Mapping tree canopy thermal refugia for birds using biophysical models and LiDAR.

ABSTRACT: Accurately predicting exposure of animals to climate change requires evaluating the effects of warming on the microclimates they occupy. Birds, like many other taxa, make extensive use of cool microsites in vegetation during hot weather. Taking advantage of recent advances in modelling tree canopy microclimates, we combined LiDAR-based individual tree canopy mapping and biophysical modelling to evaluate the current and future availability of cool microsites in a subtropical African savanna landscape. We constructed biophysical models for two common bird species, an ~ 40-g bulbul and an ~ 200-g hornbill, and modelled exposure to conditions under which the body temperature (T_b) of individuals resting in canopies exceeds 42 °C, equivalent to ~ 2 °C above resting thermoneutral T

SUBMITTER: Strydom LH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12540547 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature