Surprising effects of temperature on giraffe survival The team obtained nearly two decades of data on local rainfall, vegetation greenness and temperature during Tanzania's short rains, long rains and dry season, and then followed the fates of 2,385 individually recognized giraffes of all ages and sexes over the final eight years of the two-decade period. 'Studying the effects of climate and human pressures on a long-lived and slow-breeding animal like a giraffe requires monitoring their populations over a lengthy time period and over a large area, enough to capture both climate variation and any immediate or delayed effects on survival,' said Bond.

They also explored whether climate had a greater effect on giraffes that were also impacted by human activity at the edges of the protected reserves. Led by Monica Bond, a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich, the research team quantified the effects of local anomalies of temperature, rainfall and vegetation greenness on the probability of survival of the giraffes. Contrary to expectations, higher temperatures were found to positively affect adult giraffe survival, while rainier wet seasons negatively impacted adult and calf survival.įirst exploration into the effects of climate variation on giraffe survival The study area spanned more than a thousand square kilometers, including areas inside and outside protected areas. Now researchers from the University of Zurich and Pennsylvania State University have concluded a decade-long study - the largest to date - of a giraffe population in the Tarangire region of Tanzania. But little was previously known about the combined effects of climate change and human activity on the survival rates not only of giraffes, but of any large African herbivore species. It does not store any personal data.Climate change is expected to cause widespread decline in wildlife populations worldwide. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Performance'. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Other.

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