Climate Change
Friday, 12 February 2010
"On average, the seasonal timing of reproduction and population growth has become earlier by more than 11 days over the whole period, but change has accelerated in recent decades," a statement from the centre said.
A collaborative study of 12 universities, research institutes and conservation organisations looking at 25,000 long-term trends for 726 species of animals and plants between 1976 and 2005 showed that 80% "indicated earlier seasonal events".
The most rapid changes have been at the bottom of the food chain, with predators showing the slowest rates of change.
The report said predators might become less successful at raising their young if their reproduction patterns did not follow the prey upon which they feed.
"It is important to realise that this analysis doesn't identify which predator-prey relationships are most at risk of disruption due to changes in timing," said Professor Sarah Wanless, who led the study with Dr Stephen Thackeray, both of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
"What it does do is highlight that the recorded changes need urgent investigation, particularly for species with high economic or conservation importance," Wanless said.
"The results of this new study make real our changing climate and its potential to have profound consequences for the complex web of life," co-author Richard Smithers of the Woodland Trust said.
The full report is published in the journal Global Change Biology.