Heat stroke in wetlands

Heat stroke in wetlands
By Euronews
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Fabrizio Sergio is a Biological Researcher at the Donana National Park in Spain.

“I’m Fabrizio Sergio. I’m a researcher at a biological station in Donana, Spain. I’m going to talk to you about our approach to the impact of climate change at the park. For Talk Planet on euronews.”

“Donyana is a national park, a large wetland area of several hundred square kilometres. In the autumn and winter it floods due to the seasons typical rainfall.“

“During the spring and summer it gradually dries and everything we see here which is very flooded in March, will be completely dry in a few months.”

“The negative impact of climate change could be the result of the extreme droughts in the area, which have had a very strong impact on the reproduction of varied species.”

“An example is the Ibis Facinelles, or Glossy Ibis, which is a kind of aquatic bird. There are also other predators in the park who are very abundant, like the black kite.”

“We’re at the heart of the migration and the birds are coming back from the winter in Africa. They’ll soon create their own territories and will lay their eggs there shortly afterwards.”

“This area, this fringe, is ideal for the kites’ habitat, because they can find a lot of trees to nest in. This is also used as their main hunting area”.

“Climate change could have an influence on the date at which the marsh begins to dry up. If this is the case it would reduce the kites’ hunting grounds and also have an impact on their prey. Everything is dependent on the wetlands. If things change we will witness the effects of heat stress.”

“The chicks nest throughout the day and we know the nests which are present have a high level of insulation which controls their stress levels. This is very important.“

“What makes this model truly optimal are these rings (which are attached to the bird’s legs and) which we have been using since the 1980s.”

“The transmitters are equipped with GPS, which allows us to track the species. Here, global warming could be very useful, because with more sunlight it’s easier to recharge the transmitter’s solar panels. It has the capacity to work for four years, maybe more.“

“We know for example that the productivity of the eco-system in Africa depends heavily on rain in part of the Sahel. The arid Sahel eco-system seems to have a lot of influence on survival, especially in the first years of life.“

“Climate change could have a great influence on all of these species to potentially create the conditions of many extinct species.“

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