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Life-history attributes of Arctic-breeding birds drive uneven responses to environmental variability across different phases of the reproductive cycle
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  • Daniel Ruthrauff,
  • Vijay Patil,
  • Jerry W. Hupp,
  • David Ward
Daniel Ruthrauff
US Geological Survey

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Vijay Patil
US Geological Survey Alaska Region
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Jerry W. Hupp
US Geological Survey Alaska Region
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David Ward
US Geological Survey Alaska Region
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Abstract

1. Animals exhibit varied life-history traits that reflect adaptive responses to their environments. For Arctic-breeding birds, traits like foraging guild, egg nutrient allocation, clutch size, and chick growth are predicted to be under increasing selection pressure due to rapid climate change and increasing environmental variability across high-latitude regions. 2. We compared four migratory birds (black brant [Branta bernicla nigricans], lesser snow geese [Chen caerulescens caerulescens], semipalmated sandpipers [Calidris pusilla], and Lapland longspurs [Calcarius lapponicus]) with varied life histories at an Arctic site in Alaska, USA, to understand how life-history traits help moderate environmental variability across different phases of the reproductive cycle. 3. We monitored aspects of reproductive performance related to the timing of breeding, reproductive investment, and chick growth from 2011–2018. 4. In response to early snow melt and warm temperatures, semipalmated sandpipers advanced their site arrival and bred in higher numbers, while brant and snow geese increased clutch sizes; all four species advanced their nest initiation dates. During chick rearing, longspur chicks were relatively resilient to environmental variation whereas warmer temperatures increased the growth rates of sandpiper chicks but reduced growth rates of snow goose goslings. These responses generally aligned with traits along the capital-income spectrum of nutrient acquisition and altricial-precocial modes of chick growth. Under a warming climate, the ability to mobilize endogenous reserves likely provides geese with relative flexibility to adjust the timing of breeding and the size of clutches. Warmer temperatures, however, may negatively affect the quality of herbaceous foods and slow gosling growth. 5. Species may possess traits that are beneficial during one phase of the reproductive cycle and others that may be detrimental at another phase, uneven responses that may be amplified with future climate warming. These results underscore the need to consider multiple phases of the reproductive cycle when assessing the effects of environmental variability on Arctic-breeding birds.
16 Jul 2021Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
17 Jul 2021Submission Checks Completed
17 Jul 2021Assigned to Editor
20 Jul 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
13 Aug 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
31 Aug 2021Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
23 Sep 20211st Revision Received
24 Sep 2021Submission Checks Completed
24 Sep 2021Assigned to Editor
24 Sep 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
25 Oct 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
09 Nov 2021Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
17 Nov 20212nd Revision Received
17 Nov 2021Submission Checks Completed
17 Nov 2021Assigned to Editor
17 Nov 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
19 Nov 2021Editorial Decision: Accept
Dec 2021Published in Ecology and Evolution volume 11 issue 24 on pages 18514-18530. 10.1002/ece3.8448