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

北美洲温带物种越来越多地受到气候变化的影响，最明显的是将它们的活动范围向北或向上移动。然而，一些物种与它们特定的栖息地联系得太紧密，无法改变活动范围。例如，红冠啄木鸟需要长叶松林来筑巢和全年生活。这些栖息地专家要么不得不适应它们生活的地方的变化，要么就会死亡，因为由于它们的长寿性质和周围的发展，树木不太可能足够快地转移它们的活动范围。研究人员拥有来自多个地点的长期红冠啄木鸟数据，可以用来确定这种模式物种如何应对气候变化，然后将这些数据应用于其他此类物种。这项研究考察了这些鸟类如何改变一系列行为来试图适应气候变化，以及这些行为如何影响它们的整体健康。虽然这类研究是在欧洲进行的，但在美国却很少见，尽管两大洲的当地气候趋势存在重要差异。只出现在美国东南部的长叶松林具有异常高的生物多样性，濒危的红冠啄木鸟是代表整个生态系统的保护伞物种。该物种的恢复取得了巨大成功，恢复努力与其他土地用途的结合也是如此。这项研究还将为研究生和本科生提供培训，其中一些人来自科学界代表性较低的群体，以及关于濒危生态系统的宣传。

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.