While studying a ground-nesting bird population near El Reno, Okla., a
research team found that stress during a severe weather outbreak of May
31, 2013, had manifested itself into malformations in the growing
feathers of the young birds. The team witnessed a phenomenon termed
'pallid bands' in a large proportion of fledgling Grasshopper Sparrows
and found spikes in the chemical signatures of 'pallid bands,' which led
to abnormalities in the new feathers.
"This may be the first example of severe thunderstorms being
scientifically implicated in sub-lethal stress impacts on wildlife,"
says Jeremy Ross, who led the study at the Oklahoma Biological Survey,
College of Arts and Sciences. Other co-collaborators on the study
include Jeffrey F. Kelly and Eli S. Bridge, Oklahoma Biological Survey;
Michael H. Engel, ConocoPhillips School of Geology and Geophysics; Dan
L. Reinking, Sutton Avian Research Center; and W. Alice Boyle, Kansas
State University.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150303141736.htm
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