A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal
The Complex Relationship Between High Temperatures and Avian Breeding Success: Insights From a Global Review
Authors: Levillain, Adrien; Reichert, Sophie; Massemin, Sylvie
Publisher: Wiley
Publishing place: HOBOKEN
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Ecology and Evolution
Journal name in source: Ecology and Evolution
Journal acronym: ECOL EVOL
Article number: e71771
Volume: 15
Issue: 8
Number of pages: 16
ISSN: 2045-7758
eISSN: 2045-7758
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71771
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71771
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/499591896
Climate change is one of the major threats to biodiversity. Understanding how species cope with increasing temperature is of prime importance when assessing population viability. We present a systematic review of the association between high temperature and the breeding success of wild birds. We focus on avian species, as they are widespread throughout the world and benefit from numerous long-term monitoring programs. We conducted a survey in the Web of Science library and retained 229 studies based on our eligibility criteria. We qualitatively assessed whether studies investigated the effect of high temperatures. High temperatures were defined in regard to the average temperature recorded at the study site. The species thermoregulation was taken into account depending on the information available. We were able to extract the local climate type (i.e., arid, temperate, continental, polar, and tropical) for 135 studies. Temperate and continental climates were over-represented, and studies were more likely to investigate the relationship between hot events and breeding success in arid environments. The relationship between high temperatures and breeding success is highly complex, as it most likely involves a combination of "direct" effects (mediated through thermoregulation) and "indirect" effects (mediated through phenology, food availability, trophic interactions) and may vary depending on the system studied. Finally, we present some considerations for future studies, in particular regarding species' sensitivity at high temperatures.
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Funding information in the publication:
This work was funded by the University of Strasbourg. S.R. was supported by grants from the Turku Collegium for Science, Medicine, and Technology; the Academy of Finland (356397) and MSCA (101110339). We thank T. Constant, C.-A. Olivier, C. Saraux, and A. Tamian for their valuable comments.
