Understanding how birds respond to extreme weather can inform
conservation efforts

Date:
August 21, 2020
Source:
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Summary:
How do different bird species respond to extreme weather events
that occur for different amounts of time, ranging from weekly
events like heat waves to seasonal events like drought? And how
do traits unique to different species -- for example, how far they
migrate or how commonly they occur -- predict their vulnerability
to extreme weather?


FULL STORY ========================================================================== [Yellow-bellied sapsucker | Credit: (c) karel / stock.adobe.com]
Yellow-bellied sapsucker (stock image).

Credit: (c) karel / stock.adobe.com [Yellow-bellied sapsucker | Credit:
(c) karel / stock.adobe.com] Yellow-bellied sapsucker (stock image).

Credit: (c) karel / stock.adobe.com Close When it comes to climate change, University of Wisconsin-Madison forest and wildlife ecology Professor Ben Zuckerberg says birds are the proverbial canary in the coal mine. They
are both responsive and sensitive to changes in the environment, including
the extreme weather events associated with a warming planet.


========================================================================== However, not all birds are the same, and not all weather events have the
same impact. How do different bird species respond to extreme weather
events that occur for different amounts of time, ranging from weekly
events like heat waves to seasonal events like drought? And how do traits unique to different species -- for example, how far they migrate or how commonly they occur -- predict their vulnerability to extreme weather?
To answer these questions, ecologists would traditionally observe a small number of bird species at a few sites over a few years, and then draw
general conclusions. However, Zuckerberg and UW-Madison postdoctoral
researcher Jeremy Cohen, along with Daniel Fink of the Cornell Lab
of Ornithology, had more ambitious goals: they looked at 109 species
across eastern North America over a 15-year period, and integrated this information with fine-scale satellite temperature and precipitation data.

In a study recently published in the journal Global Change Biology, the researchers show that not all birds are equally vulnerable to the effects
of extreme weather resulting from climate change. As the planet warms,
some species will adapt while others may struggle without conservation measures. The results of this study could help conservationists target
their efforts to vulnerable species, as well as locations where extreme
weather events are predicted.

The researchers used data from eBird, a global citizen-science initiative
where bird enthusiasts submit checklists of bird sightings online. These checklists include which species were seen, how many, the location and
time, and other observations.

The researchers compiled more than 830,000 of these checklists and
integrated each one with weather data summarized over the week, month
and three months before the observation was recorded. They relied on
advanced computing to manage this large amount of information.



==========================================================================
"The study we did would not have been remotely possible without data
science," says Cohen. The emerging field of data science involves the
study, development or application of methods that reveal new insights
from data.

Zuckerberg points out that the combination of citizen science and
data science makes research possible at a scale that was previously unimaginable for ecologists. However, citizen science has its
limitations. Researchers have less control over the scientific process,
and data quality can vary.

"Someone can go out for five minutes or two hours and submit eBird
data. They can submit a checklist for 10 species or 40 species," says Zuckerberg. "We've adopted data science methods for working with large, unstructured data sets." After controlling for this noisy data, the researchers observed that some species are less sensitive to extreme
weather, and populations are not equally exposed to its effects because
some geographic areas are warming faster than others.

When it comes to heat waves, Cohen notes, "long-distance migrants
were not super affected by really hot periods. They winter in tropical environments and should be tolerant of heat." However, resident birds
and short-distance migrants such as robins and red- winged blackbirds
responded negatively to heat waves, with their numbers sometimes declining
10% to 30% over several weeks.



==========================================================================
As for drought, commonly occurring species like crows were more resilient
than rare birds, particularly if the drought was severe and long-lasting.

"Rarer species have more specialized habitat and food requirements --
this is a general rule in ecology," says Cohen. "More common species
usually have more options. If habitat quality declines due to drought,
a generalist can go somewhere else." Cohen says this is the first
large-scale study, spanning half a continent, to look at how birds respond immediately after weather events. Because of the scope of the project, conservationists can better understand how many different bird species
are likely to be affected by climate change, and mitigate some of the
negative effects.

"If birds are truly winged sentinels of climate change, the greater
likelihood of drought, flooding and extreme temperature conditions like
heat waves will have significant consequences," says Zuckerberg. "We
need to think about how we help species adapt to climate extremes."
The study was funded in part by the National Science Foundation (grants
CCF- 1522054, CNS-1059284 and DBI-1356308) and the UW-Madison Data
Science Initiative.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_Wisconsin-Madison. Original written by Cris Carusi. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


==========================================================================


Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200821120043.htm

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