A new study suggests that red kites born in times of drought suffer the consequences all their lives
The advance of the droughts is weighing down the life expectancy of one of the most emblematic species of Doñana: the red kites (Milvus milvus). According to a new study published this Tuesday in the scientific journal ‘Nature Communications’, birds born during periods of water scarcity carry a handicap throughout their lives and, in the long run, this phenomenon is reducing the presence of these animals.
The research, led by scientists from the Doñana Biological Station (CSIC), has tracked the populations of red kites for more than fifty years. The analysis has revealed the following dynamic. In periods of drought, these birds have to deal with less food availability. This implies that chicks hatched during periods of scarcity receive less food. Because of this, a part of the animals do not survive until adulthood. And those who do grow thinner than average.
Children of the drought
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According to this new analysis, even when the drought gives respite, the animals continue dragging the aftermath of resource scarcity. Animals that have been born in periods of adversity are no more prepared than the rest to face new periods of aridity. Or put another way. The “children of the drought” they are no more prepared than their congeners born in periods of prosperity to survive periods of lack of water or food.
The study estimates that extreme weather events can decrease up to 40% of populations of red kites from Doñana and, in turn, reduce 21% of the time until extinction. And given that in countries like Spain it is estimated that the risk of desertification and aridity will increase in the coming decades, scientists warn that this phenomenon could cause cascading damage that ends up “erode red kite populations faster than currently estimated.