RSPB issues wildlife climate change warning

Climate change is already having a large impact on certain species of seabirds and their habitats, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Scotland. The charity has called for more to be done to mitigate global warming due to the impact it is having on wildlife. 

According to the conservation charity, wildlife and coastal habitats have already been affected by the increase in extreme weather patterns and rising sea levels. Warmer oceans have also presented problems for the animals that live on coastlines. Certain birds - such as dotterels and kittiwakes - are particularly vulnerable to the changes, said the RSPB.

Urgent government action has been requested by the charity in an effort to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases that contribute towards global warming. This call follows research performed by the RSPB, which found that a fast decline of Scottish kittiwakes is due to climate change. Since the year 2000, an 87 per cent reduction in the birds has been recorded at sites around Orkney.

It is thought the main source of food for the kittiwakes - sand eels - is being affected by the warmer ocean temperatures. The RSPB has raised concerns that continued climate alterations will lead to the extinction of the species in some areas.

Inland species are also thought to be increasingly affected by global warming, affecting the overall food chain and reducing the numbers of key birds and animals. According to the charity, dotterels - which breed in Scotland's highest mountain tops - are also being affected, with a reduction in the number of breeding males being recorded between 1999 and 2011. 

The RSPB figures and call to action follows on from a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which looked at the global threat of warming temperatures.

Jim Densham, senior climate policy officer at RSPB Scotland, said: "The IPCC report powerfully backs up what we know about the changes that are already affecting Scotland's natural heritage.

"Some of our most special wildlife and habitats are suffering now from the impacts of a changing climate.

"The report is a wake-up call for all governments, including our own, to redouble efforts to halt climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors of our economy and society."