The effect of extreme spring weather on body condition and stress physiology in Lapland longspurs and white-crowned sparrows breeding in the Arctic

Jesse S Krause,Jonathan H Pérez,Helen E Chmura,Shannan K Sweet,Simone L Meddle,Kathleen E Hunt,Laura Gough,Natalie Boelman,John C Wingfield

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2016.07.015

Abstract

Climate change is causing rapid shifts in temperature while also increasing the frequency, duration, and intensity of extreme weather. In the northern hemisphere, the spring of 2013 was characterized as extreme due to record high snow cover and low temperatures. Studies that describe the effects of extreme weather on phenology across taxa are limited while morphological and physiological responses remain poorly understood. Stress physiology, as measured through baseline and stress-induced concentrations of cortisol or corticosterone, has often been studied to understand how organisms respond to environmental stressors. We compared body condition and stress physiology of two long-distance migrants breeding in low arctic Alaska – the white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) and Lapland longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) – in 2013, an extreme weather year, with three more typical years (2011, 2012, and 2014). The extended snow cover in spring 2013 caused measureable changes in phenology, body condition and physiology. Arrival timing for both species was delayed 4–5days compared to the other three years. Lapland longspurs had reduced fat stores, pectoralis muscle profiles, body mass, and hematocrit levels, while stress-induced concentrations of corticosterone were increased. Similarly, white-crowned sparrows had reduced pectoralis muscle profiles and hematocrit levels, but in contrast to Lapland longspurs, had elevated fat stores and no difference in mass or stress physiology relative to other study years. An understanding of physiological mechanisms that regulate coping strategies is of critical importance for predicting how species will respond to the occurrence of extreme events in the future due to global climate change.

Highlights

Flora and fauna have evolved physiological mechanisms to cope with environmental variation within a predictable range (Post et al, 2009; Helm et al, 2013)
It is of critical importance to understand how flora and fauna will cope with rapid climate change both through changes in phenology and physiology (Parmesan, 2007; Wingfield et al, 2015)
The year 2013 was characterized by extreme spring weather conditions that lasted several months with record low temperatures and persistent snow cover affecting much of Europe, North America, and Asia (Screen and Simmonds, 2010; Gladalski et al, 2014)

Summary

Introduction

Flora and fauna have evolved physiological mechanisms to cope with environmental variation within a predictable range (Post et al, 2009; Helm et al, 2013). It is of critical importance to understand how flora and fauna will cope with rapid climate change both through changes in phenology and physiology (Parmesan, 2007; Wingfield et al, 2015). The year 2013 was characterized by extreme spring weather conditions that lasted several months with record low temperatures and persistent snow cover affecting much of Europe, North America, and Asia (Screen and Simmonds, 2010; Gladalski et al, 2014). Snow cover in Europe in March of 2013 was the highest it has been in the last 400 years (Gladalski et al, 2014)

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion