Butterflies and birds face twin threat

ENGLISH BIRDS and butterflies are being hit by a combination of habitat loss and climate change that could see species vanish from some areas, scientists warn.

A number of cold-climate birds including the meadow pipit, willow tit and willow warbler have already been lost from places where they once thrived, it is claimed.

While some butterflies that enjoy warmer conditions, such as the speckled wood, have migrated north, cold-loving insects are not faring well, said the experts. Both the small pearl-bordered fritillary and northern brown argus have suffered population declines.

Four decades of bird and butterfly records from more than 600 English monitoring sites were studied and researchers blamed intensive farming methods for the widespread loss of natural habitats, while climate change means that not all species can easily relocate.

Lead investigator Dr Tom Oliver, from Reading University, said: “There is a clear signature of climate change on our country’s wildlife, and for many species the situation is worse where the landscape is dominated by arable land and intensively managed grasslands. Bird communities are struggling to successfully adapt to the warming we’ve had over recent decades.”

Dr Oliver added: “Although butterflies are coping much better, in both cases a lack of natural habitat in our landscapes is putting cold-associated species between a rock and a hard place by limiting their ability to find resources and survive.”

The findings are published today in the Global Change Biology journal.