Media Releases >  Media Releases Archive  > Biologists study avian sign of global warming

Document Tools

Contact Tony Williams, 604.291.4982; mailto:tdwillia@sfu.ca (tdwillia@sfu.ca) Carol Thorbes, Media & PR, 604.291.3035; mailto:cthorbes@sfu.ca (cthorbes@sfu.ca)

Simon Fraser University professor Tony Williams is among a select group of scientists gathering in Wageningen, Holland in November to figure out what the future holds for the proverbial 'canary in the coalmine'. Birds - highly visible creatures in the world's ecosystem - are turning out to be ecological canaries in a world undergoing climate change. “The public and scientists are very concerned about changes in birds' distribution and abundance in response to rising world temperatures. Many studies show that a variety of animals and plants have changed their breeding or flowering schedules, their distribution and range, and, in the case of birds, timing of migration. This could be indicative of detrimental environmental changes,” says Williams, a physiological ecologist and chair of SFU's biological sciences department. Williams is the principal investigator on Avian Reproduction and Environmental Change, a national network funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. Williams helped launch the group earlier this year. The network is bringing together ecologists and physiologists to discuss the significance and direction of variations in bird responses to climate change. “Environmental changes impact birds' breeding practices via a cascade of hormone-dependent physiological processes,” explains Williams. “Changes in these processes will determine the extent and rate at which birds might adapt to changes in their environment. It is individual variation that provides the raw material for natural selection to act on-if whole populations eventually show evolved responses to climate change.” The ability to predict how climate change will impact birds' evolutionary responses could help scientists predict what is in store for other animals and humans. Williams' research group has led the way in investigating and understanding individual variability in bird reproduction. The biologist's avian network and similar groups in Europe and the United States are collaborating on the presentation of research at four workshops, including one in Wageningen, over three years. -30- (photo available) Websites: Natural Sciences & Engineering research council: http://www.sfu.ca/biology/faculty/williams/NSERC_bird_network.html (www.sfu.ca/biology/faculty/williams/NSERC_bird_network.html) European science foundation: http://www.e-bird.cefe.cnrs-mop.fr/ (www.e-bird.cefe.cnrs-mop.fr/)