Migrating birds, like these sandhill cranes on the Platte river in Nebraska, experience a wide range of temperatures throughout the year, which suggests that their migrations are less about avoiding the cold and more about the ability of a given climate to support them. (Credit: Larry Crist, US Fish and Wildlife Service. Licenced under Creative Commons.)
Why do birds fly south in the winter? It’s not to escape the cold: a new study shows that migratory birds actually experience a wide range of climates over the course of the year despite their long journeys. The authors suggest that the relative lack of species diversity in places like Canada is not because animals can’t adapt to the cold, but because the climate places limits on the number of species that can be supported.
Original research article published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Names and affiliations of selected authors:
Véronique Boucher-Lalonde, University of Ottawa
