The conservation value of mountain habitats for birds in the Americas and predicted impacts of climate change
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Date
2018
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Abstract
High mountain habitats are experiencing globally significant increases in temperature, extreme weather and climate-induced habitat loss, but predicting impacts to birds is hampered by the limited information regarding avian use of temperate mountain areas in the Americas. We used point count methods, across elevations to examine taxonomic and functional diversity in temperate mountains in North and South America. In North America, species richness was highest in upper montane habitat and lowest in the alpine with significant inter-mountain variation in species diversity. In contrast, there was comparable richness in the montane, sub-alpine and alpine habitats of the temperate Andes. During fall migration in British Columbia, we detected 95 species in 30 families using high mountain habitats. One quarter of these species are on conservation concern lists. In total, we found that ~35% of North America's breeding bird species use mountains for at least three months annually, a period equivalent to the length of the breeding season. Regarding climate variation, alpine songbirds cope well with daily mountain weather events, while multi-day colder storms lead to reduced nesting success. Climate models predict that suitable habitat for alpine birds in the coastal mountains will decrease by 50-75% by 2080 due to climate-induced changes, further reducing connectivity across already fragmented mountain habitats. Overall we found that avian use of mountain areas is extensive, and many species are of conservation concern. Our results emphasize the need for effective conservation of high mountain habitats that are increasingly threatened by local, regional and global anthropogenic disturbance.
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Climate Change, Conservation Biology, Climatology, Ecology, Natural Resource Ecology, Mountain Areas