Summary:
In Finland, the tawny owls with gray feathers are usually more common than the ones with brown feathers. But every year, more and more brown feathered owls are present and are starting to outnumber the gray feathered owls.
Usually the brown ones are less common because they are easier to see in the snow and are therefore unable to survive form their predators as well. But with the climate change, meaning less snow, the gray owls become more visible and prone to predators. This is a concerning issue for the species because of the brown owls are more vulnerable to environmental changes and because the brown owls have weaker immune systems.
Reflection:
This article reminds me of the natural selection lab we did with the peppered moths.
Before this article, I thought that owls were at the top of every food chain mentioned. I never knew that owls are a prey to some species. It's amazing how the owls follow nearly the same concept of the peppered moths and that the camouflage to an animal's ecosystem is extremely significant for their survival. However, since the brown owls are less stable to survive in their given ecosystem, I hope effort is put into helping the gray birds survive.
Questions:
1. How could the brown owls adapt in time to survive?
2. Should we get biologists to help this issue? Why?
3. How many other species deal with this type of natural selection?
4. How could the gray owls overcome their population deficit?
5. What other animals are affected by the population change?
Reading the summary I thought exactly what Sam thought, "This article reminds me of the natural selection lab we did with the peppered moths." I think it is very interesting that you found a article that relates to the lab we did about moths, just with a different species. Answering question number 2, I think biologists should help this issue! Without their help or other protective laws going into effect we could very well see the gray owl go extinct. I wonder is there wasn't this drastic effect on their climate if we would be concerned about the brown owls instead of the grey owls?
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that owls are preY. I also did not realize that global warming can have that many effects. The article about Polar Bears that I did is about global warming but how it effects it differently.
ReplyDeleteI asked three new questions:
What type of adaptation can grey owls develop to not be so easily seen?
What can we do to help the grey owls?
Would the grey owl be able to move into a new climate that has arctic conditions?
I too found this similar to the lab we did with the months. i again was suprised to find that owls were considered prey.
ReplyDeletei asked three questions as well and mine wre
1)how long ahas this been going own di we just notice is
2)what are we doing to help the owls
3) if we "solve" global warmign with the ggrey owls come back?