Why do avian responses to changes in Arctic green-up vary?

Global climate change has altered the timing of seasonal events for a diverse range of biota. Within and among species, however, phenological responses to climate change vary substantially. To better understand factors driving this variability in organismal responses, we evaluated changes in timing of nesting of eight Arctic-breeding shorebird species at 18 sites over a 23-year period. We used the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index as a proxy to determine the start of spring growing season (SOS) and quantified inter and intraspecific relationships between SOS and nest initiation dates as a measure of phenological responsiveness. We then tested whether (i) interspecific patterns in the relationship between SOS and nest initiation dates covaried with four species traits (migration distance, female body mass, expected female reproductive effort, seasonal timing of breeding), and (ii) intraspecific patterns showed spatial variation across the Arctic. Although no species completely tracked annual variation in SOS, phenological responses were strongest for Western Sandpipers, Pectoral Sandpipers, and Red Phalaropes. Migration distance was the strongest additional predictor of…

Publisher

Environment and Climate Change Canada

Resources

2

Catalogue metadata updated

2024-05-24