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IS-AUR-Samarb.progr. Norge Frankrike

The response of arctic and alpine bird communities to climate change

Awarded: NOK 29,624

Arctic and alpine ecosystems will be among the most severely affected under a warming climate. A good understanding of the consequences of climate change on arctic and alpine species coexistence and persistence is thus of paramount importance and urgentl y needed. Using large data sets on bird communities, population trends and life-histories in both the French Alps and the Svalbard archipelago, as well as a recently developed phylogeny of European birds and up-to-date niche modeling methodologies, we wi ll study the response of Arctic and Alpine avifauna to a warming world. We will combine the complementary expertise of two research teams (i) to predict changes in the range of bird species breeding in arctic and alpine environments, (ii) to validate thos e predictions with observed population trends, and (iii) to correlate those changes in species range with bird life-history and behavioural traits. Our work will also aim at determining how phylogenetic relatedness and ecological similarity among species affect their coexistence, and how evolutionary trade-offs between traits can affect, and eventually impede, bird response to climate change. This project ultimately aims at launching a joint PhD project that would be co-supervised by both partners. Over all, the proposed collaboration should yield significant and highly relevant insight into our understanding of, and ability to predict, bird responses to climate change in some of the most threatened ecosystems.

Funding scheme:

IS-AUR-Samarb.progr. Norge Frankrike