%0 Journal Article %A Chmura, H. E. %A Krause, J. S. %A Perez, J. H. %A Asmus, A. %A Sweet, S. K. %A Hunt, K. E. %A Meddle, S. L. %A McElreath, Richard %A Boelman, N. T. %A Gough, L. %A Wingfield, J. C. %+ Department of Human Behavior Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Max Planck Society %T Late-season snowfall is associated with decreased offspring survival in two migratory arctic-breeding songbird species : %G eng %U https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0002-5C37-A %R 10.1111/jav.01712 %7 2018-06-15 %D 2018 %* Review method: peer-reviewed %X While the effect of weather on reproduction has been studied for many years in avian
taxa, the rapid pace of climate change in arctic regions has added urgency to this
question by changing the weather conditions species experience during breeding. Given
this, it is important to understand how factors such as temperature, rain, snowfall, and
wind affect reproduction both directly and indirectly (e.g. through their effects on food
availability). In this study, we ask how weather factors and food availability influence
daily survival rates of clutches in two arctic-breeding migratory songbirds: the Lapland
longspur
Calcarius lapponicus
, a circumpolar breeder, and Gambel’s white-crowned
sparrow
Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii
, which breeds in shrubby habitats across
tundra, boreal and continental climates. To do this, we monitored clutch survival
in these two species from egg-lay through fledge at field sites located near Toolik
Field Station (North Slope, Alaska) across 5 yr (2012–2016). Our results indicate
that snowfall and cold temperatures decreased offspring survival rates in both species;
although Lapland longspurs were more susceptible to snowfall. Food availability,
quantified by pitfall sampling and sweep-net sampling methods, had minimal effects
on offspring survival. Some climate models predict increased precipitation for the
Arctic with global warming, and in the Toolik region, total snow accumulation may be
increasing. Placed in this context, our results suggest that changes in snow storms with
climate change could have substantial consequences for reproduction in migratory
songbirds breeding in the North American Arctic. %K climate change; Arctic; reproduction %J Journal of Avian Biology %O J. Avian Biol. %V 49 %N 9 %] e01712 %I Munksgaard %C Copenhagen, Denmark %@ 0908-8857