Why Are Birds Falling Down? – Burning Issues

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Rescuers in India’s western Gujarat state are picking up dozens of exhausted and dehydrated birds dropping from the sky as a scorching heatwave dries out water sources in the state’s biggest city.

Doctors in an animal hospital managed by the non-profit Jivdaya Charitable Trust in Ahmedabad said they have treated thousands of birds in the last few weeks, adding that rescuers bring dozens of high flying birds such as pigeons or kites daily.
Health officials in Gujarat have asked animal hospitals to set up special wards for heat stroke and other heat-related diseases due to the rise in temperatures.

What is causing this?

A heatwave has been surging across most parts of north-India. Temperatures have crossed 45 degrees Celsius in several regions including Gujarat.
Veterinarians and animal rescuers say this has caused water sources such as ponds and canals to dry up causing severe dehydration in birds. Some suffer from broken wings after falling from trees out of sheer exhaustion.

Birds contribute toward many ecosystem services that either directly or indirectly benefit humanity.
These include provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services.
The functional role of birds within ecosystems as pollinators, seed-dispersers, ecosystem engineers, scavengers and predators.
They not only facilitate accrual and maintenance of biodiversity but also support human endeavours such as sustainable agriculture via pest control besides aiding other animals to multiply.
For instance, coral reef fish productivity has been shown to increase as seabird colonies recovered following rat eradication in the Chagos archipelago.
Wild birds and products derived from them are also economically important as food (meat, eggs).

Loss of Natural habitat: The degradation and loss of natural habitats, as well as direct overexploitation of many species, are the key threats to avian biodiversity.
Overexploitation: The use of 37% of the surviving bird species as common or exotic pets and 14% as food are examples of direct overexploitation.
Hunting and trapping: There is threat of hunting and trapping in different parts of the world, including northeast India. For some species, like the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard, power transmission lines represent the most significant threat.
Birdwatching: A global pastime involving millions of people, as a form of avian conservation but has “local negative impacts” due to feeding birds valued at $5-6 billion per year and growing by 4% annually.

A new study, published by Deakin University in Australia, found that birds, in particular, are developing larger beaks, legs and ears to better regulate their body temperatures.
Climate change is putting pressure on animals to adapt at an increasing rate, and though some may be able to, others may not.

One of the major changes animals are going through is evolving thermoregulatory demands from their body due to rising temperatures of their surrounding environment.
Failure to maintain body temperature within critical limits can lead to loss of physiological functions and death.
To protect themselves from these major changes, both animals and birds have adopted new techniques.
Scientists have now witnessed changes in appendage size, which they use to interact with their environment.
Birds use their beak as an additional appendage to assist with communication, mobility, and social interaction, such as grooming.
Larger appendages relative to body size provide more surface area from which to effectively dissipate body heat.
Therefore, larger appendages may be advantageous in warm climates but disadvantageous in cooler climates.

These evolutionary changes are not a sign animals are coping well with climate change. It just means they are evolving to survive it.
We’re not sure what the other ecological consequences of these changes are, or indeed that all species are capable of changing and surviving. For each adaptation though, there may be many more species at risk.

All heatwaves today bear the unmistakable and measurable fingerprint of global warming, top experts on quantifying the effects of climate change on extreme weather.
Burning fossil fuels and destroying forests have released enough greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to also boost the frequency and intensity of many floods, droughts, wildfires and tropical storms.

Since 1950 heatwaves have increased in length and frequency all over the world, as shown in a study published in 2020.
The study, done by scientists from UNSW Sydney and UNSW Canberra, found that the Mediterranean has experienced an increase of 2.5 heatwave days per decade since 1950, and the Amazon had an extra 5 and a half in the same period. The worst increases globally have taken place since 1999.

Tree planting : A study published in 2019 found that increasing tree cover in cities could dramatically lower temperatures.
Adding vegetation to buildings : Trees aren’t the only plant-based solution on the block with increased focus on adding vegetation to buildings as a way of cooling them down.

While fountains may seem like a luxury they can have amazing cooling effects in urban environments. Water absorbs and can transport heat (making moving fountains better than stagnant ponds for reducing temperatures), provides drinking water for parched citizens and decreases air temperature through evaporation.

Question:
Which of the following has the largest brain in proportion to its body size?