Migratory birds play a crucial role in many ecosystems (e.g. as pollinators and insect regulators) and are also valued by many bird watchers throughout the country and world. Effective conservation of migratory birds depends on a clear understanding of how environmental factors affect key demographic rates (e.g., survival and reproduction). This informational need is especially pressing in the context of climate change. Climate change is expected to affect migratory bird habitat and populations in multiple ways, and a mechanistic understanding of how demographic rates are related to climate variables will help land and resource managers to better anticipate and manage these changes.
The Institute for Bird Populations (IBP) is addressing this question by using data from the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program, the longest running continent-wide monitoring program to provide information on migratory bird demographics (recruitment, survival, immigration, and emigration). Data collected through MAPS is used to clarify the factors driving population declines; to determine priority areas to target for conservation and restoration; and to clarify relationships between demographic trends and environmental factors. IBP is also collaborating with researchers from the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center to develop a climate-informed integrated population model by combining MAPS data with additional data sources on climate variables, population trends, and occupancy data. This model will provide a clearer understanding of the factors that impact migratory bird populations and the ways that climate change is likely to affect species survival by clarifying relationships between climate variables and demographic parameters. Ultimately, this research will provide decision makers and the management community with a mechanistic understanding of how climate change may impact migratory bird population levels and ultimately species survival.
