scholarly journals Extreme weather affects Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus tundrius) breeding success in South Greenland

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 38-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linnéa Carlzon ◽  
Amanda Karlsson ◽  
Knud Falk ◽  
Antonia Liess ◽  
Søren Møller

Abstract In order to better understand the potential effects of climate change on the Peregrine Falcon, we investigated the relationship between extreme weather events and Peregrines’ breeding success in South Greenland. We defined three variables – number of days with extremely low temperatures, extreme precipitation, consecutive rainy days – and an additive variable, total days with extreme weather, and tested their relationship with Peregrines’ breeding success (measured as young per site and nest success) over a 33 year study period. Breeding success was negatively influenced by the number of days with extreme weather and extremely low temperature. The strongest relationship found was total days with extreme weather in the entire breeding season, which explained 22% and 27% of the variation in nest success and young per site, respectively. The number of days with extreme weather in our study related to fluctuations in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Thus, with a strengthening of the NAO, linked to climate change, more extreme weather may occur in the Arctic and induce increased variation in Peregrines’ breeding success. Our data did not allow us to pinpoint when in the breeding cycle inclement weather was particularly harmful, and we recommend finer-scale research (e.g. automated nest cameras) to better monitor the species-specific effects of rapidly changing climate.

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Báez ◽  
◽  
D. Macías ◽  
M. De Castro ◽  
M. Gómez-Gesteira ◽  
...  

There is a growing concern over the decline of fisheries and the possibility of the decline becoming worse due to climate change. Studies on small–scale fisheries could help to improve our understanding of the effect of climate on the ecology of exploited stocks. The Strait of Gibraltar is an important fishery ground for artisanal fleets. In this area, blackspot seabream (Pagellus bogaraveo) is the main species targeted by artisanal fisheries in view of its relevance in landed weight. The aims of this study were to explore the possible effects of two atmospheric oscillations, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Arctic Oscillation (AO), on the capture of blackspot seabream in the Strait of Gibraltar, to determine their association with oceanographic conditions, and to improve our knowledge about the possible effects of climate change on fisheries ecology so that fishery management can be improved. We used two types of data from different sources: (i) landings per unit of effort reported from a second working group between Morocco and Spain on Pagellus bogaraveo in the Gibraltar Strait area, for the period 1983–2011, and (ii) the recorded blackspot seabream landings obtained from the annual fisheries statistics published by the Junta de Andalucía (Andalusian Regional Government). Our results indicate that the long–term landing of blackspot seabream in the Strait of Gibraltar is closely associated with atmospheric oscillations. Thus, prolonged periods of positive trends in the NAO and AO could favour high fishery yields. In contrast, negative trends in NAO and AO could drastically reduce yield.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 866
Author(s):  
Gary Free ◽  
Mariano Bresciani ◽  
Monica Pinardi ◽  
Nicola Ghirardi ◽  
Giulia Luciani ◽  
...  

Climate change has increased the temperature and altered the mixing regime of high-value lakes in the subalpine region of Northern Italy. Remote sensing of chlorophyll-a can help provide a time series to allow an assessment of the ecological implications of this. Non-parametric multiplicative regression (NPMR) was used to visualize and understand the changes that have occurred between 2003–2018 in Lakes Garda, Como, Iseo, and Maggiore. In all four deep subalpine lakes, there has been a disruption from a traditional pattern of a significant spring chlorophyll-a peak followed by a clear water phase and summer/autumn peaks. This was replaced after 2010–2012, with lower spring peaks and a tendency for annual maxima to occur in summer. There was a tendency for this switch to be interspersed by a two-year period of low chlorophyll-a. Variables that were significant in NPMR included time, air temperature, total phosphorus, winter temperature, and winter values for the North Atlantic Oscillation. The change from spring to summer chlorophyll-a maxima, relatively sudden in an ecological context, could be interpreted as a regime shift. The cause was probably cascading effects from increased winter temperatures, reduced winter mixing, and altered nutrient dynamics. Future trends will depend on climate change and inter-decadal climate drivers.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 1859-1877 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Kondrashov ◽  
S. Kravtsov ◽  
M. Ghil

Abstract This paper constructs and analyzes a reduced nonlinear stochastic model of extratropical low-frequency variability. To do so, it applies multilevel quadratic regression to the output of a long simulation of a global baroclinic, quasigeostrophic, three-level (QG3) model with topography; the model's phase space has a dimension of O(104). The reduced model has 45 variables and captures well the non-Gaussian features of the QG3 model's probability density function (PDF). In particular, the reduced model's PDF shares with the QG3 model its four anomalously persistent flow patterns, which correspond to opposite phases of the Arctic Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation, as well as the Markov chain of transitions between these regimes. In addition, multichannel singular spectrum analysis identifies intraseasonal oscillations with a period of 35–37 days and of 20 days in the data generated by both the QG3 model and its low-dimensional analog. An analytical and numerical study of the reduced model starts with the fixed points and oscillatory eigenmodes of the model's deterministic part and uses systematically an increasing noise parameter to connect these with the behavior of the full, stochastically forced model version. The results of this study point to the origin of the QG3 model's multiple regimes and intraseasonal oscillations and identify the connections between the two types of behavior.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramón A. Delanoy ◽  
Misael Díaz-Asencio ◽  
Rafael Méndez-Tejeda

