Wind and rain are the primary climate factors driving changing phenology of an aerial insectivore.

ABSTRACT: While the ecological effects of climate change have been widely observed, most efforts to document these impacts in terrestrial systems have concentrated on the impacts of temperature. We used tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nest observations from two widely separated sites in central Alaska to examine the aspects of climate affecting breeding phenology at the northern extent of this species' range. We found that two measures of breeding phenology, annual lay and hatch dates, are more strongly predicted by windiness and precipitation than by temperature. At our longest-monitored site, breeding phenology has advanced at nearly twice the rate seen in more southern populations, and these changes correspond to long-term declines in windiness. Overall, adverse spring climate condition

SUBMITTER: Irons RD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5413930 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature