Birds are sensitive indicators of climate change: they have been for climate change: they have been for

140 million years

Dr. Gareth DykeUCD S h l f Bi l & UCD School of Biology & Environmental Science

13th February 2009

Institiúid na gCóras Domhanda

An Coláiste Ollscoile Baile Átha CliathEarth Systems Institute

University College Dublin

Web: www.ucd.ie/earthEmail: esi.admin@ucd.ie

The anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday was yesterday

Feb 12th 1809 - 1882

‘Climate plays an important part in determining the average numbers of a species …’ OOS 1859 ch.III, p. 86

The anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday was yesterday

Feb 12th 1809 - 1865

‘The Lord prefers common-looking people. That is why he makes so many of them’

Our President (James Morgan)

Keen ornithologists both, no doubt:b t h t I i t t lk b t?but what am I going to talk about?

(1) What are birds?

(2) Why are birds good indicators of climate change?

(3) What am I doing about this at UCD?

(4) Lessons for Ireland

Why is everyone so fascinated by birds?

Birds and climate change: a very noticeable effect

‘garden birds in decline’Daily Telegraph Jan 2009Daily Telegraph Jan 2009

‘down a fifth compared with four years ago’RSPB Garden Bird Survey 2008

‘considerable decrease in songbird species’considerable decrease in songbird speciesCrowe, O. 2005. Irish Birds

(1) What are birds?

Archaeopteryx:The earliest birdThe earliest bird

140 million-years-oldSolnhofen, Bavaria,

• teeth• bony tail• long fingered hands• long-fingered hands

+ feathers

Berlin Archaeopteryx: one of nine known skeletons

(1) What are birds?

living descendants of theropod dinosaurs: ‘feathered’ dinosaursliving descendants of theropod dinosaurs: feathered dinosaurs

Sinornithosaurus: 100 mya, China

(1) What are birds?

Neornithes: modern birdsNeornithes: modern birds

ca. 10,000 species

Idea about dinosaur relationship dates back to the scientific debates of the 1860s

(1) What are birds?

Thomas Huxley (1825 - 1895)

(1) What are birds?

Huxley noticed five things about birds

• Fluffy body covering

• Birds can fly (bipinate feathers) +

Bi d b d h i • Birds brood their nests

• Birds take care of their young

• Birds have hollow bones (air sac system) +• Birds have hollow bones (air-sac system) +

(1) What are birds?

Velociraptor

Domestic chicken

hollow bonesmarks of the air sac system

(2) Why are birds good indicators of climate change?

i b thi t• unique breathing system• flight efficiency

Avian respiration

human lung avian respiratory system

(2) Why are birds good indicators of climate change?

i b thi t• unique breathing system• flight efficiency

Anas: air-sac system injected with latex

O'Connor PM, Claessens LPAM (2005) Basic avian pulmonary design andflow-through ventilation in non-avian theropod dinosaurs. Nature 436:253-256.

(2) Why are birds good indicators of climate change?

i b thi t• unique breathing system• flight efficiency

Marbled Murrelet

Extinction risk not just garden birds: Pacific marine birds

Parasitic Jaeger

• Masses and speeds close to envelope (alcids, procellarids)• Small changes in ocean temperature will seriously impact efficiency (= extinction)• Egg numbers in nests correlated to latitude (temperature)

Elliott, K. et al. 2007. Is mass loss in Brunnich’s guillemots (Uria lomvia) an adaptation for improved flight performance or improved dive performance? Journal of Avian Biology

(3) What am I doing about this at UCD?

(Chiappe & Dyke 2007)

Example 1: deep time (65 mya)Bird evolution in the Eocene: surviving the ‘dinosaur extinction’

(3) What am I doing about this at UCD?

Feduccia (1995)

dinosaurExtinction

here

Example 1: deep time (65 mya)Bird evolution in the Eocene: surviving the ‘dinosaur extinction’

Understanding thisUnderstanding thisselective survival isthe ‘holy grail’ of avian evolution

(3) What am I doing about this at UCD?

Some results:Some results:

Example 1: deep time (65 mya)Bird evolution in the Eocene: surviving the ‘dinosaur extinction’

(3) What am I doing about this at UCD?

Some results:

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Some results:

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Clade Rank

Example 1: deep time (65 mya)Bird evolution in the Eocene: surviving the ‘dinosaur extinction’

(3) What am I doing about this at UCD?

Evolutionary implications:Evolutionary implications:

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• Pneumaticity distinguishes neornithine and non-modern lineages

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• KT extinction coincident with O2

decline

• Pneumaticity may have advantaged

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Non-neornithines Neornithines

y y gneornithines post-impact

Example 1: deep time (65 mya)Bird evolution in the Eocene: surviving the ‘dinosaur extinction’

(3) What am I doing about this at UCD?

Example 2: Recent timeR.M. Barrington (1849 – 1915) and his ‘avian herbarium’

(3) What am I doing about this at UCD?

Lighthouse and lightship map

Example 2: Recent timeR.M. Barrington (1849 – 1915) and his ‘avian herbarium’

R.M. Barrington. Cover & Inside cover - The Migration of Birds as Observed at Irish Lighthouses and Lightships.1900.

Interior of the Merrion St. Museum

“Barrington provides us with a baseline from which to track

changes in Irish birds over the last 120 years”

(Prof. Tim CroweUniv Cape Town)

• > 5,000 records of Irish birds and co. (700 species)• > 10 years data (1886 - 1899)• complete wings and legs• complete wings and legs• measurements, body mass, wing length• migratory and non-migratory species

How does this position UCD globally?

• Very little current work in this area: data resolution issue

Limited examples:• Predicting areas of biodiversity risk/management (Lee & Jetz 2008 Proc Roy Soc)• Identification of phylogenetic distribution of threatened UK birdsd a o o p y og d s bu o o a d U b ds(Thomas, G. 2009. Proc Roy Soc.)

• We have unique data: time-resolved, geographically constrained

• We are a major player in Evolutionary Biology:(www ucd ie/bioenvsci/research/evolution htm)(www.ucd.ie/bioenvsci/research/evolution.htm)

Conclusions & prospectus:

• (1) Birds are dinosaurs and have a deep evolutionary history

• (2) Because of their biology, birds are sensitive indicators of climate change

• (3) Two examples of current research, one that is (3) Two examples of current research, one that is uniquely Irish and relevant

• (?) Skeletal pneumaticity was important in avian evolution

• (?) Historical data can be used to inform the • (?) Historical data can be used to inform the present, and perhaps make future predictions

(4) Lessons for Ireland

• We can contribute to the climate change debate• We can contribute to the climate change debate

• Evolutionary biology underpins climate responses

• We have access to unique data (‘lab Ireland’)We have access to unique data ( lab Ireland )

• Stimulate research in all areas

• Get young people interested in science

• Graduate programmes in areas like evolution, palaeontology and climate change biology

‘prevailing scientific dogma can be an impediment to innovative ideas’(see for e.g. Nicholls 2009 Nature Darwin 200: A flight of fancy)

Key UCD Message

• The Innovation Imperative: Productivity growth in the Irish economy has slowed to close to zero. The only way to rediscover productivity growth and be able only way to rediscover productivity growth and be able to sustain it is by innovation and the embedding of the knowledge society.

• The Energy and Climate Change Imperative: We have hugely demanding energy and emission reduction obligations – the only way to meet them is through the use of markets and innovation.

• The Earth Systems Institute response to these imperatives We will be an engine showing how to imperatives - We will be an engine showing how to use research and innovation – smart technology and smart policy - to regain competitiveness and productivity generate jobs and meet our energy and productivity, generate jobs and meet our energy and climate change obligations

Acknowledgements:

Karl Grimes: Dignified Kings project NMINH 2007www.karlgrimes.net

Nikita Coulter, Paolo Viscardi and Bridge to Workplace Initiative (HEA)Data entry of Barrington birds 2006 - 2007

Julia Sigwart: Collections based Biology in Dublinwww.ucd.ie/cobid

My review papers in this area:My review papers in this area:Chiappe, L.M. & Dyke, G.J. 2007. The beginnings of birds: recent discoveries, ongoing arguments and new directions, in J. Anderson and H.-D. Sues (eds), Major Evolutionary Transitions, pp. 303-336.

Lindow, B.E & Dyke, G.J. 2006. Bird evolution in the Eocene: climate change in Europe and a Danish fossil fauna. Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 81: 1-16.

Dyke, G.J. & van Tuinen, M. 2004. The evolutionary radiation of modern birds (Neornithes): reconciling molecules, morphology and the fossil record. Zoological Journal of the Linnaean Society141: 153-177141: 153 177.

E: gareth.dyke@ucd.ie

UCD Earth Systems InstituteMeeting the Challenge of Climate Change Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change

Seminar Series

In collaboration with

Comhar Sustainable Development Council, Environmental Protection Agency, Forfás,

Geological Survey of Ireland, Marine Institute, Met g y , ,Éireann, Sustainable Energy Ireland & Teagasc

Further details on the seminar series is available at www.ucd.ie/earth

A paper and podcast of this seminar will be available on the ESI website soon, please join the online ESI mailing list for such notifications

ESI email: esi.admin@ucd.ie

UCD Earth Systems InstituteMeeting the Challenge of Climate Change Meeting the Challenge of Climate Change

Seminar Series

Next week...Seminar #9Next week...Seminar #9

Friday 20th February 2009

Royal College of Physicians, 12.30pmRoyal College of Physicians, 12.30pm

Dr. Jenny McElwainUCD School of Biology and Environmental Science

Climate change and mass extinction: Climate change and mass extinction: What can we learn from 200 million

year old plants?year old plants?Further details available at www.ucd.ie/earth