Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Does climate at different scales influence the phenology and phenotype of the River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis?

  • Global Change Ecology
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Weather and climatic conditions may impact on the phenology and morphology of birds, and thereby affect their survival rate and population dynamics. We examined the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), precipitation in the Sahel zone, temperatures in the wintering grounds, on the migration route, and in the breeding area in relation to arrival dates and six morphological measures (wing, tarsus, bill, and tail lengths, body mass, body condition) in a Slovak population of the River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis. Arrival dates did not change significantly over the study period, but were significantly positively correlated with NAO, although not with temperatures in wintering areas, migration route or breeding area, nor with Sahel precipitation. Four of the six morphological traits changed during the study period and part of the change in condition index can be attributed to climatic variables. We suggest changes in birds’ phenotype vary with food availability, which fluctuate according to climate events.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Berthold P, Helbig AJ, Mohr G, Querner U (1992) Rapid microevolution of migratory behavior in a wild bird species. Nature 360:668–670

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cotton PA (2003) Avian migration phenology and global climate change. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100:12219–12222

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dittberner H, Dittberner W (1987) Bebrütung der Eier, Schlupf, Jungenaufzucht und postnatale Entwicklung beim Schlagschwirl (Locustella fluviatilis) (Aves, Passeriformes, Sylviidae). Zool Abhandl 42:195–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Giannini A, Saravanan R, Chang P (2003) Oceanic forcing of Sahel rainfall on interannual to interdecadal time scales. Science 302:1027–1030

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grant PR, Grant BR (2002) Unpredictable evolution in a 30-year study of Darwin’s finches. Science 296:707–711

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grant PR, Grant BR, Keller LF, Petren K (2000) Effects of El Niño events on Darwin’s finch productivity. Ecology 81:2442–2457

    Google Scholar 

  • Hubálek Z (2003) Spring migration of birds in relation to North Atlantic Oscillation. Folia Zool 52:287–298

    Google Scholar 

  • Hüppop O, Hüppop K (2003) North Atlantic Oscillation and timing of spring migration in birds. Proc R Soc Lond B 270:233–240

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Janowiak JE (1988) An investigation of interannual rainfall variability in Africa. J Climate 1:240–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaňuščák P, Mutkovič A (1993) Nistbiologie und Verbreitung des Schlagschwirls, Locustella fluviatilis (Wolf 1810), in der Westslowakei. Falke 40:186–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehikoinen E, Sparks TH, Zalakevicius M (2004) Arrival and departure dates. In: Møller AP, Fiedler W, Berthold P (eds) The effect of climate change on birds. Advances in ecological research. Academic Press, London, (in press)

  • Mackowicz R (1989) Breeding biology of the river warbler Locustella fluviatilis (Wolf, 1810) in north-eastern Poland. Acta Zool Cracov 32:331–437

    Google Scholar 

  • Marchant JH (1992) Recent trends in breeding populations of some common trans-Saharan migrant birds in northern Europe. Ibis 134 [suppl1]:S113–S119

    Google Scholar 

  • Marra PP, Hobson KA, Holmes RT (1998) Linking winter and summer events in a migratory bird by using stable-carbon isotopes. Science 282:1884–1886

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell TD, Hulme M, New M (2002) Climate data for political areas. Area 34:109–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP, Erritzøe J (2003) Climate, body condition and spleen size in birds. Oecologia 442:621–626

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nowakowski JJ (2000) Long-term variability of wing length in population of reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus. Acta Ornithol 35:173–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Nowakowski JJ (2002) Variation of morphometric parameters within the Savi’s warbler (Locustella luscinioides) population in eastern Poland. Ring 24:49–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Ottersen G, Planque B, Belgrano A, Post E, Reid PC, Stenseth NC (2001) Ecological effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Oecologia 128:1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peach W, Baillie S, Underhill L (1991) Survival of British sedge warblers Acrocephalus schoenobaenus in relation to West African rainfall. Ibis 133:300–305

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson DJ, Backhurst GC (1983) Moult in the river warbler Locustella fluviatilis. Ring Migrat 4:227–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piersma T, Davidson NC (1991) Confusion of mass and size. Auk 108:441–444

    Google Scholar 

  • Przybylo R, Sheldon BC, Merilä J (2000) Climatic effects on breeding and morphology: evidence for phenotypic plasticity. J Anim Ecol 69:395–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith TB (1990) Natural selection on bill characters in two bill morphs of the African finch Pyrenestes ostrinus. Evolution 44:832–842

    Google Scholar 

  • Stenseth NC, Ottersen G, Hurrell JW, Mysterud A, Lima M, Chan K-S, Yoccoz NG, Adlandsvik B (2003) Studying climate effects on ecology through the use of climate indices: the North Atlantic Oscillation, El Nino Southern Oscillation and beyond. Proc R Soc Lond B 270:2087–2096

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Szép T (1995) Relationship between West African rainfall and the survival of the Central European adult sand martin (Riparia riparia) population. Ibis 137:162–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Todte I (2001) Beringung und Wiederfang von Schlagschwirlen Locustella fluviatilis in Ostdeutschland. Ber Vogelw Hiddensee 16:63–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Tryjanowski P, Kuźniak S, Sparks T (2002) Earlier arrival of some farmland migrants in western Poland. Ibis 144:62-68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tucker JJ (1978) A river warbler Locustella fluviatilis ‘wintering’ and moulting in Zambia. Bull Br Ornithol Club 98:2–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Walther G-R, Post E, Convey P, Menzel A, Parmesan C, Beebee TJC, Fromentin J-M, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Bairlein F (2002) Ecological responses to recent climate change. Nature 416:389–395

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yom-Tov Y (2001) Global warming and body mass decline in Israeli passerine birds. Proc R Soc Lond B 268:947–952

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yom-Tov Y, Benjamini Y, Kark S (2002) Global warming, Bergmann’s rule and body mass—are they related? The chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar) case. J Zool 257:449–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to O. Braslavská for assistance with obtaining temperature data, M. Antczak, M. Prange, A. Surmacki for discussions on ideas in the manuscript and help with references, and two anonymous referees for suggestions for improving. P.T.’s sabbatical at Monks Wood was supported by the Foundation for Polish Science.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zavretý kút 42/16, 921 01, Piešt’any, Slovakia

    Pavel Kaňuščák

  2. Department of Zoology, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Martin Hromada

  3. Department of Avian Biology and Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Fredry 10, 61-701, Poznań, Poland

    Piotr Tryjanowski

  4. NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Monks Wood, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 2LS, UK

    Piotr Tryjanowski & Tim Sparks

Authors
  1. Pavel Kaňuščák
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Martin Hromada
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Piotr Tryjanowski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tim Sparks
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Piotr Tryjanowski.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kaňuščák, P., Hromada, M., Tryjanowski, P. et al. Does climate at different scales influence the phenology and phenotype of the River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis?. Oecologia 141, 158–163 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1646-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1646-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation