Hot Birds Research Project

Deserts are among the most extreme environments on Earth, as a result of high air temperatures, intense solar radiation, unpredictable precipitation, low primary productivity and low relative humidity (Noy-Meir, 1973; Tieleman & Williams, 2000). Species living in hot, arid environments where physical conditions regularly approach physiological limits face enormous challenges (Walsberg, 2000). Recent work on desert birds has revealed a number of consequential trade-offs between thermoregulation and behaviour (du Plessis et al. 2012; Cunningham et al. 2013), which collectively reiterate the potential of increasing temperatures/heatwaves to have catastrophic effects on threatened species that inhabit hot, arid environments, particularly for species with limited ranges that are restricted to extremely hot areas. Williams et al (2008) produced a neat general framework to assess the vulnerability of species to global climate change. They showed that by understanding the species sensitivity (adaptive capacity and resilience) and exposure (microhabitat/topographic buffering), we can predict the species vulnerability as well as the potential impact on the species. These data-intensive, extremely time consuming (Dormann et al 2012; Meineri et al 2015) mechanistic models, will allow us to better our understanding to how a species will respond to future climate change and implementing better and more efficient conservation management plans (Kearney et al 2016). 

 

Aims:
1.) Understand movements and activity patterns of Red Larks and how they make use of available resources and microclimates

2.) Evaluate the physiological and behavioural traits of Red Larks in the context of adaptation to arid environments, and measure the energy and water flux parameters needed for modelling purposes

3.) The overarching goal of this study is to develop a mechanistic model in the NicheMapper framework linking the physiology and behaviour of a threatened arid-zone passerine, the Red Lark, to its physical and biotic environment. This model will provide the basis for predicting how climate change will affect this species, which is endemic to the Northern Cape Province, over coming decades.