The high-pitched chirps of the native saltmarsh sparrow ring out from coastal marshes from Virginia to Maine. The small, freckled bird is ecologically important, but rising global temperatures impede the survival of bird species, according to the Providence Journal.
What's happening?
As sea levels rise, Earth's inhabitants face the threats of land degradation, damage to city infrastructure, and drowning.
A little-known and non-human-centered consequence of rising sea levels impacts the saltmarsh sparrow. In Rhode Island, the birds face the risk of drowning in their coastal salt marsh habitat, according to the Providence Journal.
As the birds die in the land where they exclusively breed, they are threatened with extinction.
"It's very likely by mid-century the saltmarsh sparrow will be extinct," naturalist Deirdre Robinson said, per the Guardian.
Robinson and her interns, including Cooper White and Jim O'Neill, are working to protect the saltmarsh sparrow at Jacob's Point Preserve, per the Providence Journal.
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Why is the saltmarsh sparrow important?
Conservation biologist Chris Elphick is a saltmarsh sparrow expert. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported, as informed by Elphick, that the saltmarsh sparrow's health indicates the health of the entire ecosystem surrounding their marshy habitat.
Elphick and the FWS agree that the bird species requires protection. Keeping the species alive will safeguard marsh soil, water systems, plants, animals, and the people living near marshes.
Plants and animals in the same habitat operate through a system of give and take. Animals rely on plants and each other for survival through the food chain. As marshes, which protect land from storm surge, face declining biodiversity, they are in danger of depletion.
Saltmarsh sparrows are an integral part of the salt marsh system. As they yield to the effects of rising global temperatures, the rest of their environment suffers.
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Definitely 🥰 What's being done about saltmarsh sparrow survival?
To combat the death of saltmarsh sparrows and eggs via drowning, Robinson and her interns have integrated a working solution.
According to the Guardian, the team of researchers has made makeshift rafts to prop their nests up in the face of high tide.
The floatation devices, the Providence Journal reported, are homemade and highly innovative. While they don't lower rising sea levels, they protect entire saltmarsh sparrow populations in Jacob's Point Preserve from drowning.
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