Study warns of the impact of extreme droughts on Chilean wildlife

by the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity
October 30, 2026

A study published in the journal Ecology (Ecological Society of America) analyzed 12 years of records from a degu population in central Chile, revealing that these endemic rodents managed to withstand almost a decade of megadrought, but disappeared locally after the extreme drought of 2019. The research, in which Annemarie van der Marel, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB), participated, warns of the vulnerability of species to climatic events that exceed the limits of ecosystem resilience.

Keep reading (in Spanish): https://ieb-chile.cl/noticia/estudio-advierte-sobre-el-impacto-de-las-sequias-extremas-en-la-fauna-chilena/

Read the Ecology paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.70489