A circumpolar study unveils a positive non‐linear effect of temperature on arctic arthropod availability that may reduce the risk of warming‐induced trophic mismatch for breeding shorebirds

• Published in: Global Change Biology
• Main Authors: Chagnon‐Lafortune, Aurélie, Duchesne, Éliane, Legagneux, Pierre, McKinnon, Laura, Reneerkens, Jeroen, Casajus, Nicolas, Abraham, Kenneth F., Bolduc, Élise, Brown, Glen S., Brown, Stephen C., Gates, H. River, Gilg, Olivier, Giroux, Marie‐Andrée, Gurney, Kirsty, Kendall, Steve, Kwon, Eunbi, Lanctot, Richard B., Lank, David B., Lecomte, Nicolas, Leung, Maria, Liebezeit, Joseph R., Morrison, R. I. Guy, Nol, Erica, Payer, David C., Reid, Donald, Ruthrauff, Daniel, Saalfeld, Sarah T., Sandercock, Brett K., Smith, Paul A., Schmidt, Niels Martin, Tulp, Ingrid, Ward, David H., Høye, Toke T., Berteaux, Dominique, Bêty, Joël
• Other Authors: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Faucett Catalyst Fund, National Science Foundation, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Government of Nunavut, Institut Polaire Français Paul Emile Victor, Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit, Cornell University, Ministère de la Défense Nationale, American Museum of Natural History, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Université de Moncton, European Science Foundation, Kansas State University, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, ArcticNet, Minnesota State University Moorhead, University of Colorado Denver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Miljøstyrelsen, Natural Resources Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, U.S. Geological Survey, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Park Service, New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Arctic Goose Joint Venture, Ministry of Natural Resources of the People's Republic of China, Trent University, Aurora Research Institute, Polar Knowledge Canada, Arctic Landscape Conservation Cooperative, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Office of Polar Programs, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, W. Garfield Weston Foundation, North Dakota State University, Kresge Foundation, Disney Conservation Fund, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2024
• Subjects: Arctic birds; Subarctic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17356; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.17356

Abstract Seasonally abundant arthropods are a crucial food source for many migratory birds that breed in the Arctic. In cold environments, the growth and emergence of arthropods are particularly tied to temperature. Thus, the phenology of arthropods is anticipated to undergo a rapid change in response to a warming climate, potentially leading to a trophic mismatch between migratory insectivorous birds and their prey. Using data from 19 sites spanning a wide temperature gradient from the Subarctic to the High Arctic, we investigated the effects of temperature on the phenology and biomass of arthropods available to shorebirds during their short breeding season at high latitudes. We hypothesized that prolonged exposure to warmer summer temperatures would generate earlier peaks in arthropod biomass, as well as higher peak and seasonal biomass. Across the temperature gradient encompassed by our study sites (>10°C in average summer temperatures), we found a 3‐day shift in average peak date for every increment of 80 cumulative thawing degree‐days. Interestingly, we found a linear relationship between temperature and arthropod biomass only below temperature thresholds. Higher temperatures were associated with higher peak and seasonal biomass below 106 and 177 cumulative thawing degree‐days, respectively, between June 5 and July 15. Beyond these thresholds, no relationship was observed between temperature and arthropod biomass. Our results suggest that prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures can positively influence prey availability for some arctic birds. This positive effect could, in part, stem from changes in arthropod assemblages and may reduce the risk of trophic mismatch.