Meeting Abstract

P1.40  Friday, Jan. 4  Impacts of Changing Seasonality and the Potential for Trophic Mismatches in the Arctic KRAUSE, JS*; PEREZ , JH; SWEET, SK; ASMUS, A; RICH, ME; SCHAS, J; WORD, KR; GOUGH, L; WINGFIELD, JC; BOELMAN, NT; University of California, Davis; University of California, Davis; Columbia University; University of Texas, Arlington ; University of Texas, Arlington ; University of California, Davis; University of California, Davis; University of Texas, Arlington ; University of California, Davis; Columbia University jskrause@ucdavis.edu

Every year, songbirds migrate from their wintering grounds to breeding territories at higher latitudes to take advantage of abundant resources to successfully raise offspring. Global climate change has caused increased average air temperatures throughout the breeding season. This may result in earlier spring and later autumn due to earlier snowmelt and later snowfall dates. These changes in temperature have been accompanied by an altered landscape as deciduous woody shrubs have become dominant in open tundra habitat. While shifts in seasonality may lead to earlier plant phenology and arthropod emergence, the timing of migration is constrained because most migrants are cued by an increase in photoperiod. Based on previous studies on a similar system in Europe, we may expect to see trophic mismatches between the tundra arthropod community and the songbirds that depend on them to feed their young, ultimately leading to changes in songbird communities and species richness. Here we present data on reproductive success for two long distant migrants, Lapland Longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus) and White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophyrs gambelli). Our data thus far demonstrates that timing of breeding events in arctic Alaska coincides with plant phenology as well as arthropod abundance, suggesting that there is a trophic match between resource availability and feeding of young.