An interesting recent study that re-samples sites first surveyed by Jared Diamond 40+yrs ago…. to look at changes in elevation use by montane birds in New Guinea region.. Colin http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/02/13/1318190111.abstract Abstract Temperate-zone species have responded to warming temperatures by shifting their distributions poleward and upslope. Thermal tolerance data suggests that tropical species may respond to warming temperatures even more strongly than temperate-zone species, but this prediction has yet to be tested. We addressed this data gap by conducting resurveys to measure distributional responses to temperature increases in the elevational limits of the avifaunas of two geographically and faunally independent New Guinean mountains, Mt. Karimui and Karkar Island, 47 and 44 y after they were originally surveyed. Although species richness is roughly five times greater on mainland Mt. Karimui than oceanic Karkar Island, distributional shifts at both sites were similar: upslope shifts averaged 113 m (Mt. Karimui) and 152 m (Karkar Island) for upper limits and 95 m (Mt. Karimui) and 123 m (Karkar Island) for lower limits. We incorporated these results into a metaanalysis to compare distributional responses of tropical species with those of temperate-zone species, finding that average upslope shifts in tropical montane species match local temperature increases significantly more closely than in temperate-zone montane species. That tropical species appear to be strong responders has global conservation implications and provides empirical support to hitherto untested models that predict widespread extinctions in upper-elevation tropical endemics with small ranges. _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
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5 responses to “Rapid upslope shifts in New Guinean birds illustrate strong distributional responses of tropical montane species to global warming”
On 23/03/2014 5:11 AM, Denise Goodfellow wrote: In the mid 1960s the Melbourne University Mountaineering Club, of which we were members, contemplated a scientific trip to the PNG glaciers/snowfields. June 2002 imagery on Google Earth shows Carstensz Pyramid Base Campin a valley between two small snow fields, at an altitude of about 4500m, totalling perhaps 4 sq km, about 5 km from an unidentified mine. It appears that it is a tourist base camp rather than scientific. Publicity for a trekking company says: “Carstensz Pyramid is on the island of New Guinea, the world’s third largest island, in the province of Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), a remote corner of Indonesia. This is the highest peak in the Australasian continent and often the most difficult to gain access to of the seven summits. The climb itself involves fifth class rock climbing on a beautiful limestone summit ridge to gain the 16,023 foot/4,884 meter summit. Carstensz Pyramid is the highest peak in the Surinam mountain range that transects the island and sits next to the glaciated Ngapulu Jaya. Brian Fleming _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
This article appeared in the most recent Cornell Labortory of Ornithology newsletter. Seems to fit well with some recent posts. Gary Warming Temperatures Are Pushing Two Chickadee Species—and Their Hybrids—Northward By victoriaon Thursday, March 6th, 2014 – 8 Comments The zone of overlap between two popular, closely related backyard birds is moving northward at a rate that matches warming winter temperatures, according to a study by researchers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Villanova University, and Cornell University. The research was published in Current Biology on Thursday, March 6, 2014. In a narrow strip that runs across the eastern U.S., Carolina Chickadees from the south meet and interbreed with Black-capped Chickadees from the north. The new study finds that this hybrid zone has moved northward at a rate of 0.7 mile per year over the last decade. That’s fast enough that the researchers had to add an extra study site partway through their project in order to keep up. “A lot of the time climate change doesn’t really seem tangible,” said lead author Scott Taylor, a postdoctoral researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “But here are these common little backyard birds we all grew up with, and we’re seeing them moving northward on relatively short time scales.” The two chickadee species meet and hybridize in a narrow zone that has shifted northward 7 miles in the last decade. In Pennsylvania, where the study was conducted, the hybrid zone is just 21 miles across on average. Hybrid chickadees have lower breeding success and survival than either of the pure species. This keeps the contact zone small and well defined, making it a convenient reference point for scientists aiming to track environmental changes. “Hybridization is kind of a brick wall between these