Transcript:
Some island-dwelling animals only live in one place, so if a major hurricane hits that island, it could be catastrophic for the species.
For example, a small bird called the Bahama nuthatch once lived on the island of Grand Bahama.
The bird’s population had declined for years, mainly because of habitat loss and non-native predators.
But last decade, Hurricanes Matthew and Dorian each slammed into Grand Bahama and likely wiped out the species entirely.
David Pereira, a researcher at the University of Birmingham, documented the nuthatch’s decline during a field study in 2018.
Pereira: “It makes me feel really sad, obviously, because I saw one of the last nuthatches.”
Climate change is now making hurricanes stronger, which increases the risk to isolated island species.
So Pereira worked with other researchers to create a watchlist of the species most threatened by hurricanes.
He says it can be used to prioritize conservation efforts, like setting up breeding programs for these species before catastrophe strikes.
Pereira: “We are running against time, because we can already see from the nuthatch case that one bird potentially has gone extinct because of a hurricane, and we don’t want this to happen to other species.”
Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media