Temperatures in Excess of Critical Thresholds Threaten Nestling Growth and Survival in A Rapidly-Warming Arid Savanna: A Study of Common Fiscals

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dc.contributor.authorCunningham, Susan Jen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMartin, Rowan Oen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorHojem, Carryn Len_ZA
dc.contributor.authorHockey, Philip A Ren_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-16T04:10:54Z
dc.date.available2015-11-16T04:10:54Z
dc.date.issued2013en_ZA
dc.description.abstractFrequency, duration, and intensity of hot-weather events are all predicted to increase with climate warming. Despite this, mechanisms by which temperature increases affect individual fitness and drive population-level changes are poorly understood. We investigated the link between daily maximum air temperature (t max ) and breeding success of Kalahari common fiscals ( Lanius collaris ) in terms of the daily effect on nestling body-mass gain, and the cumulative effect on size and age of fledglings. High t max reduced mass gain of younger, but not older nestlings and average nestling-period t max did not affect fledgling size. Instead, the frequency with which t max exceeded critical thresholds (t crit s) significantly reduced fledging body mass (t crit  = 33°C) and tarsus length (t crit  = 37°C), as well as delaying fledging (t crit  = 35°C). Nest failure risk was 4.2% per day therefore delays reduced fledging probability. Smaller size at fledging often correlates with reduced lifetime fitness and might also underlie documented adult body-size reductions in desert birds in relation to climate warming. Temperature thresholds above which organisms incur fitness costs are probably common, as physiological responses to temperature are non-linear. Understanding the shape of the relationship between temperature and fitness has implications for our ability to predict species’ responses to climate change.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationCunningham, S. J., Martin, R. O., Hojem, C. L., & Hockey, P. A. R. (2013). Temperatures in Excess of Critical Thresholds Threaten Nestling Growth and Survival in A Rapidly-Warming Arid Savanna: A Study of Common Fiscals. <i>PLoS One</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15014en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationCunningham, Susan J, Rowan O Martin, Carryn L Hojem, and Philip A R Hockey "Temperatures in Excess of Critical Thresholds Threaten Nestling Growth and Survival in A Rapidly-Warming Arid Savanna: A Study of Common Fiscals." <i>PLoS One</i> (2013) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15014en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationCunningham, S. J., Martin, R. O., Hojem, C. L., & Hockey, P. A. (2013). Temperatures in excess of critical thresholds threaten nestling growth and survival in a rapidly-warming arid savanna: a study of common fiscals. PloS one, 8(9), e74613. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0074613en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Cunningham, Susan J AU - Martin, Rowan O AU - Hojem, Carryn L AU - Hockey, Philip A R AB - Frequency, duration, and intensity of hot-weather events are all predicted to increase with climate warming. Despite this, mechanisms by which temperature increases affect individual fitness and drive population-level changes are poorly understood. We investigated the link between daily maximum air temperature (t max ) and breeding success of Kalahari common fiscals ( Lanius collaris ) in terms of the daily effect on nestling body-mass gain, and the cumulative effect on size and age of fledglings. High t max reduced mass gain of younger, but not older nestlings and average nestling-period t max did not affect fledgling size. Instead, the frequency with which t max exceeded critical thresholds (t crit s) significantly reduced fledging body mass (t crit  = 33°C) and tarsus length (t crit  = 37°C), as well as delaying fledging (t crit  = 35°C). Nest failure risk was 4.2% per day therefore delays reduced fledging probability. Smaller size at fledging often correlates with reduced lifetime fitness and might also underlie documented adult body-size reductions in desert birds in relation to climate warming. Temperature thresholds above which organisms incur fitness costs are probably common, as physiological responses to temperature are non-linear. Understanding the shape of the relationship between temperature and fitness has implications for our ability to predict species’ responses to climate change. DA - 2013 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0074613 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - PLoS One LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2013 T1 - Temperatures in Excess of Critical Thresholds Threaten Nestling Growth and Survival in A Rapidly-Warming Arid Savanna: A Study of Common Fiscals TI - Temperatures in Excess of Critical Thresholds Threaten Nestling Growth and Survival in A Rapidly-Warming Arid Savanna: A Study of Common Fiscals UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15014 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/15014
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0074613
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationCunningham SJ, Martin RO, Hojem CL, Hockey PAR. Temperatures in Excess of Critical Thresholds Threaten Nestling Growth and Survival in A Rapidly-Warming Arid Savanna: A Study of Common Fiscals. PLoS One. 2013; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15014.en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentPercy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.en_ZA
dc.rights.holder© 2013 Cunningham et alen_ZA
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_ZA
dc.sourcePLoS Oneen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosoneen_ZA
dc.subject.otherBirdsen_ZA
dc.subject.otherBird physiologyen_ZA
dc.subject.otherClimate changeen_ZA
dc.subject.otherAnimal sexual behavioren_ZA
dc.subject.otherPhysiological parametersen_ZA
dc.subject.otherInvertebratesen_ZA
dc.subject.otherForagingen_ZA
dc.subject.otherPasserinesen_ZA
dc.titleTemperatures in Excess of Critical Thresholds Threaten Nestling Growth and Survival in A Rapidly-Warming Arid Savanna: A Study of Common Fiscalsen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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