Life‐history and demographic variation in an alpine specialist at the latitudinal extremes of the range

Wilson, Scott; Martin, Kathy

doi:10.1007/s10144-011-0261-x

Cited by 29 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 67 publications

(69 reference statements)

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“…Facultative altitudinal migration allows individuals to quickly reach less‐challenging winter conditions, but competition for high‐quality breeding territories may be an incentive for individuals to remain at or near high elevations during the winter (Fretwell, ; Ketterson & Nolan, ). Previous studies that found a positive association between elevation and survival involved species that were either obligate migrants or larger‐bodied non‐passerines (Bears et al, ; Camfield et al, ; Martin et al, ; Sandercock et al, ; Wilson & Martin, ). Large‐bodied birds may be less susceptible than small‐bodied passerines to climatic extremes due to their smaller surface‐area‐to‐volume ratio (Reiss, ) and their greater capacity for storing fat (Calder, ; Ketterson & Nolan, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Clutch size has been the primary focus of many studies of life‐history variation along geographic gradients, and high‐elevation populations often lay smaller clutches than those at lower elevations (Bears et al, ; Martin, Camfield, & Martin, ; Wilson & Martin, ) including among Red‐faced Warblers breeding in our study area (Dillon & Conway, ). We found only a slight and non‐significant trend for yellow‐eyed junco clutch size to decline with increasing elevation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variation in selective regimes drives intraspecific variation in life‐history traits and migratory behaviour along an elevational gradient

Lundblad

Conway

2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Comparative studies, across and within taxa, have made important contributions to our understanding of the evolutionary processes that promote phenotypic diversity. Trait variation along geographic gradients provides a convenient heuristic for understanding what drives and maintains diversity. Intraspecific trait variation along latitudinal gradients is well‐known, but elevational variation in the same traits is rarely documented. Trait variation along continuous elevational gradients, however, provides compelling evidence that individuals within a breeding population may experience different selective pressures. Our objectives were to quantify variation in a suite of traits along a continuous elevational gradient, evaluate whether individuals in the population experience different selective pressures along that gradient and quantify variation in migratory tendency along that gradient. We examined variation in a suite of 14 life‐history, morphological and behavioural traits, including migratory tendency, of yellow‐eyed juncos along a continuous 1000‐m elevational gradient in the Santa Catalina Mountains of Arizona. Many traits we examined varied along the elevational gradient. Nest survival and nestling growth rates increased, while breeding season length, renesting propensity and adult survival declined, with increasing elevation. We documented the migratory phenotype of juncos (partial altitudinal migrants) and show that individual migratory tendency is higher among females than males and increases with breeding elevation. Our data support the paradigm that variation in breeding season length is a major selective pressure driving life‐history variation along elevational gradients and that individuals breeding at high elevation pursue strategies that favour offspring quality over offspring quantity. Furthermore, a negative association between adult survival and breeding elevation and a positive association between nest survival and breeding elevation help explain both the downslope and reciprocal upslope seasonal migratory movements that characterize altitudinal migration in many birds. Our results demonstrate how detailed studies of intraspecific variation in suites of traits along environmental gradients can lend new insights into the evolutionary processes that promote diversification and speciation, the causes of migratory behaviour, and how animal populations will likely respond to climate change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in selective regimes drives intraspecific variation in life‐history traits and migratory behaviour along an elevational gradient

Lundblad

Conway

2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…However, the Colorado adult birds had a 9% higher survival rate. Using the elasticity measure to compare the demographic rates of these two populations, we found that the most important vital rate predicting population change of the Yukon birds was the survival of juveniles, comparable to the Willow Ptarmigan ( Figure 5, Wilson and Martin 2011). The most important vital rate for the same species in Colorado, however, was the survival of older females.…”

Section: In This Overview Of Ptarmigan In Northmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…These events can lead to a negative synergism between late snowfall and increased predation in some years (Martin and Wiebe 2004, Wilson 2008, Wang et al 2002. Ptarmigan, especially White-tailed and Willow Ptarmigan, will re-nest if the first clutch is lost before the end of incubation and the re-nests are often more successful than the first clutch (Martin et al 1989, Wilson et al 2007). Overall, ptarmigan populations have relatively short generation times (1.7 to 2.62 years) with an annual fecundity of 0.4 to 2.04 female fledglings/female (Sandercock et al 2005 b, Wilson and (Martin 1984, Martin and Cooke 1987, Martin et al 1989, and two studies conducted in subalpine habitat in the Chilkat Pass, Northwestern British Columbia, Canada, one by S. Hannon for 15 years (Hannon et al 1988(Hannon et al , 1998, and a second, longer, population survey study by D. Mossop (Mossop 2011).…”

Section: In This Overview Of Ptarmigan In Northmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ptarmigan in North America: Influence of Life History and Environmental Conditions on Population Persistence.

