Climate change having devastating impact on migratory species

Subject : Environment

Section: Climate change

Context:

A report on migratory species has been published by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), on the sidelines of COP28.

Impact of climate change and biodiversity loss on Migratory species:

Impacting the habitats, food availability and reproduction cycles of the migratory species, poleward range shifts of terrestrial animals, changes in the timing of migration, increases in parasite loads in African Elephants and Lions, and increased probability of deaths and survival due to extreme weather conditions such as heatwaves, and torrential rains among others.
Effects on breeding success, especially with temperature-sensitive animals such as penguin, turtles, and crocodiles etc and their survival.
Warmer temperatures are affecting the timing and abundance of food availability such as plankton blooms.
Some vulnerable migratory species to climate change are- Cold-water copepods, Little penguins, Shag, Migratory albatrosses (Laysan and black-footed albatross), Greater Flamingos, Bitterns, Redshank, Afro-Palearctic migratory passerines (Barn Swallow chick), krill and Northern Lapwing.
Higher temperatures resulted in decreased hunting frequency among birds and a reduction in food consumption.
- High temperatures are linked to increased mortality in Great Reed Warblers, though their reproduction has been benefiting from improved rearing conditions.
The climate change tends to affect terrestrial mammals such as ungulates, herbivores and others as a decline in rainfall resists their food availability.

Role of various species in mitigating impacts of climate change:

Whales that have long life spans play a crucial role in carbon capture. Each whale has an estimated potential to sequester 0.062 megatonnes of carbon annually.
Mammals like bats help to maintain biodiversity through seed dispersal,saiga antelopes help improve the resilience of grasslands by preventing wildfires and vultures help reduce disease transmission and risk of spread of zoonotic disease spillover to humans.

Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) or Bonn convention:

It is an environmental treaty of the United Nations.
129 countries plus the European Union are the members. Maldives is the latest country to join it.
CMS provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats. CMS brings together the States through which migratory animals pass, the Range States, and lays the legal foundation for internationally coordinated conservation measures throughout a migratory range.
As the only global convention specializing in the conservation of migratory species, their habitats and migration routes, CMS complements and co-operates with a number of other international organizations, NGOs and partners in the media as well as in the corporate sector.
Migratory species threatened with extinction are listed in Appendix I of the Convention.
Migratory species that need or would significantly benefit from international cooperation are listed in Appendix II of the Convention.