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Does the availability of shade limit use of water troughs by desert birds?
Includes bibliographical references
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
2015
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| _version_ | 1867613280329007104 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Abdu, Salamatu |
| author2 | Cunningham, Susan J |
| author_browse | Abdu, Salamatu Cunningham, Susan J |
| author_facet | Cunningham, Susan J Abdu, Salamatu |
| author_sort | Abdu, Salamatu |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Includes bibliographical references |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/15461 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:37.862Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateRange | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| publisher | Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology |
| publisherStr | Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/15461 Does the availability of shade limit use of water troughs by desert birds? Abdu, Salamatu Cunningham, Susan J Ryan, Peter G McKechnie, Andrew E Conservation Biology Climate Change Includes bibliographical references Climate change poses a major threat to living organisms, with maximum temperatures expected to continue to rise over the next few decades. Hot desert environments are particularly at risk because they experience high environmental temperatures, scarce vegetation, low productivity and unpredictable water sources. Endotherms such as birds face the challenge of maintaining a stable body temperature while avoiding dehydration. This study was carried out in the southern Kalahari, in South Africa's Northern Cape, where about 50% of bird species (36 species) depend on free-standing drinking water. Livestock farms within this area provide artificial water points, which benefit birds as well as livestock. This study determined the role of shade and cover in the use of these artificial water points by birds. An experiment was conducted at six waterholes using the Before-After, Control-Impact (BACI) design. After an initial baseline was established, three waterholes were shaded while the other three were left unshaded. Camera traps were used to record the pattern and intensity of water use by bird species at different times of the day and at varying air temperatures. A total of 36 bird species drank at the water holes, but data analysis was confined to the ten most abundant species. Of the ten, six species responded to the presence of shade/cover, with four species reacting positively (Cape Glossy Starling Lamprotornis nitens , Red - headed Finch Amadina erythrocephala , Black - throated Canary Serinus atrogularis , and Laughing Dove Spilopelia senegalensis ), four showing no significant change in drinking patterns, and two showing a decrease in visitor numbers when the site was shaded (Cape Turtle - Dove Streptopelia capicola, Namaqua Dove Oena capensis). This suggests that providing shade at waterholes is not a universal solution to the problem of increasing heat stress experienced by birds coming to drink. Certain species such as the Laughing Doves and Cape Turtle-Doves avoided waterholes during the warmest time of the day while the Namaqua Doves were frequent visitors at this time. However, the Laughing Dove took advantage of the shade provided at midday (warmest temperatures) as their numbers increased. The Red-headed Finch and Black-throated Canary also increased at water holes with temperature irrespective of the time of day. These patterns imply that the provision of shade modifies the behavior of some bird species in response to predation risk or heat stress. These species utilized shade at different times of day and with varying intensities as temperatures rose. 2015-11-30T13:10:38Z 2015-11-30T13:10:38Z 2015 Master Thesis Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15461 eng application/pdf Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Conservation Biology Climate Change Abdu, Salamatu Does the availability of shade limit use of water troughs by desert birds? |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Does the availability of shade limit use of water troughs by desert birds? |
| title_full | Does the availability of shade limit use of water troughs by desert birds? |
| title_fullStr | Does the availability of shade limit use of water troughs by desert birds? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does the availability of shade limit use of water troughs by desert birds? |
| title_short | Does the availability of shade limit use of water troughs by desert birds? |
| title_sort | does the availability of shade limit use of water troughs by desert birds |
| topic | Conservation Biology Climate Change |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15461 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT abdusalamatu doestheavailabilityofshadelimituseofwatertroughsbydesertbirds |