If you can’t stand the heat...

If you can't stand the heat. How climate change could leave some bird species ?stuck in the kitchen? %0A " - Imperial College London press release For immediate release - Wednesday 10 June 2009 African bird species could struggle to relocate to survive global warming because natural features of the landscape will limit where they can move to, according to new research published today in As the global climate changes, some land bird species will be forced to move to new habitats, expanding and shifting their natural geographical 'range', in order to maintain suitable living conditions. The research team behind today's findings from Imperial College London says, however, that some sub-Saharan African species are in danger of getting trapped in environments that will become too hostile for them to survive. Birds may not be able to move across areas containing dramatically different kinds of landscapes, such as arid plains, tropical forests or mountain ranges. This is because these different natural features of Africa's landscape present such uniquely difficult survival challenges for species not already adapted to live across multiple habitats. This may prevent species from completing their journeys to new homes with suitable climates. A map showing areas where lots of birds' ranges end (yellow) and areas which are more easily crossed (red) Lead author of the new study Lynsey McInnes, a PhD research student at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London, explains: "As the climate changes and some habitats become inhospitable, bird species may start to move - stretching their ranges as they track the changing climate across the landscape, looking for new, agreeable habitats.