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Nora Honkomp Honors Thesis.pdf (2.43 MB)

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Exploring shifts in migration phenology and breeding distribution of declining North American avian aerial insectivores

Honkomp, Nora
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1620686253404077

Abstract Details

2021, BS, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Biological Sciences.
Many animals are facing pressure to adapt to the new conditions in their environments caused by climate change. Two such adaptations are the advancement of spring arrival date in long-distance migratory birds and the shift of temperate distributions northward. These events show a change in historically stable phenological processes and species range over the past few decades due to human impact. Though these phenomena have been widely studied, most analyses have been conducted at the aggregate level. Our study focuses on a specific guild of neotropical migrants: aerial insectivores that breed in Eastern and Central North America. We aim to understand some of the effects of climate change on each of the 19 species selected by looking at shifts in the timing and rate of spring and fall migration from 1988-2020 as well as the centers of abundance on the breeding ranges from 1990-2019. Datasets from eBird, a global citizen science project, were used to assess the earliest sightings of each species above the 35th latitude in the spring and the latest sighting above this latitude in the fall at the start and end of each of the last three decades. Linear regression was used to compare differences in the rate of northward movement in the spring and southward movement in the fall across years. To assess changes in breeding range distribution, centers of abundance for each species from 1990-2019 were calculated using the latitude and longitude of sightings from the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Statistical analysis showed 5 species saw significantly faster rates of northward movement in the spring over time while 8 saw significantly slower rates. In the fall, 2 species saw faster rates of southward movement over time while 11 saw slower rates. Strong evidence exists for changes in centers of the breeding distributions as 17 of the 19 species saw significant directional shifts. Of these, a majority were to the north and west. No statistical tests were performed on the earliest and latest sightings of these species due to strong disparity in data availability over time. However, from qualitative comparison, all species arrived earlier in the spring in more recent years and delayed departure in the fall over this same period. Further study is needed to determine the factors that contribute to differences in adaptation among species as well as the impacts of these changes.
Mark Kershner, PhD (Advisor)
Timothy Assal, PhD (Committee Member)
David Singer, PhD (Committee Member)
Christie Bahlai, PhD (Committee Member)
76 p.
Animals; Biology; Climate Change; Conservation; Ecology; Wildlife Conservation; Zoology
long-distance migrants; shifts in phenology; shifts in distribution; birds; aerial insectivores; climate change; eBird; North American Breeding Bird Survey; rate of migration

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Citations

  • Honkomp, N. (2021). Exploring shifts in migration phenology and breeding distribution of declining North American avian aerial insectivores [Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1620686253404077

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Honkomp, Nora. Exploring shifts in migration phenology and breeding distribution of declining North American avian aerial insectivores . 2021. Kent State University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1620686253404077.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Honkomp, Nora. "Exploring shifts in migration phenology and breeding distribution of declining North American avian aerial insectivores ." Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1620686253404077

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ksuhonors1620686253404077
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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University Honors College and OhioLINK.