Aug 25, 2021 03:09 PM
Bird communities threatened by urbanization
https://phys.org/news/2021-08-bird-threa...ation.html
EXCERPT: . . . "We found that urban bird communities were impoverished subsets of rural communities, both in terms of species composition and the ecological functions they provide," says first author Gabriel Marcacci, Ph.D. student in the Functional Agrobiodiversity group at the University of Göttingen. "Birds perform important roles in the environment, for instance controlling pests by eating insects, scavenging and removing carrion, or eating fruits and dispersing the seeds. But only bird species that are well adapted to urban environments such as pigeons or crows can thrive."
"The homogenization—resulting from losing diversity through the exclusion of certain groups—of farmland bird communities may disrupt important ecosystem functions and services in urban agroecosystems such as pest removal by insect-eating birds," explains Professor Catrin Westphal, head of the Functional Agrobiodiversity group. Urban communities were found to be more sensitive to species loss, endangering ecosystem resilience... (MORE)
Extinction Rebellion sees surge in support after IPCC report
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/ipcc-...52294.html
INTRO: More people have been inspired to take part in the Extinction Rebellion protest following the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, according to activists.
Liam Geary Baulch, who helped launch Extinction Rebellion in 2018, said the group saw a jump in donations from people after the document was published on August 9.
The report gave a stark warning and outlined that human-caused climate change, which has pushed up global temperatures by 1.1C, is driving weather and climate extremes in every region across the world.
“With the IPCC report just coming out, a lot of people have been reignited with the urgency of taking action on the climate and ecological emergency and are aware that, now it’s more safe for everyone to come to London [due to coronavirus restrictions being eased].”
He added: “We are again running groups all over the country and people are being encouraged to come down to London… When they’re here they are all involved with different kinds of protests, all with the aim of like really inviting people to get in and come and talk with us.”
Thousands of people have taken part in protests around London since Sunday where they have listened to speeches and paraded through the city streets... (MORE)
https://phys.org/news/2021-08-bird-threa...ation.html
EXCERPT: . . . "We found that urban bird communities were impoverished subsets of rural communities, both in terms of species composition and the ecological functions they provide," says first author Gabriel Marcacci, Ph.D. student in the Functional Agrobiodiversity group at the University of Göttingen. "Birds perform important roles in the environment, for instance controlling pests by eating insects, scavenging and removing carrion, or eating fruits and dispersing the seeds. But only bird species that are well adapted to urban environments such as pigeons or crows can thrive."
"The homogenization—resulting from losing diversity through the exclusion of certain groups—of farmland bird communities may disrupt important ecosystem functions and services in urban agroecosystems such as pest removal by insect-eating birds," explains Professor Catrin Westphal, head of the Functional Agrobiodiversity group. Urban communities were found to be more sensitive to species loss, endangering ecosystem resilience... (MORE)
Extinction Rebellion sees surge in support after IPCC report
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/ipcc-...52294.html
INTRO: More people have been inspired to take part in the Extinction Rebellion protest following the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, according to activists.
Liam Geary Baulch, who helped launch Extinction Rebellion in 2018, said the group saw a jump in donations from people after the document was published on August 9.
The report gave a stark warning and outlined that human-caused climate change, which has pushed up global temperatures by 1.1C, is driving weather and climate extremes in every region across the world.
“With the IPCC report just coming out, a lot of people have been reignited with the urgency of taking action on the climate and ecological emergency and are aware that, now it’s more safe for everyone to come to London [due to coronavirus restrictions being eased].”
He added: “We are again running groups all over the country and people are being encouraged to come down to London… When they’re here they are all involved with different kinds of protests, all with the aim of like really inviting people to get in and come and talk with us.”
Thousands of people have taken part in protests around London since Sunday where they have listened to speeches and paraded through the city streets... (MORE)