Heavy rains causing starvation for flamingos at Bogoria
29/06/2006 00:00:00January 2006. Lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) at Lake Bogoria in Kenya are suffering from malnutrition, according to an assessment carried out by scientists from Earthwatch, the environmental charity. Post mortem examinations in late 2006 revealed that the birds weighed just 63% of their normal body mass.
An analysis of the lake water confirmed that very low levels of spirulina (a blue-green alga that provides an almost exclusive food source for lesser flamingos) are leaving the birds with only 10% of their minimum daily food requirements. Earthwatch scientists believe that heavy rain has swollen seasonal streams bringing water and high sediment concentrations into the lake, diluting the food supply.
Behavioural changes in the flamingos have also been observed. The birds are not wading or feeding in groups along the shoreline as normal, but instead are dispersed and feeding primarily in the open water. Flamingos have routinely been observed feeding from small rain puddles in fields and in the road.
‘In seven years of working at Lake Bogoria I have never seen lesser flamingos feeding from streams and puddles,’ says Earthwatch scientist Dr. David Harper of the University of Leicester, who led the study. ‘We now fear that food stress might lead to large scale flamingo mortality either directly through starvation, or indirectly by increasing susceptibility to infectious diseases.’
Veterinarian Dr. Lindsay Oakes, from Washington State University worked with Dr. Harper. He continues, ‘Clearly the birds are looking for an emergency food supply. Unfortunately they are putting themselves at risk of predation by feeding in open spaces. They may also suffer from poisoning as the blue–green bacteria found in hot streams are more likely to produce dangerous toxins.’
The assessment was organised in an effort to resolve the mystery of the mass flamingo deaths in Kenya and in Tanzania. Dr. Harper and Dr. Oaks were joined by Earthwatch funded conservationists from the University of Nairobi, National Museums of Kenya, Kenya Wildlife Services and Tanzanian equivalent bodies. These results are lending support to the theory that natural fluctuations in the environment, rather than anthropogenic changes, are the primary causes of large scale flamingo mortalities.
Courtesy of Earthwatch.
Behavioural changes in the flamingos have also been observed. The birds are not wading or feeding in groups along the shoreline as normal, but instead are dispersed and feeding primarily in the open water. Flamingos have routinely been observed feeding from small rain puddles in fields and in the road.
‘In seven years of working at Lake Bogoria I have never seen lesser flamingos feeding from streams and puddles,’ says Earthwatch scientist Dr. David Harper of the University of Leicester, who led the study. ‘We now fear that food stress might lead to large scale flamingo mortality either directly through starvation, or indirectly by increasing susceptibility to infectious diseases.’
Veterinarian Dr. Lindsay Oakes, from Washington State University worked with Dr. Harper. He continues, ‘Clearly the birds are looking for an emergency food supply. Unfortunately they are putting themselves at risk of predation by feeding in open spaces. They may also suffer from poisoning as the blue–green bacteria found in hot streams are more likely to produce dangerous toxins.’
The assessment was organised in an effort to resolve the mystery of the mass flamingo deaths in Kenya and in Tanzania. Dr. Harper and Dr. Oaks were joined by Earthwatch funded conservationists from the University of Nairobi, National Museums of Kenya, Kenya Wildlife Services and Tanzanian equivalent bodies. These results are lending support to the theory that natural fluctuations in the environment, rather than anthropogenic changes, are the primary causes of large scale flamingo mortalities.
Courtesy of Earthwatch.
