1
|
Nilsson ALK, Skaugen T, Reitan T, L'Abée-Lund JH, Gamelon M, Jerstad K, Røstad OW, Slagsvold T, Stenseth NC, Vøllestad LA, Walseng B. Hydrology influences breeding time in the white-throated dipper. BMC Ecol 2020; 20:70. [PMID: 33334346 PMCID: PMC7745505 DOI: 10.1186/s12898-020-00338-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Earlier breeding is one of the strongest responses to global change in birds and is a key factor determining reproductive success. In most studies of climate effects, the focus has been on large-scale environmental indices or temperature averaged over large geographical areas, neglecting that animals are affected by the local conditions in their home ranges. In riverine ecosystems, climate change is altering the flow regime, in addition to changes resulting from the increasing demand for renewable and clean hydropower. Together with increasing temperatures, this can lead to shifts in the time window available for successful breeding of birds associated with the riverine habitat. Here, we investigated specifically how the environmental conditions at the territory level influence timing of breeding in a passerine bird with an aquatic lifestyle, the white-throated dipper Cinclus cinclus. We relate daily river discharge and other important hydrological parameters, to a long-term dataset of breeding phenology (1978-2015) in a natural river system. RESULTS Dippers bred earlier when winter river discharge and groundwater levels in the weeks prior to breeding were high, and when there was little snow in the catchment area. Breeding was also earlier at lower altitudes, although the effect dramatically declined over the period. This suggests that territories at higher altitudes had more open water in winter later in the study period, which permitted early breeding also here. Unexpectedly, the largest effect inducing earlier breeding time was territory river discharge during the winter months and not immediately prior to breeding. The territory river discharge also increased during the study period. CONCLUSIONS The observed earlier breeding can thus be interpreted as a response to climate change. Measuring environmental variation at the scale of the territory thus provides detailed information about the interactions between organisms and the abiotic environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna L K Nilsson
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P. O. Box 1066, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway.
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Thormøhlens Gate 55, 5006, Bergen, Norway.
| | - Thomas Skaugen
- Norwegian Water Resource and Energy Directorate, P. O. Box 5091, Majorstua, 0301, Oslo, Norway
| | - Trond Reitan
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P. O. Box 1066, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway
- Norwegian Water Resource and Energy Directorate, P. O. Box 5091, Majorstua, 0301, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jan Henning L'Abée-Lund
- Norwegian Water Resource and Energy Directorate, P. O. Box 5091, Majorstua, 0301, Oslo, Norway
| | - Marlène Gamelon
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Kurt Jerstad
- Jerstad Viltforvaltning, Aurebekksveien 61, 4516, Mandal, Norway
| | - Ole Wiggo Røstad
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, NMBU, 1432, Ås, Norway
| | - Tore Slagsvold
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P. O. Box 1066, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway
| | - Nils C Stenseth
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P. O. Box 1066, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway
| | - L Asbjørn Vøllestad
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P. O. Box 1066, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway
| | - Bjørn Walseng
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Gaustadallén 21, 0349, Oslo, Norway
| |
Collapse
|