IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SEABIRDS

Morten Frederiksen,
Coastal Seas Ecology Group, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH)

Executive Summary

Many seabirds had very bad breeding seasons in 2004 and 2005, and some species such as kittiwakes have declined strongly in recent years. The problems have been worst in the North Sea, and particularly in Shetland. Climate change is likely to have contributed to these problems, as several studies show that warm winters are bad for seabirds. Seabirds are mostly affected indirectly through their fish prey rather than directly. Fisheries also affect seabirds, and there is some debate between researchers about whether climate or fisheries has the strongest effect. Some seabirds are breeding increasingly late, and this could also be related to climate change. Many UK seabirds are at the southern edge of their range, and in the long term it is likely that some of these species will disappear.

Level of Confidence

Medium

Key sources of Information

The UK Seabird Monitoring Programme (www.jncc.gov.uk/page-1550) monitors trends in seabird population size and breeding success. More detailed data come from e.g. the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth, where the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology carries out research on how seabirds are affected by climate (www.ceh.ac.uk/sections/bpp/coastal.htm).

Please acknowledge this document as: Frederiksen, M. (2006). Impacts of Climate Change on Seabirds in Marine Climate Change Impacts Annual Report Card 2006 (Eds. Buckley, P.J, Dye, S.R. and Baxter, J.M), Online Summary Reports, MCCIP, Lowestoft, www.mccip.org.uk