Eagles shifting flight paths to avoid Ukraine conflict, scientists find

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Full Video>> Eagles that have migratory routes through   Ukraine   have shifted their flight paths to avoid areas affected by the conflict, researchers have found. GPS data has revealed that greater spotted eagles not only made large detours after the invasion began, but also curtailed pitstops to rest and refuel, or avoided making them altogether. The upshot, the team say, is that the vulnerable raptors took longer to reach their breeding grounds, and probably expended more energy to get there. “It’s kind of like if you were to run a marathon but you had no water breaks. And at the end, someone asks you to run an extra seven or eight miles,” said Charlie Russell of the University of East Anglia, a co-author of the study. The researchers warned the situation could delay breeding, as the eagles could need longer to recuperate, and affect the survival chances of any young, as prey may be less available when the eggs hatch. R ussell and colleagues reported how they analysed...
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Herd of 170 bison could help store CO2 equivalent of 43,000 cars, researchers say


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A herd of 170 bison reintroduced to Romania’s Țarcu mountains could help store CO2 emissions equivalent to removing 43,000 US cars from the road for a year, research has found, demonstrating how the animals can help mitigate some effects of the climate crisis.


European bison disappeared from Romania more than 200 years ago, but Rewilding Europe and WWF Romania reintroduced the species to the southern Carpathian mountains in 2014. Since then, more than 100 bison have been given new homes in the Țarcu mountains, growing to more than 170 animals today, one of the largest free-roaming populations in Europe. The landscape holds the potential for 350-450 bison.

The latest research, which has not been peer-reviewed, used a new model developed by scientists at the Yale School of the Environment and funded by the Global Rewilding Alliance, with the bison paper funded by WWF Netherlands. The model, which has been published and peer reviewed in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, calculates the additional amount of atmospheric CO2 that wildlife species help to capture and store in soils through their interactions within ecosystems.


The European bison herd grazing in an area of nearly 50 sq km of grasslands within the wider Țarcu mountains was found to potentially capture an additional 54,000 tonnes of carbon a year. That is nearly 9.8 times more carbon than without the bison – although the report authors noted the 9.8 figure could be up to 55% higher or lower, so making the median estimate uncertain. This corresponds to the yearly CO2 released by a median of 43,000 average US petrol cars, or 84,000 using the higher figure, or a median of 123,000 average European cars, due to their higher energy efficiency, the researchers said.

Prof Oswald Schmitz of the Yale School of the Environment in Connecticut in the US, who was the lead author of the report, said: “Bison influence grassland and forest ecosystems by grazing grasslands evenly, recycling nutrients to fertilise the soil and all of its life, dispersing seeds to enrich the ecosystem, and compacting the soil to prevent stored carbon from being released.

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Eagles shifting flight paths to avoid Ukraine conflict, scientists find

Image
Full Video>> Eagles that have migratory routes through   Ukraine   have shifted their flight paths to avoid areas affected by the conflict, researchers have found. GPS data has revealed that greater spotted eagles not only made large detours after the invasion began, but also curtailed pitstops to rest and refuel, or avoided making them altogether. The upshot, the team say, is that the vulnerable raptors took longer to reach their breeding grounds, and probably expended more energy to get there. “It’s kind of like if you were to run a marathon but you had no water breaks. And at the end, someone asks you to run an extra seven or eight miles,” said Charlie Russell of the University of East Anglia, a co-author of the study. The researchers warned the situation could delay breeding, as the eagles could need longer to recuperate, and affect the survival chances of any young, as prey may be less available when the eggs hatch. R ussell and colleagues reported how they analysed...
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