White-tailed Tropicbird |
Phaethon lepturus
Government evidence of impact of climate change:
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IUCN Red List Assessment, Phaethon lepturus
Trend Justification The population is undergoing a small decline (Kushlan et al. 2002; Partners in Flight 2019); which is thought to be caused by climate change and human disturbance.
Systems Terrestrial; Marine Threats (see Appendix for additional information) Suspected increases in the frequency of ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) events with future global warming (Timmermann et al. 1999) may pose a threat to the survival and breeding success of Great Frigatebirds of unknown severity (Anderson 1989; Weimerskirch et al. 2010).
Increased El Niño frequency in a climate model forced by future greenhouse warming.