A Note on Sea Level Rise and the Vulnerability of Bird Species

Increasing global temperatures and changes in precipitation are only one part of the climate change story. A higher global temperature will trigger larger scale impacts that will grow over time like sea level rise, which we are already experiencing in places like Florida and the Carolinas. A particular bird’s range may not be dramatically altered by changes in temperature or precipitation locally, but coastal bird species will experience catastrophic habitat loss as nesting sites become inundated with water as sea levels rise.