The summer drought that has gripped Arkansas is now considered a flash drought by the National Weather Service because of its unusually quick development and intensity.
According to the National Drought Mitigation Center’s drought-monitor update released Thursday, 44.46 percent of the state is now in “exceptional drought,” the worst category. That is up from 33.64 percent last week.
“In the near future, we have nothing that’s going to alleviate the conditions quickly,” said Chris Buonanno, science and operations officerat the North Little Rock office of the National Weather Service. “It’s not just Arkansas that’s being affected. A good portion of the United States is affected by drought conditions right now.”
National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Clay said the flash drought is a term to describe the drought’s unusual acceleration - droughts normally take three to four months to develop, but this summer, the state went from virtually no drought to extreme drought in about two months. The state has had unusually little humidity, which resulted in rapidly increased evaporation, Clay said.
Buonanno said there is a greater-than-normal chance for precipitation in the southern half of Arkansas in October, November and December, but he expects average rainfall until then. The only way that conditions will improve before then is if a tropical storm or hurricane passes through Arkansas, but Buonanno said that isn’t likely.
As for the state’s wildlife, animals in the wild change to adapt to heat and drought, experts say, and the state’s animal populations could look different next summer as a result of this year’s drought.
The lack of water could change animals’ behavior, said David Goad, chief of wildlife at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Land mammals adapt by expanding habitats and traveling farther to get to water and vegetation.
“Not only does this extra effort cause dehydration, but it could cause more predation [or preying],” said Don White, wildlife ecologist at the University of Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. “Think about an animal having to spend more time moving - particularly if you’re a [preyed-upon] species. You are potentially exposing yourself to predators more easily.”
Also, more distance traveled is likely to translate into more roads crossed and moreanimals being run over, White said.
As their habitat decreases, the drought also could lead to wildlife concentrating in areas around water, which leaves preyed-upon species vulnerable, White said.
This year, Josh Hankin, president of Absolute Wildlife Solutions in Little Rock, said his nuisance-animal-control company has had a busy summer because of the dry conditions.
“We have seen more damage and digging in people’s flower beds than in the past because they [the animals] get attracted to the moisture in the mulch area,” Hankin said. “We’ve gotten a big influx of [such] calls ... much more so than usual.”
Lack of water directly affects the amount of food available to wildlife. White said he has already seen the oak trees around his house drop their acorns, months ahead of when they normally do. Squirrels and other mammals typically don’t eat immature acorns unless they are starving.
“The trees are shedding these because they just can’t afford to continue their [the acorn] development. We’ve got a bunch of immature acorns that are not going to replant,” White said.
Squirrels and other species depend on a large supply of acorns to hoard and eat all winter. Goad said a smaller yield combined with increased competition for what food is available means that many squirrels won’t be able to fatten up for the winter.
This year, squirrels are just one of many species that willstruggle to build up their fat reserves, but animals are historically resilient. While more animals might die in the coming winter as compared with previous years, it’s not likely to be significant, Goad said, adding that the animals will store up fat next year.
A drought’s effect on a wildlife population typically isn’t direct, White said, and while it likely won’t have a long-term effect on Arkansas species, he does expect to see much less reproduction next season.
“If those females are not in very good shape, they’re not going to be able to put their own body resources into fetuses,” he said.
White said droughts also make animals more susceptible to certain diseases, such as avian botulism, which can kill thousands of birds in a single outbreak, although the disease doesn’t normally manifest until late summer and early fall. White said there’s no reason to believe that will happen in this drought, but it is something biologists need to watch out for.
Amphibians are likely to be affected more directly, said Game and Fish Commission herpetologist Kelly Irwin.
Many species of amphibians, like frogs, depend on ephemeral pools - small ponds that exist for only a portion of the year - to reproduce. The ponds don’t support fish that would eat frogs’ eggs.But in times of drought, those ponds don’t form, leaving some species unable to reproduce.
“When you restrict wetland habitats, there’s a lot more predation,” Irwin said. “When wetlands dry down where alligators occur, there’s a higher concentration of them. The bigger alligators can and do cannibalize in droughts. This drought effect could induce this occurrence.”
Irwin said the state’s reptiles and amphibians won’t be greatly affected by the drought so long as conditions are better next year.
“It’s terribly hot out there, but for the most part, [wildlife] will be fine,” Goad said. “They’re going to find water somewhere.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 08/03/2012