A new UCLA-led study analyzes how warming temperatures and fragmenting habitats — areas of wilderness that have been separated by agriculture and other human development — are affecting 24 species of tropical birds in the Usambara Mountains of East Africa, one of the most species-rich regions on the planet.
Over the course of the 34 years that the researchers analyzed, from 1987 to 2020, nine of the 24 species were affected by both factors. The researchers were particularly interested in learning whether the temperature changes and habitat fragmentation had synergistic effects — meaning that each factor made the other worse. Although they found a few such examples, the overall picture was complex.
Overall, the future of birds in the Usambara Mountains looks difficult, the paper’s lead author, UCLA ecologist Monte Neate-Clegg, said. As temperatures rise and threaten local populations, suitable new habitat is scarce or difficult for them to reach. Unlike other birds, tropical birds in the region are often unable to fly long distances. Some even avoid crossing small gaps such as roads. Conservation is key to preserving those species, but it must be done strategically.
“Poorly considered conservation can be like whack-a-mole — if you only address one problem, another one pops up,” said UCLA ecologist Morgan Tingley, a co-author of the paper. “Conserving the world’s biodiversity requires addressing multiple, simultaneous threats. We can’t focus only on habitat preservation or climate change mitigation. We need to consider the entire picture.”
Read more at UCLA Newsroom.
Image Source: Charles J. Sharp/Wikimedia Commons
