Birds inhabiting hot, arid regions are among the terrestrial organisms most vulnerable to climate change. The potential for increasingly frequent and intense heat waves to cause lethal dehydration and hyperthermia is well documented, but the consequences of sublethal fitness costs associated with chronic exposure to sustained hot weather remain unclear. Using data for species occurring in southern Africa's Kalahari Desert, we mapped exposure to acute lethal risks and chronic sublethal fitness costs under past, present, and future climates. For inactive birds in shaded microsites, the risks of lethal dehydration and hyperthermia will remain low during the 21st century. In contrast, exposure to conditions associated with chronic, sublethal costs related to progressive body mass loss, reduced nestling growth rates, or increased breeding failure will expand dramatically. For example, by the 2080s the region will experience 10-20 consecutive days per year on which Southern Pied Babblers (Turdoides bicolor) will lose similar to 4% of body mass per day, conditions under which this species' persistence will be extremely unlikely. Similarly, exposure to air temperature maxima associated with delayed fledging, reduced fledgling size, and breeding failure will increase several-fold in Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills (Tockus leucomelas) and Southern Fiscals (Lanius collaris). Our analysis reveals that sublethal costs of chronic heat exposure are likely to drive large declines in avian diversity in the southern African arid zone by the end of the century.
1.South African Natl Biodivers Inst, Natl Zool Garden, South African Res Chair Conservat Physiol, ZA-0001 Pretoria, South Africa 2.Univ Pretoria, Dept Zool & Entomol, DST NRF Ctr Excellence Fitzpatrick Inst, ZA-0001 Pretoria, South Africa 3.iThemba Lab Accelerator Based Sci, ZA-2001 Johannesburg, South Africa 4.Univ Pretoria, Mamma & Res Inst, ZA-0001 Pretoria, South Africa 5.Univ Cape Town, DST NRF Ctr Excellence, FitzPatrick Inst African Ornithol, ZA-7701 Rondebosch, South Africa
Recommended Citation:
Conradie, Shannon R.,Woodborne, Stephan M.,Cunningham, Susan J.,et al. Chronic, sublethal effects of high temperatures will cause severe declines in southern African arid-zone birds during the 21st century[J]. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,2019-01-01,116(28):14065-14070