Friday 31 December 2021

It's a Question of Timing?

For the start of 2022, the UK's weather, is scheduled to be some of the mildest on record (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/31/warm-winter-fatal-for-uk-endangered-species-bats-butterflies-hedgehogs). A mild winter is not, however, good news for some organisms. Spring flowers may appear in January and then be damaged by later cold snaps. Butterflies, such as the Red admiral and the Small tortoiseshell, may emerge from their pupae too early. If they do so, they will fail to encounter food resources for both the adult and any potential larvae. Hibernating Mammals, like hedgehogs and bats, may awake before conditions are appropriate for feeding. This premature activity wastes limited energy resources. Climate change effectively disrupts the seasonal 'triggers' used by many organisms to enhance their chances of survival and reproducing. This is why I have posted on 'Seeing the Changes' for so many years.

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