Martin

Wilson²

2011

Gyrfalcons and Ptarmigan in a Changing World

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ABSTRACT.-Three ptarmigan species (Willow Ptarmigan Lagopus lagopus, Rock Ptarmigan L. muta, and White-tailed Ptarmigan L. leucura) occupy the tundra habitats of North America. Willow and Rock Ptarmigan inhabit arctic and alpine regions of Canada and Alaska, while Whitetailed Ptarmigan occupy alpine habitats from Alaska and northern Canada south to New Mexico. Ptarmigan populations have relatively short generation times (1.7 to 2.62 years) with an annual fecundity of 0.4 to 2.04 female fledglings/female. In some populations, annual fecundity depends strongly on re-nesting to replace failed first clutches (predation rate usually >50%). We use demographic data from five study sites (38 study-years) to demonstrate that the life history of the North American ptarmigan varies from fast (r-selection/high fecundity) to slow life styles (Kselection/high survival). Willow Ptarmigan, living in sub-arctic and sub-alpine habitats, have a fast life history. Their populations are most strongly influenced by fecundity and survival of juveniles and yearling females. At the other end of the spectrum, Rock Ptarmigan have a slower life history with nearly 40% lower reproductive output, but over 20% higher adult survival rate. Interestingly, White-tailed Ptarmigan show within-species variation from fast to slow lifestyles across their latitudinal range. White-tailed Ptarmigan in the Yukon allocate more effort to reproduction than those in Colorado, but they have lower annual survival, suggesting that environmental factors can lead to life history shifts even within species. In all species, a well-developed external recruitment (rescue) capacity allows ptarmigan populations to persist in stochastic conditions for breeding and survival. The impact of climate change is expected to differ with life history. Slow life style ptarmigan populations are buffered more from climate change influences that impact fecundity but they are more vulnerable to environmental processes that decrease adult survival than the fast life style Willow Ptarmigan.

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“…This is an important consideration because length of growing seasons can vary widely between ecosystems, and breeding season length can affect both the life history characteristics of populations (Bears, Martin, & White, 2009;Camfield, Pearson, & Martin, 2010;Wilson & Martin, 2011) as well as the number of breeding attempts that can be made within a season (Martin & Wiebe, 2004). This is an important consideration because length of growing seasons can vary widely between ecosystems, and breeding season length can affect both the life history characteristics of populations (Bears, Martin, & White, 2009;Camfield, Pearson, & Martin, 2010;Wilson & Martin, 2011) as well as the number of breeding attempts that can be made within a season (Martin & Wiebe, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mismatches between breeding phenology and resource abundance of resident alpine ptarmigan negatively affect chick survival

Wann

Aldridge

Seglund

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Phenological mismatches—defined here as the difference in reproductive timing of an individual relative to the availability of its food resources—occur in many avian species. Mistiming breeding activities in environments with constrained breeding windows may have severe fitness costs due to reduced opportunities for repeated breeding attempts. Therefore, species occurring in alpine environments may be particularly vulnerable. We studied fitness consequences of timing of breeding in an alpine‐endemic species, the white‐tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura), to investigate its influence on chick survival. We estimated phenological mismatch by measuring plant and arthropods used by ptarmigan in relation to their timing of breeding. We monitored 120 nests and 67 broods over a three‐year period (2013–2015) at three alpine study sites in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. During this same period, we actively monitored food resource abundance in brood‐use areas to develop year and site‐specific resource phenology curves. We developed several mismatch indices from these curves that were then fit as covariates in mark‐recapture chick survival models. A correlation analysis between seasonal changes in arthropod and food plant abundance indicated that a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was likely the best predictor for food available to hens and chicks. A survival model that included an interaction between NDVI mismatch and chick age received strong support and indicated young chicks were more susceptible to mismatch than older chicks. We provide evidence that individual females of a resident alpine species can be negatively affected by phenological mismatch. Our study focused on individual females and did not examine if phenological mismatch was present at the population level. Future work in animal populations occurring in mountain systems focusing on a combination of both individual‐ and population‐level metrics of mismatch will be beneficial.

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Life‐history and demographic variation in an alpine specialist at the latitudinal extremes of the range

Cited by 29 publications

References 67 publications

Variation in selective regimes drives intraspecific variation in life‐history traits and migratory behaviour along an elevational gradient

Variation in selective regimes drives intraspecific variation in life‐history traits and migratory behaviour along an elevational gradient

Ptarmigan in North America: Influence of Life History and Environmental Conditions on Population Persistence.

Mismatches between breeding phenology and resource abundance of resident alpine ptarmigan negatively affect chick survival

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