Climate fluctuations and differential survival of bridled and non‐bridled Common Guillemots<i>Uria aalge</i>

Reiertsen, Tone Kristin; Erikstad, Kjell Einar; Barrett, Robert T.; Sandvik, Hanno; Yoccoz, Nigel G.

doi:10.1890/es12-00031r

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Similar temporal changes in morph ratios according to environmental factors were observed in other polymorphic species (e.g. in the Tawny owl Strix aluco Karell, Ahola, Karstinen, Valkama, & Brommer, ; or in the Common murre Uria aalge Reiertsen, Erikstad, Barrett, Sandvik, & Yoccoz, ). These results suggest that, at least in some species, colour polymorphism embodies the existence of different evolutionary responses to different environmental conditions within populations.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Colour polymorphism is associated with lower extinction risk in birds

Ducatez

Giraudeau

Thébaud

et al. 2017

Global Change Biology

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Colour polymorphisms have played a major role in enhancing current understanding of how selection and demography can impact phenotypes. Because different morphs often display alternative strategies and exploit alternative ecological niches, colour polymorphism can be expected to promote adaptability to environmental changes. However, whether and how it could influence populations' and species' response to global changes remains debated. To address this question, we built an up-to-date and complete database on avian colour polymorphism based on the examination of available data from all 10,394 extant bird species. We distinguished between true polymorphism (where different genetically determined morphs co-occur in sympatry within the same population) and geographic variation (parapatric or allopatric colour variation), because these two patterns of variation are expected to have different consequences on populations' persistence. Using the IUCN red list, we then showed that polymorphic bird species are at lesser risk of extinction than nonpolymorphic ones, after controlling for a range of factors such as geographic range size, habitat breadth, life history, and phylogeny. This appears consistent with the idea that high genetic diversity and/or the existence of alternative strategies in polymorphic species promotes the ability to adaptively respond to changing environmental conditions. In contrast, polymorphic species were not less vulnerable than nonpolymorphic ones to specific drivers of extinction such as habitat alteration, direct exploitation, climate change, and invasive species. Thus, our results suggest that colour polymorphism acts as a buffer against environmental changes, although further studies are now needed to understand the underlying mechanisms. Developing accurate quantitative indices of sensitivity to specific threats is likely a key step towards a better understanding of species response to environmental changes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Colour polymorphism is associated with lower extinction risk in birds

Ducatez

Giraudeau

Thébaud

et al. 2017

Global Change Biology

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“…The un-lagged effect is related to the adult return rate (resighting rate) to the colony each year. As the adult survival rate at Hornøya is high and near constant [40] , the resighting rate probably reflects the part of the population that defers breeding in any year such that the presence of young cod near Hornøya might be an important determinant of the adults’ decision to breed or not to breed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate-Driven Ichthyoplankton Drift Model Predicts Growth of Top Predator Young

et al. 2013

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Climate variability influences seabird population dynamics in several ways including access to prey near colonies during the critical chick-rearing period. This study addresses breeding success in a Barents Sea colony of common guillemots Uria aalge where trophic conditions vary according to changes in the northward transport of warm Atlantic Water. A drift model was used to simulate interannual variations in transport of cod Gadus morhua larvae along the Norwegian coast towards their nursery grounds in the Barents Sea. The results showed that the arrival of cod larvae from southern spawning grounds had a major effect on the size of common guillemot chicks at fledging. Furthermore, the fraction of larvae from the south was positively correlated to the inflow of Atlantic Water into the Barents Sea thus clearly demonstrating the mechanisms by which climate-driven bottom-up processes influence interannual variations in reproductive success in a marine top predator.

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“…Even for the same species in different studies, results are not always similar (see Table 1), suggesting differences among populations (Tavecchia et al, 2008) or raising doubts about the suitability of selected climate indexes, the temporal window analyzed or the power of each data set to detect associations between climate and the seabird parameter of interest, especially when these associations are not statistically significant (Jenouvrier, 2013). For instance, some studies found that the influence of increased SST on adult survival was positive or negative depending on the study colony or the genetic morph (Harris et al, 2005;Reiertsen et al, 2012), and these are good examples of how little we still know about the mechanisms linking climate and vital rates (Forero et al, 2001). Finally, non-linear relationships between demographic parameters and climate indices can also result in differences between studies on the same species when different temporal windows are considered.…”

Section: Pitfalls and Gaps Of The Climate-seabird Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seabirds and climate: knowledge, pitfalls, and opportunities

Oró

2014

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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As a physical driver of ecosystem functioning, it is not surprising that climate influences seabird demography and population dynamics, generally by affecting food availability. However, if we zoom in ecologically, seabirds are in fact very heterogeneous, ranging in size from very small to very large species (with a difference of more than two orders of magnitude in body weight), from planktivorous forms to predators of large fish and squid, from benthic to pelagic, from species with small foraging ranges to species feeding throughout the whole circumpolar region, and from resident species (at a spatial mesoscale) to trans-equatorial migrating seabirds that travel large distances across several oceanographic systems. Due to this high variability and the difficulty in obtaining direct reliable estimates of long-term food availability, global climatic indices have been extensively used in studying seabird demography and population dynamics. However, the use made by researchers of these indices has certain conceptual and methodological pitfalls, which I shall address in this review. Other factors, such as anthropogenic impacts (including oil-spills and interaction with fisheries), may further alter or confound the association between climate and seabird demography. These pitfalls and environmental noise, together with the inability to incorporate resilience, may bias our predictions regarding the future impact of global warming on seabirds, many of which have vulnerable populations.Keywords: predictive models, resilience, methodological bias, evolution, global change, climate, seabirds HISTORICAL BACKGROUNDA search performed in June 2014 using the words "climate & seabird" in the ISI Web of Science resulted in 946 items. Even though some of those items dealt with other marine organisms or were focused on some related issues (such as oceanographic processes), that result represents a large number of scientific contributions on the topic of how climate may influence seabird ecology. The influence of climate on marine organisms has been extensively studied in seabirds because, compared to most other species (except some marine mammals such as seals and sealions), their demography and population dynamics can be easily monitored in breeding colonies.Up to the 90s, the changes in demographic parameters and population size in seabirds were explored mostly in relation to intrinsic features of the colonies such as their size or the presence of predators (Hunt et al., 1986). The effects of climate (mostly in the form of oceanographic indices) on seabird ecology were seldom analyzed in those years (Myres, 1979), and research efforts were addressed mostly to determining the distribution of seabirds at sea (Abrams, 1985). The influence of oceanographic features was outlined especially when extreme and anomalous events occurred (such as cyclones or El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) years (e.g., Blomqvist and Peterz, 1984;Graybill and Hodder, 1985), whereas some pioneering studies dealt with the relationship between climatic ev...

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Climate fluctuations and differential survival of bridled and non‐bridled Common GuillemotsUria aalge

Cited by 14 publications

References 63 publications

Colour polymorphism is associated with lower extinction risk in birds

Colour polymorphism is associated with lower extinction risk in birds

Climate-Driven Ichthyoplankton Drift Model Predicts Growth of Top Predator Young

Seabirds and climate: knowledge, pitfalls, and opportunities

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