Waiting on a mule deer crossing…
Climate change is altering the phenology and distribution of organisms across taxonomic groups. Abiotic factors vary along elevational gradients, including those that are affected heavily by climate change, especially temperature. In high elevation environments, species distributions are often limited by temperature, and upward range shifts occur as a response to climate warming. Surveys along elevational gradients can act as a basis to assess these range shifts and enable further investigation of population declines and extinction risks. This study analyzes Gothic Breeding Bird Survey data conducted in 23 years since 1999 to determine long-term changes in species abundance in the southern Rocky Mountains and resurveys points along an elevational gradient (2,469-3,421m) to assess shifts in species elevation range and changes in community composition compared to 2011 survey data and historical ranges. Species abundance analyses of Breeding Bird Survey data indicate that there is a complex relationship between climate disruption and trends in species abundance. Point count survey observations suggest that species may be shifting their ranges upwards when compared to historical ranges, however, comparison to 2011 observations produced a variety of results and indicates that avian species are not uniformly responding to climate disruption with an upward range shift.
Knowledge graph centered on Climate disruption on avian species and communitie with 64 nodes and 129 connections. Top connected: Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Gothic, Colorado East River Valley, Selasphorus platycercus, Songbirds.
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