CAREER: Measuring real-time energy and fitness costs of metabolic and behavioral strategies employed by songbirds during inclement weather

Harsh weather can be difficult for animals to survive, especially when it is unpredictable or extreme. During storms animals may seek shelter to save energy and improve survival, but this may be difficult or have negative consequences on their reproductive success if they are also trying to raise young. The decisions that different individuals make can determine if they and their young survive to raise the next generation and this will in turn determine if a species can persist in a particular location.

Storms have been increasing in frequency and intensity in some areas of the world and simultaneously becoming less predictable in when they occur. This may be particularly challenging to many animals and, yet, very few studies have attempted to describe how animals make decisions during storms, what types of metabolic traits might help them to better survive during storms and how being a parent might change those decisions.

With this grant, researchers at Oregon State University will describe how songbirds behave during storms in the wild and how those behaviors affect their health and their ability to raise young. They will also carefully control different aspects of weather, such as temperature, precipitation and wind, in the lab to determine how these different factors impact the energy costs of staying warm.

Together this work will allow for a better understanding of why species ranges may be contracting or expanding as the global climate changes and will guide more efficient management and conservation goals. The proposed educational and outreach plan seeks to advance representation of Native Americans and other underrepresented groups in the biological sciences and to connect communities across multiple agegroups in the context of natural history and science.

Inclement weather may define species distributional edges and may increasingly impact survival as climate change exacerbates the frequency and severity of storms. There is wide variation in individual survival within populations with little understanding of the behavioral or physiological mechanisms underlying this differential survival. Despite extensive work describing seasonal flexibility in the metabolic capacity of endotherms in the lab and the impact of inclement weather on mortality and reproductive fitness in the field, few have attempted to connect these bodies of work and relate metabolic capacity to metrics of fitness during inclement weather.

The proposed research examines the impact of variable weather on metabolism and behavior in a small-bodied songbird, the red crossbill (Loxia curvirostra), within different seasonal contexts. This research leverages the crossbill’s specialization on conifer seeds and opportunistic breeding behavior to 1. Quantify how the duration, type and severity of inclement weather influences songbird behavioral responses to and metabolic costs of acute weather; 2.

Determine how reproductive investment and foraging performance change physiological and behavioral coping mechanisms employed during inclement weather; and 3. Quantify how metabolic traits impact behavioral strategies, performance and fitness metrics during and outside of inclement weather. These research goals will be achieved using a combination of biotelemetry, respirometry and blood physiology in both field and controlled-captive environments.

The proposed experiments integrate ecophysiology, behavior and natural history to advance our understanding of why some individuals are more resilient than others in the face of environmental adversity. The PI will utilize the scholarship and guidance of experts on Native Americans mentorship to develop an Indigenous Mentoring Plan (IMP) prior to recruit Native Americans students to the project.

IMPs focus on key factors that increase positive outcomes of mentorship, including: community building, relationship building and incorporation of indigenous viewpoints and approaches to science. This award was co-funded by the Animal Behavior program in Integrative Organismal Systems.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.