Climate Variability Shaping Breeding Timing, Nesting Behaviour and Foraging Strategies of Migratory Shorebirds

Climate Variability Shaping Breeding Timing, Nesting Behaviour and Foraging Strategies of Migratory Shorebirds

نویسندگان

DOI::

https://doi.org/10.70102/AEJ.2026.18.1.32

کلمات کلیدی:

Migratory shorebirds, Climate variability, Breeding phenology, Nesting behaviour, Foraging strategies, Habitat degradation, Wetland ecosystems.

چکیده

Climate variability has increasingly been identified as a primary factor affecting the ecology and survival of migratory shorebirds worldwide. Migratory birds rely on specific seasonal signals to aid them in migration, reproduction, nesting, and feeding. However, climate change, through warming, changing precipitation patterns, sea-level rise, and extreme weather conditions, has been causing disturbances to habitat quality and ecological synchronization in breeding and stopover areas. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impacts of climate variability on breeding timing, nesting behaviors, and feeding mechanisms of migratory shorebirds by analyzing existing studies in ecological and climate sciences. The research method will comprise an extensive literature review of relevant publications and the analysis of quantitative data on phenological changes, breeding success rates, habitat changes, and foraging efficiency across distinct geographical areas. As per literature, alterations in phenology have been noted for migratory shorebirds, and the change noted has been of about 5-18 days. Such a shift in phenology can lead to mismatches between breeding seasons, which may result in lower rates of chick survival (as much as 12-35% in some populations). Another factor influenced by weather conditions is nest success, with a reported rate of increase in nest failures ranging from 20-40% in years with heavy rainfalls or storms. Similarly, the ability to effectively forage is hampered in multiple critical habitats due to reduced benthic prey abundance, caused by increasing water temperature and salinity. As a consequence of these challenges, shorebirds are developing behavioral plasticity, including changes in migration patterns, nest location, diet preferences, and range size. However, despite behavioral flexibility and ecological adjustment, shorebirds still suffer the consequences of climate variability. This investigation has found that while migratory shorebirds have proven quite resilient in adapting their behaviors and ecology to changing climatic conditions, climate variability poses a serious threat to their existence.

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چاپ شده

2026-04-24

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