A study (Long-Term Decrease in Coloration: A Consequence of Climate Change?), published by The American Naturalist and in which the Faculty of Science and Technology researcher David López-Idiáquez has participated, explored whether climate change alters the plumage colouration of the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus).
A study (Long-Term Decrease in Coloration: A Consequence of Climate Change?), published by The American Naturalist and in which the Faculty of Science and Technology researcher David López-Idiáquez has participated, explored whether climate change alters the plumage colouration of the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus).
The work, which was conducted over a 15-year period (2005-2019) through a partnership between scientists from the UPV/EHU and the Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive in Montpellier (CEFE-CNRS), focused on two populations of blue tits in the south of France, one located on the outskirts of Montpellier and the other in the northwest of the island of Corsica.
Each year between 2005 and 2019, all breeding blue tits in each population were captured. As a result, researchers from the two institutions were able to gather more than 5,800 observations on the colouring and other characteristics of the blue tits.
The blue tit is characterised by its striking colouring: a blue crest and a yellow breast. The results obtained in the study show a decrease in both populations of blue and yellow colouration between 2005 and 2019. In other words, the blue crests and yellow breasts of blue tits in these two populations are on average less colourful right now than when the research began.
Read more at University of the Basque Country
Photo Credit: Ralphs_Fotos via Pixabay
