Food resource uncertainty shapes the fitness consequences of early spring onset in capital and income breeding migratory birds.

ABSTRACT: Due to climate change, the timing of spring arrival and nesting onset in many migratory bird species have advanced. Earlier spring onsets prolong the available breeding period but can also deteriorate local conditions, leading to increased temporal variation in resource availability. This interaction between phenological shifts in nesting onset and short-term temporal variation in food gain has unknown consequences for fitness of migratory bird species. We model two contrasting breeding strategies to investigate the fitness consequences of stochastically fluctuating food gain and storing of energetic reserves for reproduction. The model was inspired by the biology of common eiders (Somateria mollissima), which store extensive reserves prior to egg laying and incubation (capital bree

SUBMITTER: Ejsmond A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9771707 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature