With Only 3C Warming, 75% Of European Birds' Ranges Will Shrink By Up To 60% - AFP

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Global warming could be "catastrophic" for European birds by wrecking their habitat, British conservationists warned Tuesday.
Three-quarters of Europe's nesting birds are likely to see their ranges shrink by the end of the century, the Climatic Atlas of European Breeding Birds showed.

Rising temperatures could push their distribution an average of 550 kilometres (340 miles) northeastwards, the atlas said. The atlas was drawn up by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) along with experts from Cambridge and Durham universities.

The average bird's distribution will shrink in size by a fifth and overlap the current range by only 40 percent if temperatures rise by just under three degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, the RSPB said.

"We must heed the wake-up call provided by this atlas and act immediately to curb climate change," said RSPB conservation chief Mark Avery. "Anything above an average of two degrees Celsius (3.6 F) risks catastrophic impacts for wildlife."

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/2007/080115153213.7325vqs0.html