Are we still going to have a great galaxy collision?
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ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Climate change and extreme heat play a role in decline of tropical bird population, study finds
Climate change is responsible for a nearly 40 per cent decline in the average abundance of tropical bird species since 1950, a new study has found. The joint study from the University of Queensland and Barcelona Supercomputing Centre in Spain, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, found severe weather events had combined to reduce fertility, alter breeding habits, and kill both young and mature birds. The study used open-source bird data to map the population of 3,000 bird species worldwide between 1950 and 2020. Using statistical modelling and noting how those bird populations changed after abnormal weather events, the authors were able to specifically assess climate change's impact on species. They found a 25-38 per cent decline in the overall abundance of tropical species, largely due to prolonged and extreme heat. Professor James Watson from the University of Queensland, one of the report's authors, said while the impact of gradual climate change was well understood, extreme events had been largely ignored. "This piece of science showed that it's actually the biggest factor causing declines in tropical birds around the world," he said. The paper found tropical species were more sensitive to events like heatwaves, droughts and floods than those that live in milder climates. Professor Watson said the team had a number of theories as to why. "If you look broadly at tropical regions, most species have very small ranges. They're highly specialised," he said. "When you go further away from the tropics, a lot of species have much wider ranges … so they're available to adapt to different kinds of climates." The study found birds that live in dry, tropical savannas, which stretch across much of northern Australia, are at particular risk due to the volatility of water sources. Through climate change, these areas are seeing increasingly frequent and severe heatwaves and dry spells, as well as increased fire activity, according to the report. Dr Golo Maurer — the director of Birdlife Australia's Conservation Strategy, based in Cairns — said birds of all varieties struggled to cool themselves in extreme heat. "Birds can't sweat, so they're struggling to shed heat. They pant, but that contributes to water loss," Dr Maurer said. "They start at a higher temperature than we do, which allows them to live in warmer climates. "But once you push on beyond 42 degrees, they're really struggling." Birdlife Australia coordinates thousands of volunteer citizen scientists, whose work is partly responsible for the datasets that studies like this rely on. Dr Maurer said teams out in the field were working on Birdlife Australia's own report into species abundance in Far North Queensland and had noted similar concerning population drops, particularly amongst smaller varieties. This, he said, is because smaller birds are unable to store energy as effectively, must feed more frequently, and are therefore unable to hide themselves away during extreme heat events. It means species like the endangered Carpentaria grasswren have changed their behaviour to come out in the middle of a hot summer day in order to find water, putting them at serious risk of overheating. Dr Maurer said some population declines in wet tropics species are so concerning, Birdlife Australia has recommended some species' have their threat classification upgraded. "Certain species now just live in a fairly narrow band along mountain ranges where they are finding the right temperatures. "The famous golden bowerbird, for instance, the smallest of the bowerbirds … seems to have been abandoned some areas, so they're not coming down the mountain anymore." The study also found that other human activities, such as land clearing, hunting or the degradation of habitat, had also combined to reduce bird abundance by between 10 to 20 per cent globally. However, it found some of the places most severely impacted by population declines were outside the physical reach of humans. "In two relatively undisturbed rainforests in Panama and the Amazon, abundance declined by over 50 per cent for the majority of bird species between 1977 and 2020," the report said. In order to give at-risk bird species a fighting chance of surviving already "baked-in" climate change, Professor Watson said it was essential to protect as much habitat as possible. "The only way these species in the tropics are going to survive these extreme events is if they have healthy populations," he said. "Every single bird that we see out there has adapted to natural climate change events in the past, which means they have the internal mechanics to adapt to rapidly changing climates in the future."
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
Jellyfish force French nuclear plant shutdown
A nuclear plant in northern France was temporarily shut down on Monday after a swarm of jellyfish clogged pumps used to cool the reactors, energy group EDF said. The automatic shutdowns of four units "had no impact on the safety of the facilities, the safety of personnel, or the environment", EDF said on its website. "These shutdowns are the result of the massive and unpredictable presence of jellyfish in the filter drums of the pumping stations," the Gravelines plant operator said. The site was fully shut after the incident, with its two other units already offline for maintenance. Teams were carrying out inspections to restart the production units "in complete safety", EDF said, adding the units were expected to restart on Thursday. "There is no risk of a power shortage," the company added, saying other energy sources, including solar power, were operational. Gravelines is Western Europe's largest nuclear power plant with six reactors, each with the capacity to produce 900 megawatts. The site is due to open two next-generation reactors, each with a capacity of 1,600 megawatts, by 2040. This is not the first time jellyfish have shut down a nuclear facility, though EDF said such incidents were "quite rare", adding the last impact on its operations was in the 1990s. There have been cases of plants in other countries shutting down due to jellyfish invasions, notably a three-day closure in Sweden in 2013 and a 1999 incident in Japan that caused a major drop in output. Experts say overfishing, plastic pollution and climate change have created conditions allowing jellyfish to thrive and reproduce. lg-ekf/jh/phz
News.com.au
3 days ago
- News.com.au
Swiss pilot takes big step closer to solar plane altitude record
Swiss pilot Raphael Domjan got within around a thousand metres of setting a new altitude record in a solar-powered plane on Sunday as he chases the goal of breaking the 10,000 metres barrier. Self-described eco-explorer Domjan, 53, flew the SolarStratos electric plane to an altitude of 8,224 metres in a flight lasting around four and a half hours, his team told reporters, after he landed back at Sion airport in southwestern Switzerland. The current altitude record for a solar plane stands at 9,235 metres, set in 2010 by the Solar Impulse experimental aeroplane, flown by Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg. Domjan is aiming to get to 10,000 metres or beyond -- flying at the same altitude as airliners. A warm-up flight on July 31 got to 6,589 metres -- the highest-ever for SolarStratos. And an attempt on Friday was cut short when the rising warm air thermals needed to boost the ascent failed to materialise, with Domjan turning back to preserve the charge in the batteries for Sunday, when the conditions looked more promising. Sunday's second attempt of the season set a new high altitude best for the two-seater SolarStratos, which has high-spec solar panels covering its huge 24.8-metre wingspan. The slow-charging plane will be left out in the sun to get the batteries back up to 100 percent for the next attempt. "To be a pioneer, an adventurer, it means trying something you are not sure will succeed," Domjan told AFP on Friday. "We'll try and try until we go to 10,000 metres. "It's important to demonstrate what we can achieve with solar energy, what we can do with electricity," he added. rjm-jj/gv
