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Climate Change and Birds: Perspectives and Prospects from Southern Africa Ostrich 2004, 75(4): 295–308 Copyright © NISC Pty Ltd Printed in South Africa — All rights reserved OSTRICH ISSN 0030–6525 Please respond to queries in red — Thanks Climate change and birds: perspectives and prospects from southern Africa Robert E Simmons1*, Phoebe Barnard2, WRJ Dean1, Guy F Midgley3, Wilfried Thuiller3 and Greg Hughes3 1 Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, Cape Town, South Africa 2 Global Invasive Species Programme, National Botanical Institute, Private Bag X7, Claremont 7735, Cape Town, South Africa 3 Climate Change Research Group, Ecology and Conservation, Kirstenbosch Research Centre, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Private Bag X7, Claremont 7735, Cape Town, South Africa *Corresponding author, e-mail: [email protected] Global climate warming, now conclusively linked to anthropogenically-increased CO2 levels in the earth’s atmosphere, has already had impacts on the earth’s biodiversity and is predicted to threaten more than 1 million species with extinction by 2050. Climate change in southern Africa is expected to involve higher temperatures and lower rainfall, with less predictability and a greater frequency of severe storms, fires and El Niño events. The predicted changes to birds in Africa — the continent most at risk from climate change — have hardly been explored, yet birds and many other vertebrates face uncertain futures. Here, in one of the first focused analyses of the correlates of climate change vulnerability in southern African birds, we offer a wide- ranging perspective on which species may be most at risk, and explore which traits may influence the adaptability or extinc- tion risk of bird species. Our review suggests that small nomadic species with short generation times may be least at risk. While larger-bodied species may be physiologically buffered against environmental change, their longer generation times may make them less able to adapt evolutionarily to climate change. Migrant species, and those with specialised feeding niches such as pollinators, are also predicted to be at risk of population declines, based on low ability to adapt to new environments when introduced there as aliens. Species with small ranges (<50 000km2) restricted to the two southern African biodiversity hotspots most at risk from climate change — the Cape Floral Kingdom and the Succulent Karoo — are ranked according to low, medium or high risk of extinction. Those restricted to mountain slopes, mountain tops or islands, and those occurring mainly at the south- ern or western extremes of these biomes, are ranked as highest risk. These include endemic sunbirds, warblers and rock- jumpers — none of which are currently recognised Red Data species. Using climate envelopes we modelled the possible range shifts by 2050 of three pairs of species found in habitats considered to be at risk: fynbos, mountain and arid Karoo. All six species lost substantial portions of their range (x = 40%), with the montane Drakensberg Rockjumper Chaetops aurantius losing most (69%). Significant reductions of available climate space in all species may interact with life history characteristics to threaten many southern African bird species unable to shift geographic range or adapt to novel resource conditions. We conclude with a list of research priorities and testable hypotheses which may advance our understanding of the complex influ- ence that climate change is likely to have on African, particularly southern African, birds. Introduction Global climate change has been recently recognised as one to widescale shifts in paleo-species distributions, leading to of humankind’s most profound and far-reaching threats to many extinctions (e.g. Barnosky 1986, Woodward 1987), biodiversity (Thomas et al. 2004). The earth’s atmosphere is extant species are also expected to move rapidly in expected to become warmer in the next few decades than at response to moving climatic envelopes. The resultant shifts any time in the last 40 Million years (Overpeck et al. 2002). in species distributions and the likelihood of extinctions as A 0.6°C increase in mean temperature has been recorded biomes move poleward has given rise to much modelling over the last century as a result of increasing concentrations and a few empirical studies (IPCC 2001, Midgley et al. 2001, of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) trapping Thomas et al. 2004). But to what extent highly mobile birds solar energy within the earth’s atmosphere (IPCC 2001). or sessile plants can adapt or successfully move in response While the earth has warmed and cooled significantly at least to changing climates in Africa is poorly known. This informa- 20 times in the last 500 000 years, the current warming spell tion is important for current and future conservation plan- is faster than ever recorded before, and is now conclusively ning. linked to increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmos- This paper outlines a framework for the analysis and phere, mainly from human activity (Houghton et al. 2001). prediction of climate change impacts on birds in Africa, with Atmospheric CO2 levels are now 30% higher than in the past a particular focus on southern Africa. Its aims are four-fold: 420 000 years (Petit et al. 1999), and are on track to reach • to briefly review and summarise information relevant to cli- levels by 2100 not seen on the planet in several tens of mil- mate change impacts on African birds, especially those lions of years. Given that previous climatic change has led species at high risk of extinction in the next 50 years; 296 Simmons, Barnard, Dean, Midgley, Thuiller and Hughes • to provisionally identify demographic and life history vari- birds, we must understand the predicted effects on climate ables likely to correlate with vulnerability to climate of rising CO2 levels. In their extensive review of climate change; change effects across the globe the Inter-governmental • to identify sets of species in Africa and individual species Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted that in Africa in southern Africa most at risk of extinction under climate global warming will have five major effects (IPCC 2001): change scenarios, illustrated with a limited set of exam- • increased mean seasonal temperatures; ples modelled using bioclimatic niche characteristics • decreased rainfall in most areas; derived from SABAP distribution data; • increased frequency of El Niño Southern Oscillation • to generate an initial set of explicit hypotheses for future (ENSO) effects in southern Africa; testing • increased frequency of severe weather anomalies; Remarkably little research is currently underway on the • increased frequency of fires, as a result of increased tem- impacts of climate change on Africa’s rich biodiversity, with a peratures and decreased rainfall few exceptions (see Midgley et al. 2001, 2003 for plant Several studies have employed climatic variables diversity, Erasmus et al. 2002 for vertebrate diversity in (‘envelopes’), especially temperature and rainfall, to predict South Africa and Wichmann et al. 2003 for a single raptor the existing and future distribution limits of species (e.g. species). This is despite the rising tide of reports predicting Midgley et al. 2001, 2003, Githaiga-Mwicigi et al. 2002, (Thomas et al. 2004) or measuring (Pounds et al. 1999, Pearson and Dawson 2003). These can be used to predict Parmesan and Yohe 2003, Root et al. 2003) grim effects on likely shifts for any individual species for which current dis- the earth’s biodiversity. Due to the lack of empirical data tributions can be adequately described. However, these from Africa, our perspectives are drawn from similar studies techniques provide a first-cut assessment only, because in other parts of the world, and this paper is designed as a they are correlative and not causative, and because the prospective basis for future research and testing. change in potential range projected by these models inter- acts with life history characteristics which may amplify Africa’s vulnerability to climate change species’ sensitivity to shifts in geographic range. Increasing temperatures and sharply decreasing rainfall Several important reviews have been undertaken of the are expected to move the winter-rainfall dominated potential effects of global warming on biodiversity, and these Succulent Karoo Biome southwards by about 2050, and identify Africa as the most vulnerable of all continents diminish its size, putting severe selective pressures on plant (Hulme 1996, IPCC 2001). This is partly because of Africa’s species in this biome (Midgley et al. 2001). The Succulent great aridity — in particular the large proportion of its land Karoo is the world’s only arid-zone biodiversity hotspot mass outside the tropics occupied by arid and semi-arid (Myers et al. 2000), and extends from central-western South lands — and partly due to its low financial, technical and Africa to south-western Namibia. It is dominated by dwarf institutional capacity to mitigate the impacts of such change succulents highly adapted to a winter rainfall regime. The (IPCC 2001). Understanding the likely effects of climate Fynbos Biome, part of the most densely speciose floral king- change on human-altered and natural ecosystems and dom in the world (Cowling and Richardson 1995, Cowling et measuring the speed of change and responses to change al. 1998) is similarly expected to shift southwards, diminish- are vital for African countries to manage their development ing habitats especially on its western and northern bound- efficiently and proactively. In the context of biodiversity con- aries (Midgley et al. 2003). Climate shifts are predicted to servation, effective bio-regional planning will require a much ‘push’ certain habitats and biomes, such as the temperate better understanding than we currently have of how (and Fynbos Biome, off the southern end of the continent and whether) species will respond to the intense pressures on threaten high-altitude communities. This is predicted in other them by moving across landscapes (e.g. Cowling et al. landscapes too (e.g. Peterson et al.
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