scholarly journals Can Topographic Variation in Climate Buffer against Climate Change-Induced Population Declines in Northern Forest Birds?

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raimo Virkkala ◽  
Juha Aalto ◽  
Risto K. Heikkinen ◽  
Ari Rajasärkkä ◽  
Saija Kuusela ◽  
...  

Increased attention is being paid to the ecological drivers and conservation measures which could mitigate climate change-induced pressures for species survival, potentially helping populations to remain in their present-day locations longer. One important buffering mechanism against climate change may be provided by the heterogeneity in topography and consequent local climate conditions. However, the buffering capacity of this topoclimate has so far been insufficiently studied based on empirical survey data across multiple sites and species. Here, we studied whether the fine-grained air temperature variation of protected areas (PAs) affects the population changes of declining northern forest bird species. Importantly to our study, in PAs harmful land use, such as logging, is not allowed, enabling the detection of the effects of temperature buffering, even at relatively moderate levels of topographic variation. Our survey data from 129 PAs located in the boreal zone in Finland show that the density of northern forest species was higher in topographically heterogeneous PAs than in topographically more homogeneous PAs. Moreover, local temperature variation had a significant effect on the density change of northern forest birds from 1981–1999 to 2000–2017, indicating that change in bird density was generally smaller in PAs with higher topographic variation. Thus, we found a clear buffering effect stemming from the local temperature variation of PAs in the population trends of northern forest birds.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hankyu Kim ◽  
Yongwon Mo ◽  
Chang-Yong Choi ◽  
Brenda C. McComb ◽  
Matthew G. Betts

Population declines in terrestrial bird species have been reported across temperate regions in the world and are attributed to habitat loss, climate change, or other direct mortality sources. North American and European studies indicate that long-distance migrants, common species, and species associated with grasslands and agricultural lands are declining at the greatest rates. However, data from East Asia on avian population trends and associated drivers are extremely sparse. We modeled changes in occupancy of 52 common breeding landbird species in South Korea between 1997–2005 and 2013–2019. Thirty-eight percent of the species showed evidence of declines, and seven of these were declining severely (46–95%). Occupancy of Black-capped Kingfisher (Halcyon pileata) populations have dropped the most precipitously over the study period. Among declining species, long-distance migrants (9/20) and common species (14/20) showed more rapid declines than other groups. Declines of five species were associated with climate change, and two species appeared to be affected by land-cover change. However, causes of change in occupancy of other species (46/52) remains cryptic. Based on our results, we suggest an immediate re-evaluation of species’ conservation status and legal protection levels for seven severely declining species in South Korea, and a dedicated survey design and analysis effort for the continued monitoring landbird populations. Because many species exhibiting declines migrate from beyond national boundaries, international collaborations will be required to better quantify population trends across the full annual cycle, and to understand mechanisms for these declines.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
Keyword(s):  

Biologia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Grzędzicka ◽  
Katarzyna Kowalik ◽  
Barbara Bacler-Żbikowska

AbstractInvasive plants are non-native, but in most cases naturalised, species that have successfully spread outside of their native range. Aliens invaded all habitats, are competing with native plants, thus, after the direct destruction of habitats, invasions are recognised as the second largest danger for biodiversity. Northern Red Oak is one of the most common invasive tree species dispersed primarily by birds, but new studies have shown that it is also spread continuously in a forest stand. The main aim of our research was to check how strong is the invasion of Northern Red Oak in Silesia Park, where it was introduced together with other alien plant species, and how this invasion interacts with bird diversity. Silesia Park was created 65 years ago on the surface largely ravaged by coal industry. Because many studies indicate birds as vectors of alien plants invasion, we examined the bird fauna in a described area, looking for species that can contribute to spreading oaks. Research showed the diversity of 50 bird species. Surface with a presence of Northern Red Oak was characterised by greater participation of alien plant species than the patch of natural forest, which existed there long before the park creation. The greatest bird diversity was found in the most natural part of Silesia Park, and the lowest in the area of invasion, especially in the case of species classified as “forest birds”. The presence of alien plants increased number of “non-forest” birds, mostly synanthropic species. We also found that Northern Red Oak spreads by spontaneous seed dispersal.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 235-242
Author(s):  
Oleg Askeyev ◽  
Arthur Askeyev ◽  
Igor Askeyev ◽  
Tim Sparks

