Abstract
This study is based on 47 years of observations (1961–2007) on two common bird species, the Great Tit (Parus major) and the Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis), and a dominant tree species in their habitat, the English Oak (Quercus robur). The study took place at four research sites in the Czech Republic located in full-grown, multi-aged floodplain forests with no forestry management. An increase in air temperature over the evaluated period clearly influenced the length of phenological phases. The full foliage date of English Oak has advanced by 8.7 days during the past 47 years. Great Tit and Collared Flycatcher populations have reacted to the changing climate in the same way, with first laying date and mean laying date advancing by between 6.0 and 9.0 days. In all cases, the trends are highly significant and consistent over all sites. Despite the ongoing shift in phenological stages toward the beginning of the year, the change does not appear to have led to mistiming in the trophic food chain. Overall, this study shows almost identical rates of change in egg laying dates for both bird species in all the floodplain forests studied, and these trends are coherent with those of English Oak and peak herbivorous caterpillar activity.
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Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the support of Research Plan No. MSM6215648905 “Biological and technological aspects of sustainability of controlled ecosystems and their adaptability to climate change,” financed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. We would like to thank Daniela Semerádová for preparation of Fig. 1.
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Fig. S1
Annual values for the first laying date (dashed line) and the mean laying date (continuous line) in the population of Great Tits (Parus major), together with linear trend lines, from the observational sites at a) 1-Lanžhot, b) 2-Lednice, c) 3-Vranovice and d) 4-Horka over 1961–2007. The observations are based on at least 15 nesting pairs in each season at each site (3,776 nesting pairs in total). Dd is the estimated change (in days) of values between 1961 and 2007 (dashed trend line), whilst Ds summarizes the change in values (solid trend line). Ad and As represent amplitude (in days) over the whole period. (GIF 846 kb)
Fig. S2
Annual values for the first laying date (dashed line) and the mean laying date (continuous line) in the population of Collared Flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis), together with linear trend lines, from the observational sites at a) 1-Lanžhot, b) 2-Lednice, c) 3-Vranovice and d) 4-Horka over 1961–2007. The observations are based on at least 13 nesting pairs in each season at each site (3,437 nesting pairs in total). Dd is the estimated change (in days) in values between 1961 and 2007 (dashed trend line), whilst Ds summarizes the change in values (solid trend line). Ad and As represent amplitude (in days) over the whole period. (GIF 808 kb)
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Bauer, Z., Trnka, M., Bauerová, J. et al. Changing climate and the phenological response of great tit and collared flycatcher populations in floodplain forest ecosystems in Central Europe. Int J Biometeorol 54, 99–111 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-009-0259-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-009-0259-7