significant number of golden eagles in
particular have been killed by wind farms in
Western states. Researchers have studied a
variety of ways to decrease turbine-related
bird deaths, including brightly colored blades,
bright lights, and even artificial intelligence
technologies that recognize approaching
birds and slow or stop turbines to avoid
collisions.
(^5) Black-Footed Albatross
The black-footed albatross, listed as near
threatened on the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature RedList, faces a
variety of threats, including climate change,
plastic pollution, and invasive predators in
nesting habitats. Like many sea birds, they
are also vulnerable to entanglement and
drowning in gillnet and longline fisheries.
(Globally, an estimated half-million seabirds
die in gillnets every year.)
TEMPERATURE GAUGE
Greening Himalayas
Normally, when you hear that plant life is expanding in a
region, it portends a positive trend. But when that region is
the upper reaches of the Himalayas where vegetation has
typically been sparse, it can be cause for concern.
A team of researchers have discovered that the Himalayan
mountain range, which is home to the world’s highest peak,
Mount Everest, is witnessing an increase in plant growth in
its subnival regions — the area between the treeline, which is
the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing,
and the snowline. Little is known about these remote, hard-
to-reach ecosystems that cover between 5 and 15 times the
area of permanent glaciers and snow. The only plants that
thrive here tend to be grasses and shrubs.
Using satellite data from between 1993 to 2018 to
measure the extent of plant cover between the treeline and
the snowline, University of Exeter researchers measured
plant growth in four height brackets — from 4,150 to 6,
UM\MZ[IJW^M[MITM^MT ̧IVLNW]VL¹[UITTJ]\[QOVQÅKIV\
increases” in vegetation across all four brackets. The biggest
increase in plant cover was in the 5,000 to 5,500m bracket.
The study, which was published in the journal Global
Change Biology in January, doesn't examine the causes of the
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shows an increase in areas where temperatures are warm
enough for plants to grow across the Himalayan region due
to global warming.
It’s unclear what this greening means for the Himalayan
ecosystem but the researchers say we need to invest in further
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“Snow falls and melts [in this region] seasonally, and
we don't know what impact changing subnival vegetation
will have on this aspect of the water cycle — which is vital
because this region (known as ‘Asia's water towers’) feeds
the ten largest rivers in Asia,” says Dr. Karen Anderson, a
geographer at the University of Exeter who led the study.
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