The Bay of Samaná, formed by tectonism and sedimentation, is delimited to the north by the peninsula of the same name, to the south by the north slope of the Eastern Mountain Range and Los Haitises National Park, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west by the ancient Gran Estero, today the Lower Yuna. There follows a process of continuous degradation by the existing tectonic forces and the sediment contributions by the Yuna, Yabón, and La Yeguada rivers to the south as well as by the landslides of the mountainous area of the Samaná Peninsula, during periods of storms and hurricanes. The coastal area of Samaná Bay has altered by 2.17 km2 at the mouth of the Yuna River from 2003–2015. The high turbidity level has affected coral reefs and marine species.  The  mangroves  are  lost  faster  than  they  are  regenerated  by  the  coastline’s change. Variations in the elemental compositions of calcium and iron show the terrigenous influence on the dynamics of the bay during Extreme Weather Events (EWP) in the river basins that flow into it. Abrupt changes in the rainfall regime produced an equal change in the estuary sedimentation regime, according to the 210Pb. In the 2007–2016 period, a column of sediment that reached 38 cm and a 12 cm to 8.4 km column were deposited 4 km southeast of the municipality of Sánchez and east of the mouth of the Yuna River. The Sedimentary Accumulation Rate is very high, and the content of heavy metals exceeds the threshold values of Table SQuirt.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Fleischhut ◽  
Stefan M. Herzog ◽  
Ralph Hertwig

AbstractAs climate change unfolds, extreme weather events are on the rise worldwide. According to experts, extreme weather risks already outrank those of terrorism and migration in likelihood and impact. But how well does the public understand weather risks and forecast uncertainty and thus grasp the amplified weather risks that climate change poses for the future? In a nationally representative survey (N = 1004; Germany), we tested the public’s weather literacy and awareness of climate change using 62 factual questions. Many respondents misjudged important weather risks (e.g., they were unaware that UV radiation can be higher under patchy cloud cover than on a cloudless day) and struggled to connect weather conditions to their impacts (e.g., they overestimated the distance to a thunderstorm). Most misinterpreted a probabilistic forecast deterministically, yet they strongly underestimated the uncertainty of deterministic forecasts. Respondents with higher weather literacy obtained weather information more often and spent more time outside but were not more educated. Those better informed about climate change were only slightly more weather literate. Overall, the public does not seem well equipped to anticipate weather risks in the here and now and may thus also fail to fully grasp what climate change implies for the future. These deficits in weather literacy highlight the need for impact forecasts that translate what the weather may be into what the weather may do and for transparent communication of uncertainty to the public. Boosting weather literacy may help to improve the public’s understanding of weather and climate change risks, thereby fostering informed decisions and mitigation support.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Lilwah

Close to ninety percent of Guyana‟s population live along a low lying coastal plain, which is below sea level and very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. While the national government has not yet developed a comprehensive climate policy, the potential impacts of climate change is considered in several sectoral policies, much of which emphasize mitigation, with little focus on adaptation. This research examined the current priorities for adaptation by a review of the policies within the natural resource sector to identify opportunities for adaptation, especially ecosystem based adaptation. A Diagnostic Adaptation Framework (DAF) was used to help identify approaches to address a given adaptation challenge with regards to needs, measures and options. A survey questionnaire was used to support the policy reviews and identified four key vulnerabilities: coastal floods; sea level rise; drought and extreme weather events. The application of the DAF in selecting an adaptation method suggests the need for more data on drought and extreme weather events. Coastal flooding is addressed, with recognized need for more data and public awareness for ecosystem based adaptation


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 997-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela I. V. Domeisen ◽  
Gualtiero Badin ◽  
Inga M. Koszalka

ABSTRACT The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) describe the dominant part of the variability in the Northern Hemisphere extratropical troposphere. Because of the strong connection of these patterns with surface climate, recent years have shown an increased interest and an increasing skill in forecasting them. However, it is unclear what the intrinsic limits of short-term predictability for the NAO and AO patterns are. This study compares the variability and predictability of both patterns, using a range of data and index computation methods for the daily NAO and AO indices. Small deviations from Gaussianity are found along with characteristic decorrelation time scales of around one week. In the analysis of the Lyapunov spectrum it is found that predictability is not significantly different between the AO and NAO or between reanalysis products. Differences exist, however, between the indices based on EOF analysis, which exhibit predictability time scales around 12–16 days, and the station-based indices, exhibiting a longer predictability of 18–20 days. Both of these time scales indicate predictability beyond that currently obtained in ensemble prediction models for short-term predictability. Additional longer-term predictability for these patterns may be gained through local feedbacks and remote forcing mechanisms for particular atmospheric conditions.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document