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Responses of wildlife to climate change are typically quantified at the species level, but physiological evidence suggests significant intraspecific variation in thermal sensitivity given adaptation to local environments and plasticity required to adjust to seasonal environments. Spatial and temporal variation in thermal responses may carry important implications for climate change vulnerability; for instance, sensitivity to extreme weather may increase in specific regions or seasons. Here, we leverage high-resolution observational data from eBird to understand regional and seasonal variation in thermal sensitivity for 21 bird species. Across their ranges, most birds demonstrated regional and seasonal variation in both thermal peak and range, or the temperature and range of temperatures when observations peaked. Some birds demonstrated constant thermal peaks or ranges across their geographical distributions, while others varied according to local and current environmental conditions. Across species, birds typically demonstrated either geographical or seasonal adaptation to climate. Local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity are likely important but neglected aspects of organismal responses to climate change.
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Recent Advances in the Mechanistic Understanding of Avian Responses to Environmental Challenges
Synopsis Endothermic species have evolved strategies to maximize survival in highly variable or extreme environments. Birds are exemplary as they are among the most widely distributed endotherms on the planet, living in all manner of inhospitable environments. As an example, winter in temperate regions is characterized by cold temperatures and low food availability. Some birds have evolved to tolerate these conditions by seasonally increasing thermogenic capacity, increasing heterothermy, and displaying highly flexible phenotypes. Other species have evolved to avoid the inhospitable conditions of winter altogether by migrating—again requiring a unique set of physiological adaptations that allow success in this challenging endeavor. In these examples and in many others, the organismal requirements for success share similarities, but the underlying mechanisms, physiological requirements, and selection on those traits can differ significantly, as can their ecological and evolutionary impacts. In recent years, a suite of novel and established tools has become widely available and more accessible, allowing insights into long-standing questions. Genomic tools, new approaches to measure organismal performance, the use of citizen science data, easier access to metabolite assays or hormone detection, to name a few, have spurred rapid advances in our understanding of avian physiology. These new tools have been leveraged to investigate important questions regarding avian responses to our rapidly changing climate in an attempt to understand species resilience and limits.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2336743
- PAR ID:
- 10567663
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Integrative And Comparative Biology
- Volume:
- 64
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 1540-7063
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1757 to 1765
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icae147
