Linking current and future environment, physiology, behaviour, and life history in birds

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Environmental challenges are everywhere we look: storms, fluctuations in food, threats of predation, disease. And human activities are increasing the prevalence and intensity of many challenges. How do organisms cope with environmental challenges, integrating diverse information from prior, current, and predicted future environments to respond in a way that maximizes their reproductive success and survival? The broad objective of the proposed research program is to answer this question. By achieving this objective, we will be better able to predict how, and if, populations will persist in the face of natural and human-induced environmental change. Using studies of black-capped chickadees, a common, year-round resident of Canada, we propose to address our research objectives using experimental manipulations of the environment (food availability and cues of predation risk) as well as manipulations of levels of hormones thought to be important mediators of responses to the environment. We will then measure the effects of these experimental manipulations on several metrics of resource investment in traits that are important for survival and reproduction (e.g., immune function, body condition, parental behaviour). We will also scale up from the individual level to predict effects on population dynamics. This research program is unique in that it will investigate effects across seasons, years, and generations, providing a more complete and integrated understanding of how organisms respond to environmental challenges. The insight we gain from this research could benefit Canadians by identifying important life history stages, environmental factors, and hormonal mechanisms for influencing individuals and populations, which could inform more effective conservation of populations at risk in Canada and across the globe. Additionally, this research program will provide a wide array of hands-on opportunities for trainees, preparing them well for diverse career paths.