A new scientific study revealed that birds, both endemic and migratory, became laying eggs earlier than usual.
This is due to the high temperatures.
There is fear that this pace will increase in the distant future.
Ovulation a month earlier than usual
The researchers compared the cycles of the ovaries, which included about 72 species of birds over a long period of about a century, and found that they became ovulating about a month early, and this is due to the factor of climatic changes that have directly affected the life cycle of living organisms, not only birds.
The researchers also noted - according to what was confirmed by the study published in the "Journal of Animal Ecology" on March 24 last year - that birds are therefore building their nests early in the spring, and perhaps days before it arrives.
The researchers were able to notice these changes through studies conducted on some types of eggs that were kept for dozens of years in some museums in the US state of Chicago in the period between 1872 and 2015, that is, for about 143 years.
The researchers compared the ovarian cycles of about 72 species of birds (John Bates - Field Museum)
According to the study, about a third (24 species of birds) that were under study became ovulating 25.1 days before the specified time, on average, because some of them ovulated 10 days before the time, and some became ovulating 50 days earlier.
Impact of climate change
Previous studies have confirmed that climate changes have directly affected the life cycle of many living organisms, such as trees that bloom early due to rising temperatures.
To ensure that the early spawning of birds is also due to the impact of climate changes and due to the absence of old statistics about temperatures in the Chicago area, the researchers worked on developing an alternative model that measures the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is considered by climate experts as a good indicator of rising temperatures.
According to the study, the change in trees and plants in the spring, which blooms early, and the accompanying emergence of worms to the surface, which are the birds' preferred food, is the direct reason for laying eggs early, because they are forced to do so in order to be able to ensure food for their chicks.
Early flowering forces birds to lay eggs early (pixabi)
The supervisor of the study, researcher John Bates from the Integrated Research Center in the American city of Chicago, explained - in a statement to Al Jazeera Net via e-mail - that "birds have become forced to lay eggs early, in harmony with what is happening in nature from early flowering and the emergence of worms, all due to climate changes." He added, "It has not happened and that we have seen until today any failure or misfortune in the process of laying eggs, which poses a threat to extinction, all that is in the matter is that there is an early laying of eggs."
In response to a question about experts’ expectations of what could happen in the future if the world fails to limit climate change, he said, “We cannot talk about what could happen in the future. The effects of climate change are still in front of us, and we researchers are required to follow the situation and alert the world to what is happening in order to Take the necessary measures and quickly, to remedy what can be corrected."