Study models show land-use change in shola sky islands disrupts endemic bird movement
A research paper covering about 2,900 sq km of the shola sky islands (Nilgiris and Palani-Anamalais) modelled movement patterns of seven endemic bird species and found that both forest and grassland species tend to avoid human-dominated landscapes such as agriculture, tea plantations and settlements. The study found the Nilgiri pipit (the only grassland specialist in the analysis) had the most hindered movement, and its movement was most adversely affected by woody invasions and human activities; the article also cites landscape loss between 1973 and 2017 of 516 sq km of grasslands and 63 sq km of forests.
The findings add evidence that grassland loss and woody invasions can reduce habitat connectivity for grassland specialists, which can increase isolation risk and potentially affect long-term genetic diversity.