Resumen
Climate change can drive population declines for many species, often through changes to their food supply. These changes can involve a mis-timing between periods of high food demand and peak food availability, typically from advances in breeding phenology, and/or an overall reduction in food availability. Aerial insectivores, birds that feed on insects caught in flight, are experiencing steep population declines possibly because of shifts in the timing and/or abundance of aerial insects. We determined whether changes in breeding performance over time could account for declines in Bank Riparia riparia, Barn Hirundo rustica, Cliff Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, and Tree Tachycineta bicolor Swallows, and if so, whether changes were related to shifts in breeding phenology and/or climate change. We compared breeding performance and phenology in Maritime Canada before (1962–1972) and after (2006–2016) the onset of steep population declines during the mid-1980s, to determine whether breeding performance was reduced or phenology was advanced. Then, we modeled relationships between temperature, precipitation, breeding phenology, and performance for Barn and Tree Swallows, the only species with sufficient data, from 1960 to 2016, to determine whether phenology and performance were related to climatic conditions. Between the two time periods, we found significantly lower performance in Bank Swallows, higher performance in Barn and Tree Swallows, and unchanged performance in Cliff Swallows. We also found clutch initiation dates advanced by 8–10 d for all species except Bank Swallows. On the breeding grounds, warmer winter temperatures for Tree Swallows and less winter precipitation for Barn and Tree Swallows in a given year were associated with earlier breeding, and for Tree Swallows, changes in nestling survival. Otherwise, Barn and Tree Swallow breeding performance was unaffected by winter temperature and precipitation. Our results suggest that in this region poorer breeding performance could contribute to population declines for Bank Swallows but not for the other three species.
| Idioma original | English |
|---|---|
| Número de artículo | e02166 |
| Publicación | Ecosphere |
| Volumen | 9 |
| N.º | 4 |
| DOI | |
| Estado | Published - abr. 2018 |
Nota bibliográfica
Funding Information:Many thanks to the field staff and volunteers involved in collecting and compiling data on swallow breeding phenology and performance (in alphabetical order): E. Beaton, T. Bryant, L. Burke, M, Courtenay, B. Crosby, D. Farrar, S. Lau, A. MacDonald, H. Mann, A. McKeen, D. Nickerson, N. Sobhani, and staff from Environment and Climate Change Canada. In addition, we would like to thank all the volunteers who contributed to the Maritime Nest Records Scheme. We also thank all the private landowners, Acadia University, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Parks Canada for permitting access to their properties for field research. Special thanks to P. Thomas and B. Whittam at Environment and Climate Change Canada for supporting this work, A. Smith at Environment and Climate Change Canada for helpful discussions on BBS trends, and to A. Horn, A. Smith, J. Sauer, and two anonymous reviewers for providing helpful comments on earlier drafts. Funding was provided by (in alphabetical order) the Canadian Wildlife Federation, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, New Brunswick Wildlife Trust Fund, Nova Scotia Habitat Conservation Fund, and Wildlife Preservation Canada. This represents Bowdoin Scientific Station contribution no. 2589.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Authors.
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Ecology
ODS de las Naciones Unidas
Este resultado contribuye a los siguientes Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible
