Over thousands of years, animals have adapted to the areas they live in. But when the climate changes, nature follows suit. And that can have major consequences. However, it is difficult to know exactly how much the climate actually affects our species. But now researchers in Trondheim may have found a smart method to investigate just this. And they have managed that by using 250-year-old museum collections. The new research is published in Ecology and Evolution. Can find answers to what will happen At the NTNU Science Museum in Trondheim you can find old archives of lives lived. Here, thousands of dead animals and plants provide valuable knowledge. They can simply tell something about why the world looks the way it does today. Perhaps they can also say something about what the future will bring. NTNU researchers have now made use of this. – We used this data to measure the ecological response to climate change in central Norway. We looked at a range of species: both vertebrates, invertebrates, plants and fungi, says Professor James DM Speed. And what did they find? – The study shows that climate change over the past 100 years has affected much of nature here in Trøndelag. And it is only such scientific collections, as we have here at the museum, that can prove it, says the researcher to news. This plant is called spring pea button (Lathyrus vernus). The two specimens were collected 80 years apart from the same area. The plant on the left is from 1939. Photo: NTNU Science Museum A lot changes For every degree the temperature rises, the researchers behind the new study found the following: Jonsvatnet in Trondheim: The number of zooplankton is reduced by almost 7,700 individuals per cubic meter of water per degree. Budalen in Trøndelag: Here it was found that the number of nesting birds is decreasing. The findings show that there were two fewer breeding territories per square kilometer per degree. All of Trøndelag: Flower plants bloom on average two days earlier per degree. The fact that some species change in such a way can also affect the cycle of others. For example, species that eat zooplankton. – We see a clear, regional connection with the climate, says Speed. For a selection of plant species, the researchers find that these flower on average nine days earlier per century. This means that over the course of 250 years, the flowering time has been accelerated by approximately three weeks. – Such influences on nature are important. If the flowering period changes with the coming climate changes, and bumblebees, for example, do not, the consequences will be great. This is golden blackberry. The specimen was collected by Bishop Gunnerus in Rauma in 1768. The museum has collected this species for many years. Photo: NTNU Was surprised But not everything changes with the climate. Some aspects of nature are more resilient. The researchers believe this is surprising. – In the main, the distribution of species and species diversity is stable over time, says the professor. Nor should fluctuations in the number of animals and compositions of species follow the temperatures directly. The researchers point out that within 250 years there can be periods of both warming and stable temperatures. This can cause the response of the species to be delayed in relation to the changes in the climate. They can also be affected by other reasons, such as changes in land use. The researchers in Trøndelag have found that the mountain violet is one of the plant species most affected by changing temperatures. Photo: Håvard Berge – Unique insight Nevertheless, Professor Speed and his colleagues believe that this information is quite special. – Natural history collections can provide a unique insight into a wide range of ecological responses over a period of time that is much greater than what most ecological monitoring programs are capable of. The collections are thus an essential and invaluable source for ecological investigations over time, he says. When they now know which species react most to the temperatures, management can have an extra focus on these, explains the professor. Renate Kvernberg and Karstein Hårsaker from the NTNU Science Museum collect zooplankton in Jonsvatnet in Trondheim. Photo: Per Gätzschmann, NTNU Science Museum
ttn-69
Small changes in the climate can change the number of animals and plants in an area, researchers find – news Trøndelag
