This long-term research project examines the potential impacts of climate change on migratory birds breeding in northern hardwood forests of the northeastern US. The goals are to determine whether observed behavioral and demographic adjustments are adequate to compensate for climate-induced changes in bird habitat quality. By documenting climate differences over time and space and through long-term food supplementation experiments, the researchers will examine key choices that birds make in response to climatic variation. These choices have important effects on the number of offspring an individual produces as well as on individual survival. The project is being conducted in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH.
In today's rapidly changing world, forests and the birds that inhabit them face a multitude of environmental challenges. Because migratory birds are keen indicators of changing climate, biodiversity, and the health of public lands, results from this study will inform policy and decision makers as well as conservation efforts. Data from this study will be made available to researchers around the world, and results will be featured in the popular press, on public television, and presented in diverse public venues. The project includes strong training components for undergraduate and graduate students as well as for primary and secondary school teachers.
