how climate change will affect seabird populations.
Researchers were analysing the geochemistry of the cores, to get an insight into historic wind speeds on the island, when they found layers of ancient bird poo preserved in the peatland.
This bird poo, or guano, now gives them a window into 8,000 years of seabird history, in one of the most important seabird breeding sites on Earth: Bird Island is home to vast colonies of wandering albatrosses, petrels and penguins.
The island is subject to the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds: powerful bands of wind that circle Antarctica and drive much of the Southern Ocean’s behaviour. Studying their past activity helps to improve predictions of how this might change as our climate warms.
Like it’s done many times before?
Since the first seabird colonies formed, the researchers identified five major phases of population expansion – all five coincided with periods when the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds were less intense.
This connection between wind strength and seabird abundance has implications for the future. These Southern Hemisphere westerly winds have been intensifying in recent decades, driven by climate change, meaning we could see dramatic declines in seabird numbers on the island in years to come.
So, what caused those warm periods previously? Therein lies the central question.
Read: Good News: We Can Look To Ancient Poop To See How Seabirds Deal With Climate Doom »
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