<
https://theconversation.com/hotter-kalahari-desert-may-stop-hornbills-breeding-by-2027-183937>
"Rapid climate change has the potential to strongly influence the physiology,
behaviour and breeding success of animals. Research is showing that increasing
temperatures, for instance, are having negative effects on animals. These range
from mass die-off events during heat waves to less obvious problems like
difficulty finding food.
For birds in arid zones, rising temperatures pose a significant problem. Birds
in these dry zones usually breed in response to rainfall, which often occurs
during the hottest time of the year. And birds are mostly active during the
day, when they are exposed to the sun’s heat. This is when their vital
processes for reproduction take place – such as territorial defence, courtship,
finding food for their young and attending the nest.
Research suggests that high temperatures over a few days or weeks can have
negative effects on foraging and body mass. At the scale of one or two breeding
seasons, these effects have a negative impact on breeding performance. This can
be through reducing the condition of offspring or the probability that young
birds will survive to adulthood and breed.
The longer-term effects of responses to high temperatures – over decades – are
less well-known.
Our recent research aimed to help bridge this gap in knowledge. We assessed the
effects of air temperature and drought on the breeding output of southern
yellow-billed hornbills (
Tockus leucomelas) in southern Africa’s Kalahari
Desert over a decade period, from 2008 to 2019.
We found that the breeding output of our study population collapsed during the
monitoring period and was strongly correlated with temperature and rainfall. In
the Kalahari, air temperatures have already risen more than 2°C in a few
decades. At this rate, by 2027, these birds will not breed at all at this
site."
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
