Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Variation in breeding phenology in response to climate change in two passerine species

Andreasson, Fredrik LU ; Nord, Andreas LU and Nilsson, Jan Åke LU (2023) In Oecologia 201(1). p.279-285
Abstract

Increasingly warmer springs have caused phenological shifts in both plants and animals. In birds, it is well established that mean laying date has advanced to match the earlier food peak. We know less about changes in the distribution of egg-laying dates within a population and the environmental variables that determine this variation. This could be an important component of how populations respond to climate change. We, therefore, used laying date and environmental data from 39 years (1983–2021) to determine how climate change affected laying date variation in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and marsh tits (Poecile palustris), two sympatric passerines with different life histories. Both species advanced mean laying date (0.19–0.24 days... (More)

Increasingly warmer springs have caused phenological shifts in both plants and animals. In birds, it is well established that mean laying date has advanced to match the earlier food peak. We know less about changes in the distribution of egg-laying dates within a population and the environmental variables that determine this variation. This could be an important component of how populations respond to climate change. We, therefore, used laying date and environmental data from 39 years (1983–2021) to determine how climate change affected laying date variation in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and marsh tits (Poecile palustris), two sympatric passerines with different life histories. Both species advanced mean laying date (0.19–0.24 days per year) and mean laying date showed a negative relationship with maximum spring temperature in both blue and marsh tits. In springs with no clear temperature increase during the critical time window (the time-window in which mean laying date was most sensitive to temperature) start of breeding in blue tits was distributed over a longer part of the season. However, there was no such pattern in marsh tits. Our findings suggest that temperature change, and not necessarily absolute temperature, can shape the variation in breeding phenology in a species-specific manner, possibly linked to variation in life-history strategies. This is an important consideration when predicting how climate change affects timing of breeding within a population.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Breeding phenology, Breeding season length, Climate change, Laying date, Life history
in
Oecologia
volume
201
issue
1
pages
279 - 285
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • pmid:36547743
  • scopus:85144691700
ISSN
0029-8549
DOI
10.1007/s00442-022-05306-5
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d7ab88cc-a36a-4357-ac10-049defa22201
date added to LUP
2023-01-23 12:39:54
date last changed
2024-06-25 19:32:29
@article{d7ab88cc-a36a-4357-ac10-049defa22201,
  abstract     = {{<p>Increasingly warmer springs have caused phenological shifts in both plants and animals. In birds, it is well established that mean laying date has advanced to match the earlier food peak. We know less about changes in the distribution of egg-laying dates within a population and the environmental variables that determine this variation. This could be an important component of how populations respond to climate change. We, therefore, used laying date and environmental data from 39 years (1983–2021) to determine how climate change affected laying date variation in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and marsh tits (Poecile palustris), two sympatric passerines with different life histories. Both species advanced mean laying date (0.19–0.24 days per year) and mean laying date showed a negative relationship with maximum spring temperature in both blue and marsh tits. In springs with no clear temperature increase during the critical time window (the time-window in which mean laying date was most sensitive to temperature) start of breeding in blue tits was distributed over a longer part of the season. However, there was no such pattern in marsh tits. Our findings suggest that temperature change, and not necessarily absolute temperature, can shape the variation in breeding phenology in a species-specific manner, possibly linked to variation in life-history strategies. This is an important consideration when predicting how climate change affects timing of breeding within a population.</p>}},
  author       = {{Andreasson, Fredrik and Nord, Andreas and Nilsson, Jan Åke}},
  issn         = {{0029-8549}},
  keywords     = {{Breeding phenology; Breeding season length; Climate change; Laying date; Life history}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{279--285}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Oecologia}},
  title        = {{Variation in breeding phenology in response to climate change in two passerine species}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-022-05306-5}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s00442-022-05306-5}},
  volume       = {{201}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}