Abstract
Responses of wildlife to climate change are typically quantified at the species level, but physiological evidence suggests significant intraspecific variation in thermal sensitivity (non-stationarity) given adaptation to local and seasonal environments. Non-stationarity carries important implications for climate change vulnerability; for instance, sensitivity to extreme weather may increase in specific regions or seasons. Here, we leverage high-resolution observational data from eBird to understand regional and seasonal variation in thermal sensitivity for 20 bird species. Across their ranges, most birds demonstrated spatial and seasonal variation in both thermal optimum and breadth, or the temperature and range of temperatures of peak occurrence. Some birds demonstrated constant thermal optima or breadths (stationarity) while others varied according to local and current environmental conditions (non-stationarity). Across species, birds typically invested in either geographic or seasonal adaptation to climate. Intraspecific variation in thermal sensitivity is likely an important but neglected aspect of organismal responses to climate change.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
Author emails (in order of authorship): jeremy3cohen{at}gmail.com, daniel.fink{at}cornell.edu, bzuckerberg{at}wisc.edu
Author statement: all authors agreed to submission of the manuscript and accept the responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the manuscript.
Data Accessibility Statement: The data supporting the results will be archived in an appropriate public repository such as Dryad or Figshare and the data DOI will be included at the end of the article.