two species,” said Robert Curry, a professor of biology at Villanova University, who led the field component of the study. “Carolina Chickadees can’t blithely disperse north without running into black-caps and creating hybrids. That makes it possible to keep an eye on the hybrid zone and see exactly how the ranges are shifting.” The researchers drew on field studies, genetic analyses, and crowdsourced bird sightings. First, detailed observations and banding data from sites arrayed across the hybrid zone provided a basic record of how quickly the zone moved. Next, genetic analyses revealed in unprecedented detail the degree to which hybrids shared the DNA of both parent species. And then crowdsourced data drawn from eBird, a citizen-science project run by the Cornell Lab, allowed the researchers to expand the scale of the study and match bird observations with winter temperatures. The researchers analyzed blood samples from 167 chickadees—83 collected in 2000–2002 and 84 in 2010–2012. Using next-generation genetic sequencing, they looked at more than 1,400 fragments of the birds’ genomes to see how much was Black-capped Chickadee DNA and how much was Carolina. The site that had been in the middle of the hybrid zone at the start of the study was almost pure Carolina Chickadees by the end. The next site to the north, which Curry and his students had originally picked as a stronghold of Black-capped Chickadees, had become dominated by hybrids. Female Carolina Chickadees seem to be leading the charge, Curry said. Field observations show that females move on average about 0.6 mile between where they’re born and where they settle down. That’s about twice as far as males and almost exactly as fast as the hybrid zone is moving. As a final step, the researchers overlaid temperature records on a map of the region of overlap between the two species, created from eBird sightings. They found a very close match: the zone of overlap occurred only in areas where the average winter low temperature was between 14 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit. They also used eBird records to estimate where the overlap zone had been a decade earlier, and found the same relationship with temperature existed then, too. The only difference was that those temperatures had shifted to the north by about seven miles since 2000. Chickadees—there are seven species in North America—are fixtures in most of the backyards of the continent. These tiny, fluffy birds with bold black-and-white faces are favorite year-round visitors to bird feeders, somehow surviving cold winters despite weighing less than half an ounce. The Supplementary material with bird lists is available here: http://www.pnas.org/content/suppl/2014/02/13/1318190111.DCSupplemental/pnas.201318190SI.pdf Most of the species are resident/sedentary birds with small territories – some of the frugivores and nectarivores/raptors are capable of moving widely. Seasonality – the study area is very close to the Equator (4-6 degrees South), I suspect that there is zero seasonal climate diffs (ie no season/aseasonal) and very limited rainfall seasonality (ie everwet, or close to). _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
Beehler, Pratt and Zimmerman note that “in the last century ice covered larger areas on the Papuan high peaks; the icecap on Mount Trikora (Wilhelmina), New Guinea’s second-higest peak has disappeared since World War II” (1986:16). This information, of course predates Jared Diamond’s study. It may well be that changes in the use of elevation of montane birds is even greater than demonstrated in this study. Does anyone know if any ornithological studies were carried out in these areas pre-war? Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow PO Box 71 Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841 PhD candidate Vice-chair Wildlife Tourism Australia goodfellow@bigpond.com.au On 22 Mar 2014, at 5:50 pm, colin trainor <halmahera@hotmail.com> wrote: _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
The Supplementary material with bird lists is available here: http://www.pnas.org/content/suppl/2014/02/13/1318190111.DCSupplemental/pnas.201318190SI.pdf Most of the species are resident/sedentary birds with small territories – some of the frugivores and nectarivores/raptors are capable of moving widely. Seasonality – the study area is very close to the Equator (4-6 degrees South), I suspect that there is zero seasonal climate diffs (ie no season/aseasonal) and very limited rainfall seasonality (ie everwet, or close to). _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
The study does not appear to consider seasonal changes that are more likely than small distribution movements due to climate shifts. colin trainor wrote: _______________________________________________ Birding-Aus mailing list Birding-Aus@birding-aus.org To change settings or unsubscribe visit: http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org