Protecting Secretary Birds
The Secretary Bird
The Secretary Bird is a large bird of prey similar to the likes of an Eagle, standing around 4 feet tall with a wingspan of about 6 feet. The main body of the bird is white and gray, while the feathers on the tail and wings are black while the face of the bird is a bright orange. The Secretary Bird is native to different parts of Africa, mainly areas of grassland or savanna. Unlike other birds of prey, the Secretary Bird are terrestrial, so they hunt on the ground rather than flying in the air. Its main source of food consists of insects, small reptiles, snakes and even other birds, such as doves, chickens, and warblers. Other sources of food include small mammals, such as cheetah cubs, or hares. In the wild Secretary Birds have little to no predators to watch out for except the Tawny Eagle, which is another large bird of prey. Their lifecycle begins as a chick in a nest of 2-3 which can either be built on the ground or in the tree, from there they spend the next 2-3 months in the nest where both parents bring the chicks food. Once they are able to leave the nest, they spend anywhere from 4-7 months in the area they were born until the leave to begin breeding. The average lifespan of a Secretary Bird is said to range from 10-15 years. The current estimated population of Secretary Birds is anywhere between 6700-67000 and that number is currently decreasing according to the IUCN Redlist.
This is the Secretary Bird in the wild
A visual for the Secretary Bird's nest built high up in the top of an Acacia tree
An example of how the Secretary Bird uses its powerful legs to hunt and kill its prey
An image showing the Secretary Bird running along the ground rather than fly, to illustrate the importance of the open space needed for the Secretary Bird
Habitat
The habitat of the Secretary Bird consists of grasslands and savannas in the sub-Saharan parts of Africa. The range of the bird spans from Senegal to Somalia all the way to South Africa. The grasslands and savannas are important to the Secretary Bird due to the ability to hunt from the ground. They can see prey easier in grasslands and savannas due to there being little to no cover for small animals or insects. Other biomes such as forests or areas with dense vegetation would impede the bird from running to catch prey, as previously stated the bird does not hunt from the air. Grassland biomes are numerous around the world, but the savannas are limited to Africa and other dry climates. As seasons change in the savanna so does the climate. During the early seasons, Spring and Summer are known as the wet seasons in the savanna, which brings lots of rainfall and thunderstorms and high temperatures. While the Fall and Winter months are known as the dry seasons where temperatures drop slightly but have much less precipitation and higher chances of fires. The savanna depends on the heavy rains in the wet season to thrive, otherwise the animals and plants would experience droughts which would lead to more wildfires.
Grasslands and the Amazon Rainforest share some similarities but are drastically different in how the ecosystems operate. Rainforests can either be temperate or tropical, the Amazon rainforest is a tropical rainforest, so it experiences significantly more rainfall than temperate rainforests. Due to the high amount of rainfall, the Amazon Forest is generally hot, humid and wet, while the grasslands biomes tend to be hot and wet only during the Spring and Summer months. During the "Fall and Winter" months in the Rainforest, there is no change in climate, it stays wet and humid year-round, while the Grasslands temperature and rainfall decreases. The layout of the Amazon Rainforest compared to the Grasslands of Africa is drastically different as well. In the images below grasslands exhibit a very minimal population of trees and a high density of grass and some vegetation. The Rainforest on the other hand is densely populated with trees and vegetation, and the forest floor is mainly composed of leaves rather than grass. Another aspect between the two biomes is the biodiversity within the biomes. The Rainforest is home to many species of animals, plants, and trees while the grasslands are home to many species of animals, and some vegetation and a handful of different species of trees. Large mammals prefer the open area of the grasslands due to the high density of vegetation within the rainforest.
The forest floor of the Amazon Rainforest
An image of an Acacia Tree commonly used by Secretary Birds for nesting.
An image showing the vast open space of the savanna biome.
An image of the wetlands within the savanna biome.
Critical Threats
One of the major threats affecting the Secretary Bird and its habitat is deforestation. The combination of deforestation for the use of agriculture as well as urbanization. This threat is important to look at because it directly affects the habitat of the Secretary Bird as well as the prey Secretary Birds hunt. Some would argue that there are benefits to deforestation for the species, as it would reduce vegetation and create more open space which the species prefers. However, "excessive burning of grasslands may suppress populations of prey species" as stated on the IUCN Redlist cite, the negatives outweigh the positives of deforestation as their source of prey would decline due to loss of habitat. The effects of deforestation within the grassland biome share similar threats to wildlife in the Amazon, but not nearly as severe as the threats of deforestation in the Amazon. Deforestation within the grasslands of Africa present less of a threat than deforestation within the Amazon due to the vast amount of animal and plant species that reside within the Amazon. According to scientists the species that are at risk of extinction in the Amazon rainforest are well over 10,000. Both natural and human causes of deforestation are threatening the species. Natural fires occur periodically during the dry season in the savanna and grasslands, while human interference with fires is radically affecting the biome.
Here is an image of land in the savanna scorched by fires.
Another pertinent threat for the Secretary Bird is herding and hunting. The large bird is at risk of herding specifically for trading and captivity, albeit the estimated number of birds being traded or captured for captivity is not entirely known and is estimated to be rather low it is still a serious problem for breeding and the population as a whole. The same is true for poachers hunting the species, the number it affects is unknown, but is still a serious problem. These two major issues are direct results of human intrusions and disturbance. In terms of how this affects the components of the biome, the result would be an increase in small rodents and insects as the population of the species declines, there are less that are actively hunting those small "invasive" species. This would also affect the agricultural aspect of the biome, an increase in small rodents and insects would cause issues for farmers and crops, which in turn would cause an increase in the need for pesticides which would further negatively affect the species as they would suffer from secondary pesticide poisoning. Comparing this threat to the Amazon Rainforest one species comes to mind, the Jaguar. The Jaguar is consistently hunted for their pelts, paws, and canines for the purpose of fashion within the Asian and Southern American cultures.
This depicts the terrestrial bird in captivity simulating hunting prey
One last important threat to look at for the species is climate change as a whole. As average climate is increasing the likelihood of droughts to occur increases dramatically. This affects the entire ecosystem living in the grasslands of Africa as a whole as most species need a consistent water supply to survive. This would also increase the likelihood of wildfires occurring which would further deteriorate the ecosystem and sustainability of the grassland biome. With an increase in wildfires and drought, smaller species of animals and insects would suffer greatly as vegetation decreases due to the wildfires. Not only would the Secretary Bird have habitat loss, but the abundance of prey would significantly decline due to climate change. Similar issues with climate change are predicted to happen in the coming decades in the Amazon Rainforest. A general increase in temperature by 2-3 degrees Celsius would cause detrimental effects to the rainfall and an increase in droughts and widespread drying. This threat would negatively affect the species of plants and animals that are able to survive within the Amazon similar to the grasslands in Africa. Overall, both biomes share similar consequences as a result of climate change, but the consequences in the Amazon would be far greater due to the vast amount of species that occupy the Amazon Rainforest.
The drastic change in a water source as the result of a drought
Solutions
Here in Keene, we are mostly surrounded by wetlands and forest biomes rather than open plains and grasslands biomes. However, there are aspects of life in Keene that contribute to the same threat that the Secretary Bird is facing in Africa. Deforestation is everywhere, in Keene, forests are at risk of urbanization. People who are looking to build homes or businesses in Keene require plots of land that generally need to be cleared of vegetation and trees in order to begin construction. People in Keene contribute to deforestation outside the country by burning wood, buying products that require wood as a material or as a fuel for making the product. Things that people in Keene can do to change their actions to help reduce the effects of deforestation is buy products that are "100% post-consumer recycled content", adopt a plant-based diet and avoid eating meats.
In terms of finding a solution for the deforestation problem within the grassland biomes in Africa, two big solutions come into fruition: regulating the logging industry and creating a system to protect the grasslands. New regulations have been passed within the past couple of years to protect specifically the forests of Africa, meaning that regulations similar to those could be put into place for the grasslands.
An image of the current logging issues occurring within the heart of Africa
The typical person in Keene contributes to climate change on a daily basis. Anything from driving cars, to eating food that "causes emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other various greenhouse gasses". The choices that are made on a daily basis by citizens in Keene affect these impacts greatly, by cutting down on the use of transportation and using alternative methods, such as walking or biking will cut down on how much people in Keene contribute to these affects. Eating foods that are plant based that don't require cattle that produce massive amounts of methane would also cut back on the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane.
Addressing the threat in the scope of environmental climate change require solutions illustrated by Greenpeace, reducing carbon emissions, starting to switch to sustainable energy, switching to sustainable transport such as electric vehicles, and reducing plastics. All of these solutions would reduce the rate at which climate change is progressing, while increasing the sustainability of ecosystems such as the Amazon Rainforest and the grasslands of Africa.
Here is a link to a video of Academics and high-level delegates discussing the issues and potential solutions of climate change in Africa. https://vimeo.com/1163697
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