The early bird catches the worm — and, one UC Irvine scientist says, might also help reduce the effects of global warming.

Eastern bluebird with leaf-eating caterpillar. Photo by Mike Onyon.

In a new study published in a scientific journal this week, ecologist and lead author Kailen Mooney shows that birds, bats and lizards consume enough insects to reduce the damage they cause to plants and promote plant growth — by 14 percent on average.

“The goal was to understand how natural communities work, and the role of top predators in shaping and affecting communities of insects,” Mooney said.

The study itself, a “meta-analysis” of 63 previous studies involving 113 experiments, looked only at how plant growth is affected by removing birds and other animals that prey on insects. But the implications for climate change are clear, Mooney said.

“Anytime a plant is growing, it’s taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and turning it into tissues,” he said.

Humanity’s release of carbon dioxide, along with other greenhouse gases, is believed by climate scientists to be Read the rest of this entry »