LTREB Collaborative Research: Density-dependent and Density-independent Effects on the Non-breeding Season Dynamics of a Migratory Bird

Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

This National Science Foundation-funded project will continue a 20-year study of long-distance migratory birds during the non-breeding season in Jamaica. Specifically, the new phase of research will measure how birds' physical condition and survival are influenced by population size and climate. Survival is expected to decrease as population size gets higher, a phenomenon known as regulation. However, survival will also respond to factors, such as weather, that act independently of population size, a process known as limitation. Understanding how population regulation and limitation interact to influence survival and abundance is essential in order to predict how future climate change will affect migratory birds. This research program will experimentally determine how overwintering migratory birds respond to future droughts predicted to occur throughout the Caribbean region over the next 50 years, thereby providing unprecedented insight into the consequences of climate change on the behavior, abundance, and ultimately the evolution of these species. This project will facilitate the professional training of at least four graduate and over 20 undergraduate students in the United States, as well as the training of Jamaican students and scientists. The investigators will continue their existing collaborations with Jamaican wildlife agencies and local conservation groups, and will communicate their research results to scientists, policy makers, and citizens in the U.S. and the Caribbean.