Behavioural Plasticity Is Associated With Climate Tracking in Birds
Cong Yu, Yuhang Li, Meijun Liu, Simone CiutiABSTRACT
Aim
To test whether behavioural plasticity is associated with birds' ability to track climate change and whether this relationship differs among spatial gradients and range positions.
Location
Global.
Time Period
Range‐shift and feeding‐related behavioural plasticity observations compiled from 1890 to 2018.
Major Taxa Studied
Birds.
Methods
We combined 5733 population‐level range‐shift observations from 1096 bird species in the BioShifts database with a global dataset of avian feeding innovations, a proxy for behavioural plasticity. Using Bayesian phylogenetic mixed‐effects models fitted separately for latitudinal and elevational gradients and for range centroids, leading edges and trailing edges, we tested whether innovation modified the coupling between range‐shift and local climate change velocity, while controlling for key life‐history traits, environmental covariates and phylogenetic non‐independence.
Results
At latitudinal range centroids, innovative species showed tighter coupling between range‐shift and climate velocities than non‐innovative species, but this association was not supported at leading or trailing edges. Innovativeness was not associated with elevational tracking at centroids or leading edges but was positively associated with tracking at trailing edges. Tracking probability declined as climate velocity increased along both gradients, but innovativeness buffered this decline at latitudinal range centroids and elevational trailing edge. Other life‐history and environmental covariates showed limited associations with climate tracking.
Main Conclusions
Feeding‐related behavioural plasticity is associated with stronger climate tracking in birds at latitudinal range centroids and elevational trailing edges. These associations vary across spatial gradients and range positions, suggesting that the contribution of behavioural plasticity to redistribution depends on the ecological processes governing different parts of species' ranges. Incorporating behavioural traits alongside environmental constraints and range position into climate‐change vulnerability assessments could improve predictions of species redistribution under warming.