CSDMS 2016 annual meeting poster SantoshKumarMishra
Climate Change Consequences on Seabird Population (With Emphasis on Distributional Changes in Seabirds in South Africa)
Abstract:
Climate change is already having a profound impact on the world’s oceans-disrupting the complex oceanographic phenomena and cycles that govern marine ecosystems. Seabirds are key indicators as to the magnitude of climate-induced changes in the marine realm, at the same time; they may also be uniquely vulnerable to its impacts. Numerous scenarios exist regarding the extent of climatic change consequences on seabird population. Over the past 100 years, the global mean surface temperature has increased by 0.6°C and scientists believe that there will be further increases 1.4 to 5.8°C over the next 100 years. Birds have already been affected by changes in breeding success, distribution and migration timing due to climate change.
This paper aims to research into consequences climate change has on seabirds, responses, and predictions of future direct and indirect impacts. It also touches upon (as a case study) climate change impacts on distributional changes in seabird population in South Africa. In terms of methodology, secondary data have been used in this presentation and analysis is descriptive in nature. The paper concludes that along with impacts due to changes in weather, seabirds will also be indirectly affected by the impacts of climate change on their ecosystems. This includes the marine ecosystem that contains the main prey of seabirds and also the various ecosystems that provide the diverse range of seabird breeding habitats. Many predictions are based on the documented effects on seabirds during short warming events. With reference to climate change impacts on distributional changes in seabird population in South Africa, the paper finds that in the mid-1990s, breeding of Leach’s storm petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa was recorded in the Western Cape, the first record for the Southern Hemisphere. Further, in the early 2000s, there was a decrease in numbers of Cape gannets Morus capensis breeding in the Western Cape, but a large increase in the Eastern Cape.
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