Up to 900 tropical bird species could 'go extinct'
18.05.12
Depending on future habitat loss, each degree of surface warming could affect between 100-500 species, says Mr Sekercioglu, assistant professor of biology at the University of Utah.
"This gives us a clear big picture. The problem is most species in the world are highly sedentary... the public perception is most birds are migratory and so climate change is not a problem for them," he says.
Mr Sekercioglu says tropical mountain species are among the most vulnerable. He says bird species will need to be able to adapt physiologically to changes in temperature and be able to move to higher altitudes if they are to survive.
He says cooler, more humid forests could recede higher up mountains and combined with human settlements at higher altitudes, forest habitat could "get pushed off the mountain".
This would create "an escalator to extinction" he says.
"Coastal species are also vulnerable - as coastal forest can be sensitive to salinity, and these forests can get hit harder by hurricanes and typhoons, and these events are also expected to increase."
Source: BBC News