<p>Climate change, climatic variation and extreme biological responses</p>

Differential changes in the morphology and fuel loads of obligatory and partial migrant passerines over half a century in Britain

Climate change can also lead to changes in distribution, at either the northern or southern end of their migratory route. In turn, this might lead to changes in the distance individuals can, or need...

Protected areas, drought, and grazing regimes influence fire occurrence in a fire-prone Mediterranean region

This study builds on previous work as part of the ‘Polesia: wilderness without borders’ project, which developed methods to map and analyse fires using satellite imagery and other remote-sensing...

Red Kites and onshore wind in Wales

The Welsh Red Kite population is currently in ongoing recovery after a historic decline driven by persecution, and a consequent population bottleneck during the first half of the 20th century. Trends...

Species- or habitat- based assessments of vulnerability to climate change? Informing climate change adaptation in special protection areas for birds in England

In this paper, two approaches commonly adopted by Natural England for climate change vulnerability assessments were used to assess the vulnerability to climate change of Special Protection Areas...

Spatially targeted nature-based solutions can mitigate climate change and nature loss but require a systems approach

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is one of the greatest challenges humankind is currently facing. A growing coalition of countries are now pledging to achieve net zero emissions, which means...

Avian responses to climate extremes: insights into abundance curves and species sensitivity using the UK Breeding Bird Survey

Climate change is one of the major threats to species conservation. Biological responses to climate change include shifts in species distribution, behavioural and physiological changes. However, many...

Anthropogenic climate and land-use change drive short-and long-term biodiversity shifts across taxa

This collaborative research involving BTO attempted to start understanding how habitat change and climate change interact. The study examined changes in over 1,000 bird, butterfly, moth and plant...

Climate change and migratory species: a review of impacts, conservation actions, indicators and ecosystem services.

​Part 1 documents a review of literature which was carried out to identify the impacts of climate change on each group of migratory species listed on CMS Appendix I and Appendix II. A range of...

Future impact of climate change on threatened seabirds

New BTO research predicts seabird declines of up to 90% by 2050 in Britain and Ireland under a ‘business as usual’ climate scenario.

Linking climate warming and land conversion to species’ range changes across Great Britain

The most notable changes over the past 75 years have been an increase in temperature and a loss of roughly 90% of lowland meadow and pasture, mainly converted to arable farmland and improved...

Combining remote sensing and tracking data to quantify species’ cumulative exposure to anthropogenic change

The results showed that although the actual amount of change had been greatest on the breeding grounds, cumulative exposure to changes in direct mortality risk and climate were...

Does the timing of Blue Tit breeding vary with woodland composition?

Local colonisations and extinctions of European birds are poorly explained by changes in climate suitability

Ecological barriers limit the ability of birds to respond to climate change

A changing climate places pressure on individuals, species and communities, forcing them to either adapt to changing conditions or move to where conditions remain favourable. If they are unable to...

Landscape fires disproportionally affect areas of conservation priority but only under low moisture conditions

This study identified five fires reaching more than 100 km2, a threshold often used to classify ‘megafires’. Frequent spring and summer fires predominantly started in agricultural areas, where...

The impacts of farming activities on Europe’s breeding birds

Using the most comprehensive dataset of its kind, this study explores the drivers of population change in European birds.

A global biological conservation horizon scan of issues for 2023

Are the declines of birds and invertebrates linked by climate change?

Many of the detected effects of climate change on biodiversity have occurred through impacts on food chains. We know that many birds are insectivorous during the breeding season, and various studies...

Birdwatchers and anglers value peatlands differently to walkers and cyclists.

Ringing and Nest Record Scheme data suggest weather is a better predictor of Swift breeding success than the availability of insect prey

Research reveals why Willow Warblers breeding in different parts of Britain are affected by climate change in different ways.

Identifying the drivers influencing mountain and upland bird populations

A tale of two warblers

Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) results show very different population trends for Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff - but what is driving this difference? BTO research reveals climate is key.