Dry streams, suffering agricultural soils, forest fires... Drought has many deleterious consequences. But it also strongly disturbs wild animals, which in addition to thirst, also see their reproduction or migrations disrupted by the lack of water, warns this Monday the League for the Protection of Birds.

In the 10 natural areas managed by the LPO in Charente-Maritime and Vendée, where during spring and summer 2022 rainfall was 30% less abundant than the ten-year average, there is "a real loss of biodiversity: decline in reproductive success, mortality, decrease in site attendance... " says the association. In some areas, the consequences have been particularly overwhelming.

Reproduction slowed down or even non-existent

Thus, on the nature reserves of Saint-Denis-du-Payré and the Marais de la Vacherie, the numbers of migrating waterbirds were 19 times lower in August 2022 compared to the average of the previous five years, with the presence of only 64 individuals against about 1,200 birds on average. Moreover, at the beginning of wintering, the anatidae (ducks), were still six times less numerous than in other years, with 1,400 birds present in December against 8,300 on average previously.

For some species, reproduction has been slowed or non-existent due to the stress of lack of water. This is the case for the Black Guifette, an endangered species in France and very dependent on water levels in early summer, where no broods were observed in 2022 on the Vacherie reserve, which concentrates most of the population of the Marais Poitevin. No small either in the Lestes à grand stigma, a species of dragonfly that is already suffering from the gradual disappearance of wetlands, and the cultriped pelobates, a toad classified as vulnerable in France, in the Moeze-Oleron reserve, due to the early drying of rivers.

The survival of certain species "at risk"

"For these species that do not move, it is therefore a net and dry loss" highly damaging, says Cédric Marteau, director of the nature protection division at the LPO. A "fairly high" mortality of fish was also observed in the Oléron area, while several insects (spiders, locusts, floricultural invertebrates) were almost not observed due to drying and very low flowering of the meadows. "Without water, the environment is less welcoming, food is less available, predation is stronger," all elements that strongly impact biodiversity, says Cédric Marteau.

These findings prove that "the climate crises and the collapse of biodiversity are intimately linked and must be addressed together," notes the LPO. Combined with other pressures already weighing on wildlife (intensive agriculture, hunting, pollution, proliferation of invasive species), "drought events for several years in a row could directly jeopardize the survival of certain species," adds the association, while groundwater was still at its lowest at the end of March, raising fears of another dry summer in France.

  • Drought
  • Planet
  • LPO
  • Fauna
  • Environment
  • Animals