scholarly journals Climate‐change not only threatens bird populations but also challenges our ability to monitor them

Ibis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 161 (2) ◽  
pp. 467-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony D. Fox ◽  
RaSmus Due Nielsen ◽  
Ib Krag Petersen
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah T. Saalfeld ◽  
Brooke L. Hill ◽  
Christine M. Hunter ◽  
Charles J. Frost ◽  
Richard B. Lanctot

AbstractClimate change in the Arctic is leading to earlier summers, creating a phenological mismatch between the hatching of insectivorous birds and the availability of their invertebrate prey. While phenological mismatch would presumably lower the survival of chicks, climate change is also leading to longer, warmer summers that may increase the annual productivity of birds by allowing adults to lay nests over a longer period of time, replace more nests that fail, and provide physiological relief to chicks (i.e., warmer temperatures that reduce thermoregulatory costs). However, there is little information on how these competing ecological processes will ultimately impact the demography of bird populations. In 2008 and 2009, we investigated the survival of chicks from initial and experimentally-induced replacement nests of arcticola Dunlin (Calidris alpina) breeding near Utqiaġvik, Alaska. We monitored survival of 66 broods from 41 initial and 25 replacement nests. Based on the average hatch date of each group, chick survival (up to age 15 days) from replacement nests (Ŝi = 0.10; 95% CI = 0.02–0.22) was substantially lower than initial nests (Ŝi = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.48–0.81). Daily survival rates were greater for older chicks, chicks from earlier-laid clutches, and during periods of greater invertebrate availability. As temperature was less important to daily survival rates of shorebird chicks than invertebrate availability, our results indicate that any physiological relief experienced by chicks will likely be overshadowed by the need for adequate food. Furthermore, the processes creating a phenological mismatch between hatching of shorebird young and invertebrate emergence ensures that warmer, longer breeding seasons will not translate into abundant food throughout the longer summers. Thus, despite having a greater opportunity to nest later (and potentially replace nests), young from these late-hatching broods will likely not have sufficient food to survive. Collectively, these results indicate that warmer, longer summers in the Arctic are unlikely to increase annual recruitment rates, and thus unable to compensate for low adult survival, which is typically limited by factors away from the Arctic-breeding grounds.


2000 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 303-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Norris ◽  
P W Atkinson

Is sea-level rise and (or) climate change responsible for current declines in important coastal bird populations in Great Britain, and how might these processes affect bird populations in future? We review the current status of coastal bird populations in Britain and identify two important species, Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) and Twite (Carduelis flavirostris), whose populations are currently declining. We then review the evidence relating to the causes of these declines. There is evidence that habitat loss, driven by sea-level rise and climate change (e.g., an increase in wind and wave energy reaching the coast due to an increase in the frequency of storms), could have contributed to the decline in Twite. Common Redshank numbers are declining because of changes in grazing management, not sea-level rise. Populations that are currently stable or increasing, such as wintering waders and wildfowl, might in future experience declines in abundance because there is a link between climate, food supply, and bird abundance. There are insufficient reliable data at present to allow us to predict future changes with any confidence. Sea-level rise and climate change are currently important issues facing coastal zone management in Great Britain, and these issues may become even more pressing in future. But, in addition to these environmental processes, coastal bird populations are affected by a range of other anthropogenic factors. Conservationists, therefore, need to identify important bird populations that are (or could be in future) detrimentally affected by any of these activities rather than focusing exclusively on single issues such as sea-level rise. Allowing the sea to breach existing sea defences, thereby creating new saltmarsh, provides a way forward but is not without its practical and political difficulties.Key words: coastal birds, sea-level rise, climate change, population decline, habitat loss, saltmarsh.


Author(s):  
Jouke Prop ◽  
Jon Aars ◽  
BÃ¥rd-Jørgen BÃ¥rdsen ◽  
Sveinn A. Hanssen ◽  
Claus Bech ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liam D. Bailey ◽  
Martijn van de Pol ◽  
Frank Adriaensen ◽  
Emilio Barba ◽  
Paul E. Bellamy ◽  
...  

AbstractThe phenology of many species shows strong sensitivity to climate change; however, with few large scale intra-specific studies it is unclear how such sensitivity varies over a species’ range. We document large intra-specific variation in phenological sensitivity to temperature using laying date information from 67 populations of two European songbirds covering a large part of their breeding range. Populations inhabiting deciduous habitats showed stronger phenological sensitivity compared with those in evergreen and mixed habitats. Strikingly, however, the lowest sensitivity was seen in populations that had experienced the greatest change in climate. Therefore, we predict that the strongest phenological advancement will not occur in those populations with the highest sensitivity. Our results show that to effectively assess the impact of climate change on phenology across a species range it will be necessary to account for intra-specific variation in phenological sensitivity, climate change exposure, and the ecological characteristics of a population.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 3780-3790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelmer M. Samplonius ◽  
Lenka Bartošová ◽  
Malcolm D. Burgess ◽  
Andrey V. Bushuev ◽  
Tapio Eeva ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 589-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank A. La Sorte ◽  
Kyle G. Horton ◽  
Cecilia Nilsson ◽  
Adriaan M. Dokter

Ibis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 160 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Scridel ◽  
Mattia Brambilla ◽  
Kathy Martin ◽  
Aleksi Lehikoinen ◽  
Aaron Iemma ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail A. Kimmitt ◽  
Daniel J. Becker ◽  
Sara N. Diller ◽  
Nicole M. Gerlach ◽  
Kimberly A. Rosvall ◽  
...  

AbstractClimate change has driven changes in breeding phenology. Identifying the magnitude of phenological shifts and whether selection in response to climate change drives these shifts is key for determining species’ reproductive success and persistence in a changing world.We investigated reproductive timing in a primarily sedentary population of the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) over 32 years. We predicted that juncos would breed earlier in warmer springs in response to selection favouring earlier breeding.To test this prediction, we compared the annual median date for reproductive onset (i.e., egg one date) to monthly spring temperatures and examined evidence for selection favouring earlier breeding and for plasticity in timing.Egg one dates occurred earlier over time, with the timing of breeding advancing up to 24 days over the 32-year period. Breeding timing also strongly covaried with maximum April temperature. We found significant overall selection favouring earlier breeding (i.e., higher relative fitness with earlier egg one dates) that became stronger over time, but strength of selection was not predicted by temperature. Lastly, individual females exhibited plastic responses to temperature across years.Our findings provide further evidence that phenotypic plasticity plays a crucial role in driving phenological shifts in response to climate change. For multi-brooded bird populations, a warming climate might extend the breeding season and provide more opportunities to re-nest rather than drive earlier breeding in response to potential phenological mismatches. However, as plasticity will likely be insufficient for long-term survival in the face of climate change, further research in understanding the mechanisms of female reproductive timing will be essential for forecasting the effects of climate change on population persistence.


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