Home of rare birds under threat as study predicts large reduction in mudflats

Experts in Shanghai have warned that rising sea levels could pose a serious and immediate threat to wild birds living near the city.

A joint study by researchers at Fudan University and the Nature Conservancy China Office shows Dong Tan, an important habitat for migratory birds at the mouth of the Yangtze River estuary, could be reduced by almost a half in the next 100 years.

The mudflats of the area's intertidal zone, which runs from the foreshore to seashore, is exposed at low tide and underwater at high tide, and serves as the main habitat for more than 200 bird species.