Birds Divorce Too: Extreme Weather Does It
By: EjazUlHaqBhat
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Like humans, many animals form lasting monogamous relationships. Most birds pair up to produce and raise offspring together over many years
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However, as with humans, birds also "divorce", breaking the pair bond well before the death of either partner
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According to research, there is a link between extreme weather events and divorce for a small monogamous tropical songbird
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The extreme events, both wet and dry, increase divorce rates in these birds, the research shows
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For example, pairs of Seychelles warblers can stay together for up to 15 years. 1-16% partnerships break up every year, it shows
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It's thought divorcing may allow these birds to correct for a poor choice of partner. But sometimes they divorce for no apparent reason
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The research shows that divorce rates spiked both when rainfall was extreme; either very wet or very dry
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A super El Nino event in 1997 caused exceptionally heavy rainfall that year. Many Seychelles warblers divorced that year (15.3%). More couples also broke up in drought years
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The new research sheds light on another heartbreaking consequence of climate change: extreme events are destabilising partnerships in wild animals
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