Contrasting seasonal patterns of relative temperature and thermal heterogeneity and their influence on breeding and winter bird richness patterns across the conterminous United States

Abstract

Environmental heterogeneity enhances species richness by creating niches and providing refugia. Spatial variation in climate has a particularly strong positive correlation with richness, but is often indirectly inferred from proxy variables, such as elevation and related topographic heterogeneity indices, or derived from interpolated coarse‐grain weather station data. Our aim was to develop new remotely sensed metrics of relative temperature and thermal heterogeneity, compare them with proxy measures, and evaluate their performance in predicting species richness patterns. We analyzed Landsat 8's Thermal Infrared Sensor data, calculated two thermal metrics during summer and winter, and compared their seasonal spatial patterns with those of elevation and topographic heterogeneity. We fit generalized least squares models to evaluate each variable's effect in predicting seasonal bird richness using data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Generally speaking, neither elevation nor topographic heterogeneity were good proxies for temperature or thermal heterogeneity, respectively. Relative temperature had a non‐linear relationship with elevation that was negatively quadratic in summer, but slightly positively quadratic in winter. Topographic heterogeneity had a stronger positive relationship with thermal heterogeneity in winter than in summer. The magnitude and direction of elevation–temperature and topographic heterogeneity–thermal heterogeneity relationships in each season also varied substantially across ecoregions. Remotely sensed metrics of relative temperature and thermal heterogeneity improved the predictive performance of species richness models, and both thermal variables had significant effects on bird richness that were independent of elevation and topographic heterogeneity. Thermal heterogeneity was positively related to total breeding bird richness, migrant breeding bird richness and resident bird richness, whereas topographic heterogeneity was negatively related to total breeding richness and unrelated to migrant or resident bird richness. Because thermal and topographic heterogeneity had contrasting seasonal patterns and effects on richness, they must be carefully contextualized when guiding conservation priorities.

The influencing factors for distribution patterns of resident and migrant bird species richness along elevational gradients

“…Regions with higher vegetation coverage could offer a mixture of resources ( e.g ., sites for nesting and roosting and food resources) for mountain birds. In addition, habitats in these areas would likely provide considerable benefits in terms of biodiversity, especially for species threatened by climate change ( Heller & Zavaleta, 2009 ; Elsen et al, 2021 ). Migrant species tolerate habitat disturbances better ( Levey, 1994 ; Smith, Salgado & Robertson, 2001 ) and are more flexible than resident species in their habitat use ( Karr, 1976 ; Hutto, 1989 ; Greenberg, 1995 ).…”

“…Herrera (1978) found that the proportion of migrant passerine birds was increased with increasing latitude in Europe. Hypotheses regarding habitat complexity and land cover types have been proposed, and the importance of habitat heterogeneity has been noted ( Elsen et al, 2021 ). Most species have strong associations with one or more land cover types ( Elsen et al, 2021 ) and specific food resources ( Willson, 1976 ; Helle & Fuller, 1988 ), which can influence the bird species richness pattern.…”

“…Hypotheses regarding habitat complexity and land cover types have been proposed, and the importance of habitat heterogeneity has been noted ( Elsen et al, 2021 ). Most species have strong associations with one or more land cover types ( Elsen et al, 2021 ) and specific food resources ( Willson, 1976 ; Helle & Fuller, 1988 ), which can influence the bird species richness pattern. Temperature-related factors are of great importance considering that latitudinal gradients are closely associated with thermal gradients, which can influence resident and migrant species richness ( Forsman & Mönkkönen, 2003 ; Evans, Warren & Gaston, 2005 ; Elsen et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Elevation-based temperature gradients are the most important factor that can influence the distribution of resident and migrant species by affecting bird fecundity and levels of parental care in breeding birds ( Badyaev & Ghalambor, 2001 ; Evans, Warren & Gaston, 2005 ; Elsen et al, 2021 ). A study related to habitat heterogeneity found that the highest migrant ratios were recorded in mature upland areas and lowland areas with predominantly young or low vegetation ( Fuller & Crick, 1992 ).…”

“…These results indicated that residents having the characteristics of specialists were distributed in areas with higher habitat diversity which has a variety of habitats and food resources. Recently, there have been several studies on the latitudinal patterns of resident and migrant species richness and the influencing factors ( Smith et al, 2017 ; Elsen et al, 2021 ; Leveau, 2021 ); however, limited number of studies have examined elevational patterns ( La Sorte et al, 2015 ; Katuwal et al, 2016 ; Alvarez-Alvarez et al, 2020 ).…”