Coping Strategies of Mountain Birds to Environmental Variability

Online symposium, 17^th March 1600-1810 CET

Conveners: Susanne Jähning¹ and Arnaud Barras^2,3

¹tier3 solutions GmbH, Leverkusen, Germany

²Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach, Switzerland

³University of Bern, Switzerland

Globally, high-elevation ecosystems are exposed to some of the most acute environmental impacts in response to a rapidly changing climate. Shifts in climatic conditions are characterized by linear increases in ambient temperature, but also by multidirectional changes in precipitation regimes punctuated by more extreme weather events such as storms, droughts, and severe temperature challenges. Inter-annual variability and stochasticity of weather events form an integral component of temperate mountain ecosystems, with mountain birds having evolved specific adaptations to cope with these rapid and unpredictable environmental fluctuations. Yet, we know very little about these adaptive strategies, such as flexibility in life-history or behavioural traits, and whether they are sufficient to cope with increasingly extreme climate events. Mountain birds are also predominantly migratory, and therefore variable conditions on the migration route and non-breeding grounds may impose additional stressors that reduce the ability for individuals and populations to cope with changing climate conditions. A better understanding of mountain bird ecology across the annual cycle is thus crucial to a sound forecasting of their response to future environmental change, and hence to the implementation of effective conservation management. This symposium will present state-of-the-art research on the ecology of birds in temperate mountain ecosystems, with a special focus on how various species respond to increased environmental variability.

If you are interested in participating, please register by sending an empty e-mail with the subject “EOU mountain bird symposium” to [email protected] by 11 March. You will then receive a Zoom link for the symposium at least a day before the event.

With thanks to our local partners

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