Heat, Habitat & Ground Hornbills: Tracking Behaviour and Chick Growth in a Warming Landscape
Southern Ground-Hornbills are among Africa’s most iconic savanna birds, but their populations are declining. In addition to known threats like habitat loss and poisoning, there’s growing concern about how rising temperatures may affect their long-term persistence, especially given the vulnerability observed in other bird species living in hot climates.
For the past 25 years, the APNR Ground-Hornbill Project, run by the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, has been at the forefront of studying the ecology of this species and informing conservation efforts. In this webinar, we’ll share our latest findings on how heat affects their behaviour, habitat use, egg investment, and chick growth. We will also discuss the surprising impacts of winter warming and whether their cooperative breeding strategy provides an advantage in coping with harsh environmental conditions.
Additional Details
Webinar link - https://tel.meet/pdc-cgmd-tfk?pin=9730871455720
Meeting ID - Not applicable
Passcode - Not applicable
Event platform - google_meet
Organizer
Dr Kyle-Mark Middleton and Carrie Hickman are researchers at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town – Kyle as a post-doctoral fellow and Carrie as a PhD candidate. Since 2016, they have co-managed the APNR Ground Hornbill Project, dedicating their work to uncovering the complex ecology and behaviour of this iconic species. Their research is aimed at not only advancing scientific understanding, but also directly informs conservation and management strategies to safeguard Southern Ground-Hornbills in the wild.