DISSERTATION RESEARCH: How life history traits contribute to lifetime fitness and affect responses to environmental change in an endangered vertebrate

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North American temperate species are increasingly impacted by climate change, most notably by shifting their ranges north or upslope. However, some species are too closely tied to their particular habitat and cannot shift range. For example, Red-cockaded Woodpeckers require longleaf pine forests for nesting as well as year-round living. Such habitat specialists will either have to adapt to change in the place where they live, or perish, because trees are unlikely to shift their range fast enough due to their long-lived nature and surrounding development. Researchers have long-term Red-cockaded Woodpecker data from multiple sites that can be used to determine how this model species is responding to climate change, and which can then be applied to other such species. This study examines how these birds are altering a suite of behaviors to attempt to adapt to climate change, and how these behaviors are impacting their overall fitness. While such studies are being conducted in Europe, they are rare in the United States despite important differences between the two continents local climate trends. Longleaf pine forests, which only occur in the southeastern U.S., have unusually high biodiversity and endangered Red-cockaded Woodpeckers serve as an umbrella species representing the entire ecosystem. Recovery of this species has been greatly successful, as has been the integration of recovery efforts with other land uses. This research will also provide training for a graduate student and undergraduates, some from underrepresented groups in science, as well as outreach about an endangered ecosystem.