Published August 7, 2020 | Version v1
Dataset Open

High temperatures drive offspring mortality in a cooperatively breeding bird

  • 1. FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology*
  • 2. University of Cambridge
  • 3. University of Western Australia

Description

An improved understanding of life history responses to current environmental variability is required to predict species-specific responses to anthopogenic climate change. Previous research has suggested that cooperation in social groups may buffer individuals against some of the negative effects of unpredictable climates. We use a 15-year dataset on a cooperative-breeding arid-zone bird, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor, to test i) whether environmental conditions and group size correlate with survival of young during three development stages (egg, nestling, fledgling), and ii) whether group size mitigates the impacts of adverse environmental conditions on reproductive success. Exposure to high mean daily maximum temperatures (mean Tmax) during early development was associated with reduced survival probabilities of young in all three development stages. No young survived when mean Tmax > 38°C across all group sizes. Low reproductive success at high temperatures has broad implications for recruitment and population persistence in avian communities given the rapid pace of advancing climate change. That impacts of high temperatures were not moderated by group size, a somewhat unexpected result given prevailing theories around the influence of environmental uncertainty on the evolution of cooperation, suggests that cooperative breeding strategies are unlikely to be advantageous in the face of rapid anthropogenic climate change. An improved understanding of life history responses to current environmental variability is required to predict species-specific responses to anthopogenic climate change. Previous research has suggested that cooperation in social groups may buffer individuals against some of the negative effects of unpredictable climates. We use a 15-year dataset on a cooperative-breeding arid-zone bird, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor, to test i) whether environmental conditions and group size correlate with survival of young during three development stages (egg, nestling, fledgling), and ii) whether group size mitigates the impacts of adverse environmental conditions on reproductive success. Exposure to high mean daily maximum temperatures (mean Tmax) during early development was associated with reduced survival probabilities of young in all three development stages. No young survived when mean Tmax > 38°C across all group sizes. Low reproductive success at high temperatures has broad implications for recruitment and population persistence in avian communities given the rapid pace of advancing climate change. That impacts of high temperatures were not moderated by group size, a somewhat unexpected result given prevailing theories around the influence of environmental uncertainty on the evolution of cooperation, suggests that cooperative breeding strategies are unlikely to be advantageous in the face of rapid anthropogenic climate change.

Notes

There are many missing values - we always used only the columns required for our analyses in order to reduce the effect of missing data on samples sizes.

Funding provided by: DST-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology*
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Award Number:

Funding provided by: University of Cape Town
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007112
Award Number:

Funding provided by: Oppenheimer Memorial Trust *
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: 20747/01

Funding provided by: British Ornithologists' Union
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100008023
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Funding provided by: Australian Research Council
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000923
Award Number: FT110100188

Funding provided by: National Research Foundation of South Africa *
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: 99050

Funding provided by: Oppenheimer Memorial Trust
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: 20747/01

Funding provided by: National Research Foundation of South Africa
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: 99050

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