With climate change heating the globe, drought more frequently impacts the reproduction and survival of many animal species.
With climate change heating the globe, drought more frequently impacts the reproduction and survival of many animal species.
New research from the University of Montana suggests tropical songbirds in both the Old and New Worlds reduce reproduction during severe droughts, and this – somewhat surprisingly – may actually increase their survival rates.
The work was published Aug. 24 in the journal Nature Climate Change by UM research scientist Thomas Martin and doctoral student James Mouton.
“We were extremely surprised to find that not only did reductions in breeding activity mitigate costs to survival, many long-lived species actually experienced higher survival rates during the drought year than during non-drought years,” said Martin, assistant unit leader of UM’s Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit. “In contrast, shorter-lived species that kept breeding during droughts faced strong reductions in survival."
Read more at The University of Montana
Photo Credit: ClayCrow via Pixabay
