Wildfire smoke silences grassland birds in NYS

"There are grassland species in New York state that are not used to wildfire smoke," Simamora said. "Part of the novelty of this research is that we're looking at species that have not evolved to adapt to intense smoke, where the exposure is currently quite rare. But we're showing that these negative impacts can happen in the future, as even more fires occur because of climate change."

The researchers noted that the smoke from wildfires studied here differs in intensity from that of prescribed fire, which is known to be a beneficial management practice for grassland birds. And during a subsequent but less intense smoke event in July 2023, the researchers found that many of the species resumed vocalizations, which raises several questions for future research.

"We saw stronger declines in the first event, but they were at different points in the breeding season with different levels of smoke - so we don't know if there's a threshold response or if the responses had more to do with the point in the breeding season," said Boycott, co-first author and current Ph.D. candidate. "There's plenty more work to do."

The study is an offshoot of a larger project investigating imperiled grassland birds and their interactions with solar energy development, which tends to occur on flat and open grasslands and agricultural lands.

"We're studying these species because they're in decline, and we're looking at a potential threats - like solar development - but it's also about understanding the existing suite of threats they are facing," Boycott said. "This smoke exposure is another novel threat we've discovered along the way."

The overall research program, including this study, helps inform NYSDEC's conservation management.

"The next step will be to figure out where this novel stressor fits amongst all the other stressors, and to continue to fine tune our best management practices for conserving these species," Boycott said.

To Simamora, that conservation is deeply meaningful. She described visiting grassland field sites in the Finger Lakes National Forest on summer mornings at 4 or 5 a.m., with mist moving in.

"It's so beautiful and gives me peace and makes me feel connected to nature," she said. "I hope that this type of habitat will stay like this for the future generations to enjoy, and that the birds can come back and breed again - and that we can welcome them here. We hope the paper garners more attention for these grassland birds."

Connor M. Wood, research associate at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is a co-author. Grodsky is also assistant unit leader of the U.S. Geological Survey New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, housed in CALS, and a faculty fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.

Funding for the study came from NYSDEC.