Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Northern Research Supplement

My research program comprises arctic ecology with an emphasis on how bird populations deal with weather variability, an immediate correlate of climate change. The vast North American Arctic is home to the richest diversity of shorebirds in the world. The effects of climate change are particularly pronounced in this region with the potential for great change in vegetation communities, predators, and bird populations. It is an ideal habitat to study responses of birds to variable environments. Few researchers have long-term data from northern climates. My students and I have been  documenting variation in one location (Churchill Manitoba) since the late 1980's. I now propose to study shorebirds in several sub-Arctic and Arctic locations over a latitudinal gradient to determine what factors might influence the decision of birds to take long (high Arctic) versus shorter (low or sub-Arctic) migrations to their breeding grounds. I propose that there must be differences in habitat quality and reproductive success in more northerly locations that compensate for the longer migrations required to get to those locations.  With a Northern Supplement I intend to support more students in more northerly locations, so that we can simultaneous study several species to analyse the factors that influence reproductive success in several environments along the gradient of south, with longer breeding seasons, but shorter days, and more predictable spring temperatures, to north, with shorter breeding seasons, longer days and less predictable spring temperatures.  With a proposed 5 year tenure of the study, I  should also be able to capture ample within location variability in weather to examine this influence on reproductive success and  local population sizes.