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.