Reading the climate Council latest report on the Angry Summer 2013/2014 (PDF) I was struck by the extent and rapidity of the changes in temperature we are seeing now.
Related: Urbanization amplifies global warming temperatures for Sydney
Flocks of Carnaby's Black Cockatoo are iconic sights for the people of Perth, the Swan River Region and the forests of the South west. But comparing two population surveys in 2010 and 2011 showed a 37 percent decline in numbers across the Swan river region. That is a 37 per cent decline in one year.
According to Statistical modelling based on the 2011 Great Cocky Count the population of Carnaby’s cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) in the Swan Region was between 5200 and 8600 birds. A year earlier it was estimated that the population was 8000 to 10,000.
Related: Scientific American - Endangered Australian Cockatoo Loses One Third of Population in Just 1 Year | Biodiversity crisis: Habitat loss and climate change causing 6th mass extinction
Gerry Georgatos
This summer the south west of Western Australia has experienced a record series of heatwaves - eight, and climate trends during the last four decades show a rise in temperatures and a drying climate. According too the Weather Bureau and CSIRO WA's south west is drying faster than other part of the country and scientists say it will have a transforming effect on agriculture and the habitats, and there will be an increased risk of bushfires.
