Winter mortality of a passerine bird increases following hotter summers and during winters with higher maximum temperatures

Lv, Lei1,2,3; van de Pol, Martijn4; Osmond, Helen L.2; Liu, Yang1; Cockburn, Andrew2; Kruuk, Loeske E. B.2,5

2023-01-06

10.1126/sciadv.abm0197

Science Advances   Impact Factor & Quartile

2375-2548

Climate change may influence animal population dynamics through reproduction and mortality. However, attributing changes in mortality to specific climate variables is challenging because the exact time of death is usually unknown in the wild. Here, we investigated climate effects on adult mortality in Australian superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus). Over a 27-year period, mortality outside the breeding season nearly doubled. This nonbreeding season mortality increased with lower minimum (night-time) and higher maximum (day-time) winter temperatures and with higher summer heat wave intensity. Fine-scale analysis showed that higher mortality in a given week was associated with higher maxima 2 weeks prior and lower minima in the current fortnight, indicating costs of temperature drops. Increases in summer heat waves and in winter maximum temperatures collectively explained 62.6% of the increase in mortality over the study period. Our results suggest that warming climate in both summer and winter can adversely affect survival, with potentially substantial population consequences.

SCI

English

NI Journal Papers

Corresponding

Australian Research Council[DP190100424]

Science & Technology - Other Topics

Multidisciplinary Sciences

WOS:000937027000015

AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE

Web of Science

1.Sun Yat sen Univ, Sch Ecol, Shenzhen 510275, Peoples R China
2.Australian Natl Univ, Res Sch Biol, Div Ecol & Evolut, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
3.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Environm Sci & Engn, Shenzhen 518055, Peoples R China
4.James Cook Univ, Coll Sci & Engn, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia
5.Univ Edinburgh, Inst Ecol & Evolut, Sch Biol Sci, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, Scotland

Lv, Lei,van de Pol, Martijn,Osmond, Helen L.,et al. Winter mortality of a passerine bird increases following hotter summers and during winters with higher maximum temperatures[J]. Science Advances,2023,9(1).

Lv, Lei,van de Pol, Martijn,Osmond, Helen L.,Liu, Yang,Cockburn, Andrew,&Kruuk, Loeske E. B..(2023).Winter mortality of a passerine bird increases following hotter summers and during winters with higher maximum temperatures.Science Advances,9(1).

Lv, Lei,et al."Winter mortality of a passerine bird increases following hotter summers and during winters with higher maximum temperatures".Science Advances 9.1(2023).