Linking emerging threats to wildlife and human health to climate change effects on boreal forest ecosystems
Benjamin A Tonelli, University of California, Los Angeles, btonelli@ucla.edu (Presenter)
Morgan W Tingley, University of California, Los Angeles, mtingley@ucla.edu
In some winters, millions of songbirds disperse, or "irrupt", from boreal forests southward into the contiguous United States. During these events, disease outbreaks are often reported among irruptive avian species, and sometimes among humans that come into contact with contaminated bird feeders. These irregular, irruptive migrations are thought to be driven by a boom-bust cycle in the availability of food in northern forests. Understanding the mechanisms underpinning these events could help predict threats to avian populations. Here we present evidence that weather factors in boreal forests – particularly summer temperatures – are strongly associated with avian irruptions. We demonstrate that recent weather data from Daymet can be used to predict upcoming irruption events at a continental scale. An understanding of the underlying mechanisms of these migrations can not only help predict near-term threats, such as disease outbreaks, but can also be used to make long-term predictions of changing migration patterns with climate change.
Associated Project(s):
Poster Location ID: 2-48
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Poster Session 2
Session Date: Wed (May 10) 5:15-7:15 PM
CCE Program: BDEC