1992 ◽  
Vol 335 (1275) ◽  
pp. 443-457 ◽  

In lowland dipterocarp forest in Sabah, Malaysia, most primary forest bird species were present in areas selectively logged eight years previously. However, certain taxa, notably flycatchers, woodpeckers, trogons and wren-babblers, became comparatively rare. In contrast, nectarivorous and opportunistic frugivorous species were significantly more abundant. Few species appeared to change foraging height, but netting rates suggest that the activity of some species had increased, or that some birds ranged over larger areas after logging. Although there is still much to be learned about the survival of birds in logged forest, large areas of this habitat are important for bird conservation. However, the susceptibility of logged forest to fire, and our present incomplete understanding of bird behaviour and population dynamics in logged forests mean that they should not be considered by conservationists as alternatives to reserves of primary forest.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
PERRI EASON ◽  
BASEM RABIA ◽  
OMAR ATTUM

SummaryDuring autumn migration, people set trammel nets along most of the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, with migrating Common Quail Coturnix coturnix as their primary target. These nets capture large numbers of quail, but also illegally capture other birds, which are then killed. We present the results of surveys from 2008 to 2012 along these lines of nets on the coast of North Sinai, Egypt. In desert scrub, which covers most of the Sinai coast, the mean number of quail killed reached a high of 357.1 per km per day in 2012, with a grand mean over the study period of 191.9 per km per day. Trammel nets also captured 54 other bird species in 28 families. Species captured at the highest rates in desert scrub included Corncrake Crex crex, Isabelline Wheatear Oenanthe isabellina and Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla. Based on mean rates of capture from 2008 to 2012 in desert scrub and sand bar habitats, we estimate 2.0 million quail and 0.5 million birds of other species are killed annually in North Sinai during the 45 days of peak migration. In 2012, however, after the use of MP3 players to attract quail became widespread, we estimate that 3.3 million quail and 0.5 million other birds were captured. Hunters near the coast have recently begun covering shrubs and trees with mist nets to catch passerines. From 2010 to 2012, mist nets along our survey routes caught birds of 17 species in three families, with seven of these species caught only in this type of net. Hunting is likely to be a contributing factor to population declines for some species that migrate across Egypt and further studies of migratory bird hunting along the southern Mediterranean shore are badly needed.


2011 ◽  
pp. 29-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Blaustein ◽  
Catherine Searle ◽  
Betsy Bancroft ◽  
Joshua Lawler

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernardo Bastien-Olvera ◽  
Frances Moore

Abstract It is well established that temperature variability affects a range of outcomes relevant to human welfare, including health (Gasparrini et al., 2017) emotion and mood (Baylis et al., 2018), and productivity across a number of economic sectors (Carleton & Hsiang, 2016; Dell et al., 2014). However, a critical and still unresolved empirical question is whether temperature variation has a long-lasting effect on economic productivity and, therefore, whether damages compound over time in response to long-lived changes in temperature expected with climate change. Several studies have identified a relationship between temperature and GDP (Burke et al., 2015; Dell et al., 2012; Kalkuhl & Wenz, 2020), but empirical evidence as to the persistence of these effects is still weak. This paper presents a novel approach to isolate the persistent component of temperature effects on output using lower frequency temperature variation. Using three different datasets we find that longer temperature anomalies affect GDP growth as much or more than short-lived anomalies, implying persistent and therefore cumulative effects of climate change on economic output. The population-weighted global effect of -0.8 pp per degree is sufficient to reduce per-capita income in 2100 by 44% under RCP6, approximately an order of magnitude larger than damages currently represented in cost-benefit integrated assessment models (Diaz & Moore, 2017).


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Roy Garrett ◽  
Fanie Pelletier ◽  
Dany Garant ◽  
Marc Bélisle

Climate change predicts the increased frequency, duration, and intensity of inclement weather periods, such as unseasonably low temperatures and prolonged precipitation. Many migratory species have advanced the phenology of important life history stages, and as a result are likely exposed to these periods of inclement spring weather more often, thus risking reduced fitness and population growth. For declining avian species, including aerial insectivores, anthropogenic landscape changes such as agricultural intensification are another driver of population declines. These landscape changes may affect the foraging ability of food provisioning parents, as well as reduce the probability a nestling will survive periods of inclement weather, through for example pesticide exposure impairing thermoregulation and punctual anorexia. Breeding in agro-intensive landscapes may thus exacerbate the negative effects of inclement weather under climate change. We used daily temperatures related to significant reductions of insect prey availability (cold snaps), combined with measures of precipitation, and assessed their impact on Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) fledging success, a declining aerial insectivore breeding across a gradient of agricultural intensification. Fledging success decreased with the number of cold snap days experienced by a brood, and this relationship was worsened during periods of prolonged precipitation. We further found the overall negative effects of experiencing periods of inclement weather are exacerbated in more agro-intensive landscapes. Our results indicate that two of the primary hypothesized drivers of many avian population declines may interact to further increase the rate of declines in certain landscape contexts.


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