Climate-Altered Wetlands Challenge Waterbird Use and Migratory Connectivity in Arid Landscapes.

ABSTRACT: Wetlands in arid landscapes provide critical habitat for millions of migratory waterbirds across the world and throughout their annual cycle. The scope and scale of understanding avian use of these wetlands in conjunction with changes in climate are daunting yet critical to address lest we lose continent-wide migratory pathways. Here, we assess changes in waterbird use of North America's Pacific Flyway in the Great Basin by examining water availability and climate trends over the past 100 years. We found recent (1980-2015) climate warming has significantly reduced the amount and shifted seasonality of water flowing into wetlands. Further, we found remarkable changes in waterbird species composition over time. We propose that a reduced hydroperiod and lower water quality from reduction in w

SUBMITTER: Haig SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6420639 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature