What is it about?

We present summary statistics for populations and population trends for a set of 6 endemic passerine bird species from the Fynbos in South Africa. We note that all species are threatened directly or indirectly by climate change.

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Why is it important?

These birds are found nowhere else and mostly in decline. There are no birds in captivity and the global problems they face will be insurmountable even with local conservation action.

Perspectives

After finding through a semi-scientific survey that birds of the Fynbos were faring poorly compared to a set of similar (ecologically, morphologically) species; coupled with a lack of dedicated species studies, I was motivated to find out more about these species. This formed the background for my current postdoc proposal. As the birds were all listed as least concern, I had to personally fund initial aspects of the survey, and to overcome a limited budget I undertook a lot of the surveys on foot or by bicycle. The hard work has finally paid off and the species are now getting the attention they deserve.

Dr Alan Tristram Kenneth Lee
University of Cape Town

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Endemic birds of the Fynbos biome: a conservation assessment and impacts of climate change, Bird Conservation International, February 2015, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/s0959270914000537.
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