Effects of Climate Change on Avian Species in Southeast Queensland

EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON AVIAN SPECIES IN
SOUTHEAST QUEENSLAND

Introduction
Climate change has been one of the most raging issues in recent global discussions. The effects
of climate change are fatal and far-reaching. With rising population and scarcity of available
resources, the negative effects of climate change are becoming more difficult to control. Climate
change results in new or unfamiliar weather patterns, which are fatal not only for humans but
also for other living species in the planet (Change, 2016). Climate change involves the different
spheres of the globe including atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere and lithosphere.
The Earth’s climate receives most of its energy from the sun and also from the Earth’s interior,
giving off a significant amount of energy to outer space. The balance between the incoming and
outgoing energies keeps a balance in the Earth’s climate system (Pacifici et al., 2015). With
higher incoming energy the climate of the Earth heats up and when more energy is emitted to
outer space, it cools down. Heavy malfunctioning in the Earth’s atmosphere, like thin ozone
levels and presence of harmful gases and other particles, make it a good catalyst for global
warming as it allows the heat rays inside the atmospheric levels but does not allow them to
escape-- this leads to perpetual heating of the Earth’s atmosphere, leading to global warming.
This paper aims to focus on the effects of climate change, especially on the avian species in
Southeast Queensland of Australia. The fatal effects of climate change have already started to
take its toll on the various bird species like the canaries. Many species are going extinct, while
many have to alter their migration habitats. With further deforestation and human development,
many of these species are losing their natural habitat and failing to keep up with the rising
temperatures and climate change (Edenhofer, 2015). This paper would also emphasize on the
various ways that can reduce the harmful effects of climate change, especially on the birds of
Southeast Queensland.
Issue of Climate Change
For the past century and a half, climate change has been evidently affecting the whole planet and
its different kinds of eco-systems. Since the Industrial Revolution, the alarming rise of the
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) is noticeable and the effects it had on Earth and its species were also
very obvious (Zaid, Myeda, Mahyuddin & Sulaiman, 2015). Climate change is the natural

phenomenon which is caused when the balance between the inner and outer gases of the
atmosphere is disturbed and unbalanced. Greenhouse Gases are vital for life to sustain on Earth,
as it prevents the planet from cooling down to uninhabitable temperatures and helps to trap some
of the Sun’s heat which maintains normal habitable temperatures for all kinds of species in the
planet. Therefore, GHGs are important to sustain life on the planet but too much GHGs will
increase the global temperature gradually thus making it impossible for any kind of life to
survive. This increase in global temperature of the Earth will have prolonged effects on the
planet, affecting the natural resources, the cycle of seasons and many other factors like rise in
water levels, melting of glaciers and so on. Scientists throughout the world believe that even if
the human race can check their pollution now and act more cautiously, the global warming will
still have its prolonged effects on this planet. A single rise in global temperature can create much
hazard in the balance of the eco-systems. This is what has happened after a more than a century
and a half of Industrialization and extreme hike in the usage and burning of fossil fuels
throughout the world. The main contributor to the Greenhouse Gases is Carbon Dioxide also
known as CO2. Carbon Dioxide is formed by burning fossil fuels. Today, climate change is
something that almost everyone can understand and feel the need to be concerned. This unusual
rise in the global heat has caused many glaciers to melt and will continue doing so. With melting
glaciers, the sea level will rise (Lange, Collins, Metzger & Ballard, 2018). With the temperature
of the sea being more warm after every year will immensely affect the eco-system of the water
bodies and the organisms surviving in it. Flooding is a huge example of global warming. The
whole world has seen so many devastating floods destroying everything that comes in its way
and turning a whole city into a desert with millions losing their homes and the lives of their
closed ones.
Global warming is the sole reason for the extinction of many species due to their inability to
change themselves as their eco-system is greatly affected by the rising temperature. Many
species including fish, birds and animals have gone extinct because they could not survive the
climate change and the changes it introduced in their respective eco-systems (Reid & Shafiqul
Alam, 2017). Many fish and birds had to change their migratory habits and many have died
because of inhabitant factors in their environment. The biodiversity of Australia is greatly
affected and hampered by the fast pace of climate change. Many bird species face extreme
threats of existence due to the unfamiliar changes in the climate system. Climate change is not

just related to rising temperature of the atmosphere, but is also intricately related with the
changes in human activities, degradation of vegetation, rising sea level, etc. Avian species of
Australia has been facing some huge changes in their environment and many of them are forced
to migrate earlier or depart later and most of the seabird-species of Australia are undergoing
dramatic changes when it comes to abundance and circulation (Prop et al., 2015). An unfamiliar
change in precipitation, irregular shifting of seasons, rising sea-level and the global rise in
temperature has led in disrupting the behaviors of the birds and the habitat that supports them.
The balance in their eco-system is malfunctioned and hence some have changed their migratory
habits and some have absolutely given up migration and is surviving on its non-migratory
instincts. Birds are becoming very vulnerable to the fast paced changing climate throughout the
world. Studies have shown that over 30% of the breeding birds are falling in numbers and need
to be conserved very soon for extinction threats and their inability to adapt or change with the
changing climate and the environment that surrounds them. Birds are being forced to migrate and
breed in colder temperatures due to the rise of temperature in their natural habitat. Generally,
most of the breeding birds will face survival threats and get affected by the climate change in a
number of ways (Jackson, Gergel & Martin, 2015). Most importantly it is going to affect the bird
species which depend on high-elevated forest lands, migratory birds and coastal breeding birds.
We shall now discuss the effects climate change has brought to these species and how they are
affected by it in their day-to-day lives, minimizing the chance of survival and maximizing the
chance of extinction.
Effects of Climate Change on Avian Species of Queensland
The avian species of Queensland and all over the world have been greatly affected by the
Climate Change. This has led to the extinction of many species, while some have been
categorized as threatened, as of now (Urban, 2015). Latest researches on wildlife and
conservation shows that more than 700 species of birds have been fatally affected by the climate
change. The results of the researches on the birds have shown that more than 23 per cent of the
birds, who have directly or indirectly been victim to climate change, have responded negatively.
In order to reduce the effects of climate change, it is utmost necessary to make the rest of the
human population aware of its negative impacts on the natural environment and society. In-depth
researches have been conducted on the life-rates of birds in Queensland, facing the negative