Birds outside their comfort zone are more vulnerable to deforestation

Members of the same bird species can have dramatically different responses to deforestation depending on where they live, finds a new study. Predicting a species' sensitivity to environmental changes, such as deforestation or climate change, is crucial for designing conservation strategies. These predictions are often based on a species' physical traits, and assume that all members of a species will respond the same. The dramatic variation in sensitivity to habitat loss we documented should have important implications for ecology and how we plan conservation efforts. Dr Cristina Banks-Leite However, members of a single species live across a large geographical range that encompasses areas with the right physical conditions for them, such as temperature and food sources. Some populations of a species will inevitably live at the edge of their range, where conditions are less than perfect because they are either too cold or too hot. Now, in new research published this week in Nature Ecology & Evolution , a research team led by Imperial College London have investigated the effect living near the range edge has on bird species in Brazil.