birds

That is a pretty significant bite into those species. I don't think it will knock the population back for years. But at least with surf scoters -- a species that's in decline   -- conservation scientists are rather concerned about it.

More than just ice is heating up in the Arctic. U.S. and Canadian ships embarked on a joint exploration to map the sea floor in early August, an effort to determine how far the continental shelf extends from shore and possibly increase each country's claims to resources, reports Elizabeth Bluemink in the Anchorage Daily News. Traditionally, countries hold rights to areas within 200 nautical miles (about 230 miles) of their coasts, but those claims can be extended if they can prove the continental shelf goes beyond that point.

As the ice cap has melted over the years, Canada and the U.S. have waited to explore the Arctic sea floor in search of massive amounts of suspected gas and oil reserves. A third of the world's undiscovered gas and billions of barrels worth of oil could be below the surface, according to Bluemink. If the new data gathered on this exploration proves the shelf extends beyond the 200-nautical-mile-limit, the U.S. could lay claims to the underwater land and all creatures and resources associated with it.

Those favoring conservation of the Arctic rather than drilling don't have to hold their breath yet. Because the U.S. has not ratified the Law of the Sea Treaty, any claims they make to the area will not be recognized internationally.

Researchers are analyzing the data collected on the venture. One find is a massive underwater mountain almost 3,600 feet high that scientists say may help explain the Arctic Ocean's history.

Other researchers are more concerned with the Arctic's future. As the climate warms, many areas in the Arctic are changing rapidly, reports Randolph E. Schmid of the Associated Press. Faster melting ice means changes in growing seasons, which affects many species' ability to find food.

ExxonMobil completed drilling its second well on Alaska's North Slope, reports the Associated Press. Both wells in Point Thomson, a natural gas and condensatefield, are expected to be drilled to their final depths by the end of 2010. The field contains an estimated 8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which is only 25 percent of the North Slope's resources. ExxonMobil plans to cycle gas by injecting it back into the reservoir, making it the largest gas cycling plant worldwide. It also plans to connect a pipeline to the TransAlaska Pipeline System.

The gas in Point Thomson is crucial for the development of a proposed multi-billion dollar pipelinethrough Canada and into the lower 48 states. ExxonMobil is backing TransCanada Corp. in the creation of the pipeline, and BP and Conoco Phillips are working on their own pipeline project, called Denali, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

Development of the North Slope has spawned controversy for years about the cost of the pipeline necessary to get the gas out, as well as environmental impacts. A recent study shows the massive project has had a negative impact on birds who nest in the area, reportsAndrew C. Revkin in the New York Times.

– Emily Linroth

Californians are watching their bird species cluster, fragment and fray in fast forward due to climate change.

Researchers at the Point Reyes Bird Observatory have found that rising temperatures over the next sixty years will morph the composition of bird species so quickly that tens of thousands of years of change will be accomplished.

The effect will be drastic: a free-for-all bid by all birds to find a mate, a place to rest, and food in an era of declining and shifting resources like trees and insects.   Extinction is the only end for some.

A new mix of chatter and silences will permeate the air as species flee to what feels like home:  the California thrasher, rufous-crowned sparrow and ash-throated flycatcher will move to a hotter Point Reyes Peninsula  losing its fogs and mists.  Other species will withdraw from the Central Valley and move into the foothills and coasts -- increasing the competition for the birds who already live there.

The white-crowned sparrow flitting around coastal scrublands will be consolidated into only 24 percent as much swooping space as its habitat is desiccated by the heating of the earth's atmosphere.  So, too, with the Pacific Northwest's varied thrush, whose winter sojourns in California will tighten into only 13 percent as much space as it once occupied.

Peter Fimrite of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the researchers' modeling will include up to 300 Californian bird species and shows how melting snowpacks  are changing the kinds and numbers of trees, birds, insects and even pathogens populating our country.

University of Colorado researchers in Boulder have discovered that noise pollution  can decrease the diversity of bird species in an area, the Associated Press reports in the Denver Post. The study published online this week  in Current Biology looked at birds south of Durango in New Mexico and found noise changed the way species interacted. The study suggests better noise control, such as using quieter road surfaces and sound-reducing walls could help preserve the natural balance of bird communities. In the study, 32 different species nested in quiet areas while 21 nested at noisy sites. A few birds did prefer the noisy sites because it drove their natural predators away.