Ecological Responses to Extreme Flooding Events: A Case Study with a Reintroduced Bird.

ABSTRACT: In recent years numerous studies have documented the effects of a changing climate on the world's biodiversity. Although extreme weather events are predicted to increase in frequency and intensity and are challenging to organisms, there are few quantitative observations on the survival, behaviour and energy expenditure of animals during such events. We provide the first data on activity and energy expenditure of birds, Eurasian cranes Grus grus, during the winter of 2013-14, which saw the most severe floods in SW England in over 200 years. We fitted 23 cranes with telemetry devices and used remote sensing data to model flood dynamics during three consecutive winters (2012-2015). Our results show that during the acute phase of the 2013-14 floods, potential feeding areas decreased dramatical

SUBMITTER: Soriano-Redondo A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4922006 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature