Just to be clear, I am not proposing that finding 2 birds at a higher elevation than previously recorded is 1)an indication of an elevational change for that species or 2)any proof of the impacts of climate change on birds. However, I think that this may be important data for tracking bird populations especially with the impacts already scientifically demonstrated as upon us. Greg, is RMBO keeping track of elevation of birds found outside of normal range? Does anyone know if other scientific groups are tracking this?
This is issue identified by many scientists in recent years and there is some research that indicates elevational problems for birds. The following is from an article in the prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journal *Conservation Biology* (Volume 22, No. 1, 2008; available on the internet for free at http://www.stanford.edu/~cagan/2008%20Sekercioglu%20Con%20Bio.pdf): "Climate Change, Elevational Range Shifts, and Bird Extinctions" by CAGAN H. SEKERCIOGLU,∗‡ STEPHEN H. SCHNEIDER,∗ JOHN P. FAY,† AND SCOTT R. LOARIE† (∗Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, U.S.A. †Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27707-0328, U.S.A.). Their research included modeling for the "effects of elevational limits on the extinction risk of landbirds, 87% of all bird species. *Elevational limitation of range size explained 97% of the variation in the probability of being in a World Conservation Union category of extinction risk*." "*Worldwide, every degree of warming projected a nonlinear increase in bird extinctions of about 100–500 species*. Only 21% of the species predicted to become extinct in our scenarios are currently considered threatened with extinction." These researchers, who are as noted from Stanford and Duke Universities, state, "To improve the precision of climate-induced extinction estimates, there is an urgent need for high-resolution measurements of shifts in the elevational ranges of species. Given the accelerating influence of climate change on species distributions and conservation, using elevational limits in a tested, standardized, and robust manner can improve conservation assessments of terrestrial species and will help identify species that are most vulnerable to global climate change. " They further conclude, "*Limitations imposed on species ranges by the climatic, ecological, and physiological effects of elevation are important determinants of extinction risk*." (my bolding throughout) This is an excellent article and I strongly recommend it with the following caveat: this is a heavy duty statistical research that employs advanced statistical models so it ain't easy reading. I would love to quote more from this article but I don't want to be a copywrite violator (I actually googled to see how much I could quote as it's been awhile since I've published, but the best I could find said "extensive excerpts" were verboten so hopefully my quoted 6 1/2 sentences were not too much). SeEtta Moss Canon City http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 5:56 PM, Greg Levandoski <[email protected]>wrote: > > Yesterday, August 9th, while walking through the tundra in Rocky > Mountain National Park at 11,500 feet elevation, I came upon a pair of > Loggerhead Shrikes. This was in a little patch of Krummholz near the > "end" of the faint trail heading northeast from Medicine Bow Curve. > Presumably, they both wandered up there together post-breeding. > > Previously the highest Loggerheads I'd seen were in North Park, around > 8,200'. Andrews and Righter (1992) show this species stopping at 9,000' > as I imagine they usually do. > > Most of my time yesterday was spent on the Ute trail and the bird life > was as expected. Also of note were an awful lot of Mountain Bluebirds > hawking insects, plus 50 lazing elk and one trusting yellow-bellied marmot. > > Greg Levandoski > Fort Collins, CO > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
