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Climate-related range shifts in Arctic-breeding shorebirds
  • +3
  • Christine Anderson,
  • Fahrig Lenore,
  • Jennie Rausch,
  • Jean-Louis Martin,
  • Tanguy Daufresne,
  • Paul A. Smith
Christine Anderson
Carleton University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Fahrig Lenore
Carleton University
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Jennie Rausch
Canadian Wildlife Service
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Jean-Louis Martin
Univ Montpellier 2
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Tanguy Daufresne
Universite de Montpellier
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Paul A. Smith
ECCC-ECCC
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Abstract

Aim: To test whether the occupancy of shorebirds has changed in the eastern Canadian Arctic, and whether these changes could indicate that shorebird distributions are shifting in response to long-term climate change Location: Foxe Basin and Rasmussen Lowlands, Nunavut, Canada Methods: We used a unique set of observations, made 25 years apart, using general linear models to test if there was a relationship between changes in shorebird species’ occupancy and their Species Temperature Index, a simple version of a species climate envelope. Results: Changes in occupancy and density varied widely across species, with some increasing and some decreasing. This is despite that overall population trends are known to be negative for all of these species, based on surveys during migration. The changes in occupancy that we observed were positively related to the Species Temperature Index, such that the warmer-breeding species appear to be moving into these regions, while colder-breeding species appear to be shifting out of the regions, likely northwards. Main Conclusions: Our results suggest that we should be concerned about declining breeding habitat availability for bird species whose current breeding ranges are centred on higher and colder latitudes.
01 Nov 2022Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
07 Nov 2022Submission Checks Completed
07 Nov 2022Assigned to Editor
10 Nov 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
15 Dec 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
22 Dec 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
12 Jan 20231st Revision Received
13 Jan 2023Submission Checks Completed
13 Jan 2023Assigned to Editor
13 Jan 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
19 Jan 2023Editorial Decision: Accept