How Climate Change Affects Tawny & Snowy Owls' Plumage Color

This article explores how climate change can affect owl populations based on their feather color. To help you better understand the topic, we've also include an interactive life simulation that allow you to play, visualize and engage with the scenario.

This project was created by Group 3 students from HighScope Kelapa Gading Indonesia School, and is based on our reasearch and analysis of the case.

Read the information and GO play the simulation

INFORMATION

In the first section, it includes the background of the topic, the problem and the theoretical background that explains about evolution, natural selection, explanation of climate change and selective pressure.

LIFE SIMULATION

In the second section, this article also provides the life simulation. Where you can interact with it and try it. This simulation helps you to experience the life situation and the vision of it.

ANALYSIS

In the third section it includes proving hypothesis, and the analysis of the life simulation. It explains how the life simulation works, the process until the result of it.

Background

According to phys.org, a recent genetic discovery has revealed that the pale gray plumage of the tawny owl is related to important functions that assist the bird's survival in cold environments. As global temperatures rise, dark brown plumage is likely to become more common in tawny owls living in colder areas. Darker owls are consistently found in warmer and humid environments, while pale-gray owls are typically observed in cold, dry, and snow-prone environments. These functions include energy homeostasis, fat deposition, and control of starvation responses, which may be interpreted as adaptations to local environmental conditions.

According to news.bbc.co.uk, feather color is hereditary, with gray plumage dominant over brown. But the study, published in the journal Nature Communications, discovered that the number of brown owls was increasing. This study indicates that the birds are evolving in response to climate change and environmental conditions. Previous genetic studies have also suggested that brown owls may have other disadvantages compared to their gray counterparts, including weaker immune systems and increased metabolic rates, meaning they need to forage more to survive. But as the winters have become warmer, and snow cover has been reduced, the brown tawny owl populations have greatly increased. If the gray owls disappeared from the "gene pool", for example, there would be only one version of the color gene to be found.

Problem

The tawny owl is currently the most common owl species. They adapt better to environmental changes than other owls, which are lighter or grey. The population of owls is decreasing, especially light or gray owls. The decreasing population of owls causes several problems for nature and even human life. One of the main reasons why the snow rate is decreasing is because of global warming. Because the duration of snow is now decreasing, gray owls will be increasingly unable to survive, and it makes it easier for predators like hawks and eagles to detect the gray or light colored owl in the dark, more in a brown environment. That is why now the population of owls, especially gray or light colored owls, is decreasing. This decline affects ecosystems, as owls help to control small animal populations like rats. Without enough owls, the rat population may grow uncontrollably, which leads to crop damage and threatens food security, especially in countries that depend on rice fields like Indonesia. Protecting owl populations is essential for maintaining ecological balance and food resources.

What is evolution?

Evolution is a process that results in changes in the genetic material of a population over time. Evolution reflects the adaptations of organisms to their changing environments and can result in altered genes, novel traits, and new species, like the adaptation of bacteria to antibiotics and other living things. These changes happen slowly over many generations and are caused by things like natural selection, mutations, and the mixing of genes. When these changes build up over time, they can make a big difference, creating completely new species.

What is natural selection and how is it related to the owl population?

Natural selection is the process through which populations of living organisms adapt and change. Organisms that are more adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass on the genes that aided their success. This process causes species to change and diverge over time.

Example in OWL

The example of natural selection is the selection of grey or lighter coloured. A gray owl has a smaller population than a brown owl is caused by natural selection. It happens because they are less fit for the environment. The main reason is that the snow rates decrease or have shorter periods of time, making brightly colored owls easier to detect by predators like hawks and eagles. They get eaten for a long time, which makes gray or light colored owls have less chance of being able to marry another gray owl because they have been eaten continuously, making them stop reproducing, while the brown owls still continue their reproduction.

What is climate change?

Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates. These changes have a broad range of observed effects that are synonymous with the term. Changes observed in Earth’s climate since the mid-20th century are driven by human activities, particularly fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere, raising Earth’s average surface temperature. (Nasa)

In our case, the brown tawny owl populations have greatly increased. Dr Karell told BBC News that the brown owls, which used to form 30% of the tawny owl population in Finland, now make up 50%. "Its survival has improved as winters have become warmer," he said. "In other words, climate-driven selection has led to an evolutionary change in the population."

What is selective pressure?

Selective pressures are external agents that affect an organism's ability to survive in a given environment. Selection pressures can be negative (decrease the occurrence of a trait) or positive (increase the proportion of a trait). These pressures can include things like changes in temperature, food availability, predators, diseases, and human activity. When the environment changes, some traits become more helpful for survival, while others may become less useful. As a result, organisms with helpful traits are more likely to survive and have offspring, passing those traits on to the next generation.

For example, tawny owls come in two main colors, brown and grey. In the winter season, grey owls have a better chance of survival because they camouflage with the snow. As winter becomes milder due to climate change, brown owls are now increasing in population and becoming more common. This shows how climate change affects the tawny owl’s plumage color.

ABOUT LIFE SIMULATION

To prove our hypothesis, we formed a website through Mobirise and made a simulation of it on Neocities regarding how owl species adapt to climate change, particularly within milder temperatures in winter, and observe whether the brown-colored tawny owl population will expand. This simulation will determine the effectiveness of our hypothesis. To make the simulation, we need to know how the owls react to different environments, which have the most snow cover or less snow cover to which owls behave more. The predators know that if less snow covers the brown owl population has a better chance of surviving than the white owl population. More snow cover means white owls have a better chance of surviving than the brown owl population. The owl carrying capacity is to balance how many owls are present.

Go play the simulation by scan this QR CODE!

PROVING THE HYPOTHESIS

To prove our hypothesis, we formed a website through Mobirise and made a simulation of it on Neocities regarding how owl species adapt to climate change, particularly within milder temperatures in winter, and observe whether the brown-colored tawny owl population will expand. This simulation will determine the effectiveness of our hypothesis. To make the simulation, we need to

Analysis

Through our simulation, we will discover that environmental factors play a significant role in deciding the color of an owl’s plumage. Specifically, darker forests tend to result in darker plumage in owls. This also applies to lighter forests, tending to have lighter plumage. This adaptation is caused by the need to hide from predators, as blending in with the environment decreases the likelihood of predators finding them.

This concept of adaptation also applies to us humans. For example, skin color in humans is actually an adaptation to the various amounts of sunlight across the earth (Jablonski, 2021). People with ancestors from sunny regions near the equator tend to have darker skin, which provides protection from UV radiation. In contrast, people from northern areas with less sunlight often have lighter skin, which helps absorb more sunlight to produce vitamin D.

One expected result from the simulation was that owls would blend into their surroundings more effectively over time. A result that aligns with how humans have also developed traits or behaviors suited to their environments.

Suggestion

Based on the simulation, it shows that environmental changes can negatively affect animals like owls by forcing them to adapt. To reduce this impact, we should focus on protecting the natural habitats by reducing climate change. By preserving the environment, we give all species, not just owls, a chance to slowly adapt to the environment, not by force, but by the natural way of life.

By HighScope Kelapa Gading Student

This website is a collaborative project developed by Group 3 students from HighScope Indonesia Kelapa Gading: Gendhis, Vallery, Rachel, Nando, Richard and Bradley. Guided by the science teachers and supported by considerable internet research, real-life analysis, and observation of animal behavior and environmental conditions. To strengthen our findings and bring our vision to life, we developed a life simulation that reflects the core concepts of our research. We hope this project inspires further curiosity and learning about the natural world.