This project continues a 25-year study of long-distance migratory birds during the non-breeding season in Jamaica. Over the next five years, the researchers will measure how birds' physical condition and survival are influenced by population size and climate. Survival is expected to decrease as population size increases, a phenomenon known as regulation. However, survival also responds to factors such as weather that act independently of population size, a process known as limitation. Understanding how population regulation and limitation influence survival and abundance is necessary to predict how future environmental change will affect migratory birds. Since climatologists forecast increasing drought in the Caribbean, results from this research will provide critical insights into the consequences of climate change on the behavior, abundance, and ultimately the evolution of these species.
This project will facilitate the professional training of two graduate and over 20 undergraduate students in the US, as well as Jamaican students and scientists. The investigators will continue their existing collaborations with Jamaican wildlife agencies and local conservation groups, and will communicate their research results to scientists, policy makers, and citizens in the U.S. and the Caribbean. Data from the project are available electronically.
