A specimen of Florisuga mellivora.
Climate change is directly affecting all the beings that inhabit the planet, some more than others, but each and every one of us has or will have to overcome the problems that arise if we want to survive. One of the animals that is having the worst time are the tropical birds.
Living in regions where there are only two seasons, one dry and the other wet, with mild and warm temperatures throughout the year, they are especially vulnerable to climate change, according to a study carried out by researchers at the University of Illinois (United States). ) and published in the journal »Nature Climate Change».
The study, carried out in the Soberanía de Panamá National Park, which has some 260km2 of protected forest in the center of the country, is home to more than 500 species of tropical birds. Here, about 90% of the annual precipitation falls in the wet season, which begins in late April and ends in early January.
The researchers captured more than 250 different bird species with mist nets; However, collected sufficient data only in 20 of them. For the study to be complete, they had to capture, tag, and recapture them; so they could know how and how much each bird population grew.
Birds flying over Panama.
Thanks to this research, they were able to know that Longer and more intense dry seasons have a negative effect on the populations of these animals, since only one of the 20 species analyzed, the Sclerurus guatemalensis, tended to increase its population with scarce rainy conditions.
Tropical birds, living in stable weather conditions, are especially vulnerable to climate change, as they do not have to manage the environmental stresses that birds from temperate or cold climates do.
You can read the full study here (In English).