Warmer springs lead to mistimed reproduction in great tits (Parus major)

Abstract

In seasonal environments, the main selection pressure on the timing of reproduction (the ultimate factor) is synchrony between o¡spring requirements and food availability. However, reproduction is initiated much earlier than the time of maximum food requirement of the o¡spring. Individuals should therefore start reproduction in response to cues (the proximate factors), available in the environment of reproductive decision making, which predict the later environment of selection. With increasing spring temperatures over the past decades, vegetation phenology has advanced, with a concomitant advancement in the reproduction of some species at higher trophic levels. However, a mismatch between food abundance and o¡spring needs may occur if changes in the environment of decision making do not match those in the environment of selection. Date of egg laying in a great tit (Parus major) population has not advanced over a 23-year period, but selection for early laying has intensi¢ed. We believe that this is the ¢rst documented case of an adaptive response being hampered because a changing abiotic factor a¡ects the environment in which a reproductive decision is made di¡erently from the environment in which selection occurs.

Timing of arrival at breeding grounds determines spatial patterns of productivity within the population of white stork (Ciconia ciconia)

“…For many predatory avian species from northern regions, availability of food resources is known to initially increase in spring, but at some point the pattern reverses and food abundance starts to decline as the season further progresses (Safina and Burger 1985;Visser et al 1998). In migratory birds, the timing of arrival at breeding grounds and initiation of reproduction is evolutionarily selected to maximize fitness benefits resulting from synchronization of the chick rearing and high food availability periods, a phenomenon recognized as a match/ mismatch hypothesis (Visser et al 2004;Durant et al 2007).…”

Climate change and the demographic demise of a hoarding bird living on the edge

“…Both et al 2004), which may often be mistimed owing to the decoupling of peak food demands by nestlings and invertebrate food supplies (Visser et al 1998(Visser et al , 2004Both et al 2006). This mismatch between spring events may be a common by-product of climate change, but we describe evidence for a novel mechanism underlying the detrimental impacts of climate change on avian breeding.…”

The response of temperate aquatic ecosystems to global warming: novel insights from a multidisciplinary project

“…A temporal mismatch between supply and demand in food chains (Cushing 1990) has frequently been mentioned as a potentially adverse effect of climate change (Visser et al 1998;Edwards and Richardson 2004;Durant et al 2007;Thackeray et al 2010). In fact, a mismatch between seasonal maxima of food availability and food demand can be expected if the seasonal development of both the producer and consumer respond differently to warming or if only one of both responds to temperature, while the other responds to light (Winder and Schindler 2004).…”