<
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-20/magpies-face-bleak-future-from-rising-climate-change-heat/100843148>
'The sound of magpies warbling in the morning is synonymous with life in
Australia, but Perth researchers are predicting a bleak future for the beloved
species.
Research conducted by associate professor Amanda Ridley and her team at the
University of Western Australia has found that very hot weather is affecting
the birds' ability to survive, reproduce and raise their chicks.
Dr Ridley, who has been collecting data on magpies since 2013, said heatwaves
had devastated the birds and their babies over the past three summers.
"During that very bad heatwave (in 2019-2020), which caused terrible bushfires
all across Australia, we had zero reproductive success," Dr Ridley said.
"All the babies that were alive during that heatwave died before it ended.
That's a one-off event but if this happens more frequently, which is predicted
to happen under climate change, and we're already seeing it happen in Perth ...
this could cause a catastrophic decline."'
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
