They found that warmer winters and subsequent early springs cause trees to leaf earlier, which in turn prompts the larvae that feed on the plants to hatch earlier, and this can present a problem to the birds.
Great tits are among many species which depend on an abundance of larvae available when their chicks are newly hatched and growing.
Among populations of great tits, some birds’ young hatch earlier than others, and in a rapidly warming world with earlier springs, to begin with, these families of tits could survive.
However, using population models and comparing them against various climate change scenarios, the researchers concluded that eventually, if springs came earlier and earlier, the great tits would lose the race.
“When the climate changes, the interactions between different species changes too,” said Emily Simmonds, an associate professor at NTNU’s Department of Biology.
