Black-throated blue warblers (Setophaga caerulescens) exhibit diet flexibility and track seasonal changes in insect availability.

ABSTRACT: Changes in leaf phenology from warming spring and autumn temperatures have lengthened the temperate zone growing "green" season and breeding window for migratory birds in North America. However, the fitness benefits of an extended breeding season will depend, in part, on whether species have sufficient dietary flexibility to accommodate seasonal changes in prey availability. We used fecal DNA metabarcoding to test the hypothesis that seasonal changes in the diets of the insectivorous, migratory black-throated blue warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) track changes in the availability of arthropod prey at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA. We examined changes across the breeding season and along an elevation gradient encompassing a 2-week difference in green seaso

SUBMITTER: Kaiser SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11413564 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature