Climate-Altered Wetlands Challenge Waterbird Use and Migratory Connectivity in Arid Landscapes

Haig, Susan M.; Murphy, Sean; Matthews, John; Arisméndi, Iván; Safeeq, Mohammad

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-41135-y

Cited by 60 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Marshes support a diversity of species during the breeding season which may reduce predation pressure on birds nesting in nearby playa habitats by providing alternative food resources for nest predators (Spautz et al 2006, Tozer et al 2010, Laidlaw et al 2015). Wetland habitats are among the most endangered ecosystems worldwide but provision more ecosystem services per unit area than any other type of ecosystem (Dodds et al 2008), and wetlands within the Great Basin of North America are continuing to degrade due to reduced water levels (Wurtsbaugh et al 2017, Senner et al 2018, Haig et al 2019). Our study provides additional support for the importance of conserving large wetland complexes (of both playa and marsh habitats) for the reproductive success of avian species using these habitats (Smart et al 2006, Kentie et al 2013, Rannap et al 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dependence of spatial scale in landscape associations with cause‐specific predation of snowy plover nests

2020

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Understanding relationships between habitat and ecological processes often depends on the spatial scale at which the landscape is measured. A common objective in studies of avian nesting ecology is to link habitat characteristics with nest predation for generating potential conservation and management strategies aimed at increasing avian reproductive success. Yet scale dependence likely plays a considerable role in these assessments, particularly when multiple species of nest predators are present. We identified nest predators of snowy plovers, a ground-nesting shorebird, and modeled predator-specific hazard rates of nest mortality in relation to the landscape at multiple spatial scales (200 m, 500 m, 1 km, 2.5 km, and 5 km) and at the nest site. We used a Bayesian latent indicator approach for weighting the influence of habitat across spatial scales and to gain insight into the hierarchical nature of how specific predators responded to the landscape when preying upon plover nests. We did not identify a common spatial scale that best predicted nest predation by all predators, though our results indicated that unfragmented playa and marsh habitats at large spatial scales reduced nest predation by all nest predators. Land cover features including grass, shrubs, human development, and open water elicited variable responses depending on the predator group, and predator groups responded at different spatial scales. Further, the spatial configuration of nests (nest dispersion) influenced nest predation by common ravens Corvus corax and foxes (kit fox Vulpes macrotis and red fox Vulpes vulpes), suggesting that certain predators develop a search image for nests. Our results illustrate that clarifying complex relationships between nest predation and habitat characteristics requires the incorporation of predator identity and scale dependence. Thus, management and conservation plans aiming to increase avian productivity by altering or restoring habitats will likely benefit from consideration of predator-specific patterns at multiple spatial scales.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dependence of spatial scale in landscape associations with cause‐specific predation of snowy plover nests

2020

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“…This may be explained by the following two reasons. First, precipitation changes can affect waterbird species at the river basin scale (often the scale of 500 to 1,000 km) through effects on water flow into their wetland habitats 29,30 . Therefore, our analysis at the resolution of 1° grid cells (equivalent to a grain size of 96.49 km) may not have been able to detect such a broad-scale impact of precipitation changes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of global waterbird populations to climate change vary with latitude

Amano

Székely

Wauchope

et al. 2019

Preprint

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2While climate change continues to present a major threat to global biodiversity and 2 3 ecosystems, most research on climate change impacts do not have the resolution to detect 2 4 changes in species abundance and are often limited to temperate ecosystems. This limits our 2 5understanding of global responses in species abundance-a determinant of ecosystem 2 6 function and services-to climate change including in the highly-biodiverse tropics. We 2 7 address this knowledge gap by quantifying abundance responses to climate change in 2 8 waterbirds, an indicator taxon of wetland biodiversity, at 6,822 sites between -55° and 64°. 9Using 1,303,651 count records since 1990 of 390 species, we show that with temperature 3 0 increase, the abundance of species and populations decreased at lower latitudes, particularly 3 1 in the tropics, but increased at higher latitudes. These contrasting responses to temperature 3 2 increase according to latitude indicate potential global-scale poleward shifts of species 3 3 abundance under climate change, providing empirical support for predictions by earlier 3 4 studies. The negative responses to temperature increase in tropical species and populations 3 5are of conservation concern, as they are often also threatened by other anthropogenic factors. 6Our results suggest that existing biases in studies towards temperate regions could 3 7 underestimate the impact of climate change on waterbirds and other species.3 8 3 9 4 1 urgent need to understand how species respond to changing climates globally. A wide range 4 2 of species have already shown responses to climate change, such as changes in geographical 4 3 3 range 1 , phenology 2 and abundance 3 . However, the rate and direction of these responses vary 4 4 greatly among species and locations 1,2,4 . As climate-driven changes in biodiversity are 4 5 expected to affect ecosystem functioning, human well-being, and the dynamics of climate 4 6 change itself 5 , understanding how species' responses to climate change may vary globally 4 7 could provide crucial evidence for a more effective allocation of limited resources on a 4 8 priority basis for the conservation of species and ecosystems threatened the most by climate 4 9 change, and for assessing how climate-driven changes in biodiversity may affect human 5 0 societies. 5 1Existing gaps in the geographical coverage of available evidence seriously limit our 5 2 understanding of species' responses to climate change and its variations across the globe 6 . 3Earlier global reviews of species' responses to climate change have rarely incorporated 5 4 species and studies in the tropics, due to the lack of relevant information 7 . Such geographical 5 5 biases are even more prominent in studies investigating responses in species abundance 8,9 , 5 6 which is a major determinant of species extinction risk 10 , ecosystem function and services 11 . 7Research on abundance responses to climate change to date has largely been conducted in 5 8 Europe, North America and the Arctic 3,12-14 , with a rec...

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“…Freshwater wetlands occurring along the periphery of saline lakes as a result of groundwater discharge from springs or runoff from streams discharge were identified. These wetlands provide important habitat diversity and freshwater resources to migratory waterbirds using saline environments (Haig, Murphy, Matthews, Arismendi, & Safeeq, ) and were evaluated separately to isolate their surface water trends. Surface water estimates in Bustillos and Babicora monsoonal watersheds occurred from 1990 to 2018 due to a lack of available satellite imagery.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate and human water use diminish wetland networks supporting continental waterbird migration

Donnelly

King

Silverman

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

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Migrating waterbirds moving between upper and lower latitudinal breeding and wintering grounds rely on a limited network of endorheic lakes and wetlands when crossing arid continental interiors. Recent drying of global endorheic water stores raises concerns over deteriorating migratory pathways, yet few studies have considered these effects at the scale of continental flyways. Here, we investigate the resiliency of waterbird migration networks across western North America by reconstructing long‐term patterns (1984–2018) of terminal lake and wetland surface water area in 26 endorheic watersheds. Findings were partitioned regionally by snowmelt‐ and monsoon‐driven hydrologies and combined with climate and human water‐use data to determine their importance in predicting surface water trends. Nonlinear patterns of lake and wetland drying were apparent along latitudinal flyway gradients. Pervasive surface water declines were prevalent in northern snowmelt watersheds (lakes −27%, wetlands −47%) while largely stable in monsoonal watersheds to the south (lakes −13%, wetlands +8%). Monsoonal watersheds represented a smaller proportion of total lake and wetland area, but their distribution and frequency of change within highly arid regions of the continental flyway increased their value to migratory waterbirds. Irrigated agriculture and increasing evaporative demands were the most important drivers of surface water declines. Underlying agricultural and wetland relationships however were more complex. Approximately 7% of irrigated lands linked to flood irrigation and water storage practices supported 61% of all wetland inundation in snowmelt watersheds. In monsoonal watersheds, small earthen dams, meant to capture surface runoff for livestock watering, were a major component of wetland resources (67%) that supported networks of isolated wetlands surrounding endorheic lakes. Ecological trends and human impacts identified herein underscore the importance of assessing flyway‐scale change as our model depictions likely reflect new and emerging bottlenecks to continental migration.

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Climate-Altered Wetlands Challenge Waterbird Use and Migratory Connectivity in Arid Landscapes

Cited by 60 publications

References 66 publications

Dependence of spatial scale in landscape associations with cause‐specific predation of snowy plover nests

Dependence of spatial scale in landscape associations with cause‐specific predation of snowy plover nests

Responses of global waterbird populations to climate change vary with latitude

Climate and human water use diminish wetland networks supporting continental waterbird migration

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