Ecology and Life History of Mountain Birds

山鸟生态与生活史

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-05468
• 负责人: Martin, Kathy
• 金额: $ 3.21万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=688778
• 关键词: Ecology; Life; History; Mountain; Birds

ECOLOGY AND LIFE HISTORY OF MOUNTAIN BIRDS - Birds, the most widespread terrestrial vertebrates, breed from 0 to >6000m elevation. My overall research goal is to determine how birds solve the problems of living and breeding successfully in extreme mountain habitats. My students and I will examine ecological mechanisms for persistence in alpine bird populations, within species life history variation across elevation gradients, seasonal movements, larger scale studies on avian biodiversity patterns, and conservation threats to temperate mountain ecosystems.******Animals experience more variation and stochasticity in abiotic parameters (temperature, wind, precipitation, snow cover) in the alpine than those breeding at lower elevations. However, to incubate eggs and rear young, alpine birds must provide the same buffered thermal environment as other birds. In North America, alpine songbirds have up to 60% less time to breed and produce 50-60% fewer offspring annually compared with birds breeding 1 km lower. Nestlings develop more slowly at higher elevation and spend more days in the nest, incurring ecological costs (prolonged exposure to nest predation, prolonged parental investment). Some high elevation (HE) songbirds have 15-20% higher adult survival than low elevation (LE) conspecifics, offsetting at least partially their fecundity disadvantage. However, little is known about the physiological and ecological processes that produce these patterns, or their generality outside North America.******Our working hypothesis is that selection operates on physiology, vital rates and behaviours to allow HE birds to shift to a slower life style where increased survival of adults and juveniles compensates for lower annual fecundity. We aim to identify the physiological and ecological mechanisms (e.g., oxidative stress, telomere length, plasticity in vital rates) that enable this life history shift. In 2016-2021, we will use observations of marked and radio-tagged birds, complemented by temperature and activity data loggers to investigate the behaviour, fecundity, nestling development, and longevity of songbirds and grouse along elevational gradients in North and South America.******Alpine habitats are experiencing globally significant increases in temperature, habitat upshifting and extreme weather, but it is difficult to predict what will happen to birds because there is little information about avian use of alpine areas. We found that in North America 35% of birds use mountain habitats for one or more life history stages, and that habitat availability and connectivity will decrease strongly with climate change. In 2016-2021, we will examine avian densities and community composition among alpine, subalpine and montane habitats in the Chilean Andes. Our research will improve predictions for climate change impacts on persistence of alpine vertebrates. I will train 8 PhD, 3 MSc, 3 PDF and ~50 BSc HQP. **

山地鸟类的生态和生活史-鸟类是分布最广泛的陆生脊椎动物，从海拔0到6000米繁殖。我的总体研究目标是确定鸟类如何解决在极端山区栖息地成功生存和繁殖的问题。我和我的学生将研究高山鸟类种群持续存在的生态机制，包括物种生活史随海拔梯度的变化、季节性运动、对鸟类生物多样性模式的更大规模研究以及对温带山区生态系统的保护威胁。*动物在高山地区经历的非生物参数(温度、风、降水、积雪)比在低海拔繁殖的动物更具多样性和随机性。然而，为了孵化蛋和哺育幼鸟，高山鸟类必须提供与其他鸟类相同的缓冲热环境。在北美，高山鸣鸟的繁殖时间比繁殖地低1公里的鸟类少60%，每年繁殖的后代少50%-60%。在海拔较高的地区，雏鸟发育较慢，在巢中停留的天数较多，从而招致生态成本(长时间接触巢穴捕食，长时间的父母投资)。一些高海拔鸣禽的成鸟存活率比低海拔鸣禽高15-20%，这至少部分抵消了它们繁殖力的劣势。然而，对产生这些模式的生理和生态过程或它们在北美以外的普遍性知之甚少。*我们的工作假设是，选择根据生理、生命率和行为进行，使HE鸟类转变为较慢的生活方式，在这种生活方式下，成鸟和幼鸟的存活率增加，以弥补每年较低的繁殖力。我们的目标是确定使这种生活史转变成为可能的生理和生态机制(例如，氧化应激、端粒长度、生命速率中的可塑性)。在2016-2021年，我们将使用对标记和无线电标记的鸟类的观察，并辅之以温度和活动数据记录器来调查北美和南美洲沿海拔梯度的鸣禽和松鸡的行为、繁殖力、雏鸟发育和寿命。*高山栖息地正在经历全球气温、栖息地上移和极端天气的显著上升，但很难预测鸟类会发生什么，因为关于鸟类在高山地区使用的信息很少。我们发现，在北美，35%的鸟类在一个或多个生活史阶段使用山地栖息地，栖息地的可用性和连通性将随着气候变化而急剧下降。2016-2021年，我们将研究智利安第斯山脉高山、亚高山和山地栖息地的鸟类密度和群落组成。我们的研究将改善气候变化对高山脊椎动物持久性影响的预测。我将培训8个博士，3个硕士，3个PDF和~50个BSC HQP。**