MORE tales of the unexpected from the natural world: rising industrial emissions may have inadvertently boosted the soaring speed, and reproductive success, of the wandering albatross.
Over the last 50 years, westerly winds in the southern hemisphere have become
MORE tales of the unexpected from the natural world: rising industrial emissions may have inadvertently boosted the soaring speed, and reproductive success, of the wandering albatross.
Over the last 50 years, westerly winds in the southern hemisphere have become faster and shifted polewards, a trend that has been linked to increasing emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting chemicals.
Henri Weimerskirch at the Chizé Centre for Biological Studies in Villiers-en-Bois, France, has found that wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) on the Southern Ocean's Crozet Islands may reap the benefits.
Soaring flight is influenced by wind speeds, and has become faster in the last decade, allowing the birds to shorten their foraging trips. Shorter trips mean the males and females - who share parental duties - can shorten their incubating shifts at the nest, improving both their health and that of the brood (Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1210270).
The curious effect is likely to be short-lived: climate models predict that wind strength will continue to rise, and may soon be unfavourable for soari