Effects of Fire, Extreme Weather, Effects of Fire, Extreme Weather, and Anthropogenic Disturbanceand Anthropogenic DisturbanceOn Avian Biodiversity in the U.S.On Avian Biodiversity in the U.S.

NASA Biodiversity Science Team Meeting, Washington DC NASA Biodiversity Science Team Meeting, Washington DC May 18, 2010May 18, 2010

Anna M. Pidgeon, V. Radeloff, T. Albright, Anna M. Pidgeon, V. Radeloff, T. Albright, C. Ritttenhouse, M. Clayton, C. Ritttenhouse, M. Clayton,

University of Wisconsin-MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

C. Flather, S. Stewart, C. Flather, S. Stewart, U.S. Forest ServiceU.S. Forest Service

J. Masek, J. Masek, NASA Goddard Space Flight CenterNASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Pidgeon et al., 2007, Ecol. Appl., 17:1989-2010

Bird biodiversity patternsBird biodiversity patterns

Research questionResearch question

How does disturbance How does disturbance contribute to patterns of bird contribute to patterns of bird biodiversity?biodiversity?

Disturbance and bird biodiversityDisturbance and bird biodiversity

Integrating the dataIntegrating the data

Fire

MODIS active fire products

Select disturbed BBS routes

Select comparable undisturbed BBS routes

Heat waves

MODIS surface

temperature

Regression analysis of biodiversity response versus magnitude of disturbance

MODIS surface

temperature

Droughts

Palmer drought index

MODIS LAI/NPP

data

Storms

Hurricane/ tornado tracks

Clearcuts

LEDAPS disturbance

data

LEDAPS disturbance

data

Fragmen-tation

NLCD 1992/93

LEDAPS reflectance

data

Houses

U.S. Census data 1980, 1990, 2000

t-test of biodiversity response disturbed versus undisturbed

LEDAPS disturbance

data

LEDAPS disturbance

data

MODIS active fires/ burned area

Extreme weather Human disturbanceFire

MODIS active fire products

Select disturbed BBS routes

Select comparable undisturbed BBS routes

Heat waves

MODIS surface

temperature

Regression analysis of biodiversity response versus magnitude of disturbance

MODIS surface

temperature

Droughts

Palmer drought index

MODIS LAI/NPP

data

Storms

Hurricane/ tornado tracks

Clearcuts

LEDAPS disturbance

data

LEDAPS disturbance

data

Fragmen-tation

NLCD 1992/93

LEDAPS reflectance

data

Houses

U.S. Census data 1980, 1990, 2000

t-test of biodiversity response disturbed versus undisturbed

LEDAPS disturbance

data

LEDAPS disturbance

data

MODIS active fires/ burned area

Extreme weather Human disturbance

Houses and forest fragmentation: Both fragmentation and housing development had strong effects on avian richness Effects differed by guild and ecoregion E.g., in the West houses were positively correlated with richness, but negatively in East

Pidgeon et al., 2007, Ecol. Appl., 17:1989-2010 Lepczyk et al., 2008, Cons. Bio., 22:405-416

Disturbance and bird biodiversityDisturbance and bird biodiversity

Fire

MODIS active fire products

Select disturbed BBS routes

Select comparable undisturbed BBS routes

Heat waves

MODIS surface

temperature

Regression analysis of biodiversity response versus magnitude of disturbance

MODIS surface

temperature

Droughts

Palmer drought index

MODIS LAI/NPP

data

Storms

Hurricane/ tornado tracks

Clearcuts

LEDAPS disturbance

data

LEDAPS disturbance

data

Fragmen-tation

NLCD 1992/93

LEDAPS reflectance

data

Houses

U.S. Census data 1980, 1990, 2000

t-test of biodiversity response disturbed versus undisturbed

LEDAPS disturbance

data

LEDAPS disturbance

data

MODIS active fires/ burned area

Extreme weather Human disturbanceFire

MODIS active fire products

Select disturbed BBS routes

Select comparable undisturbed BBS routes

Heat waves

MODIS surface

temperature

Regression analysis of biodiversity response versus magnitude of disturbance

MODIS surface

temperature

Droughts

Palmer drought index

MODIS LAI/NPP

data

Storms

Hurricane/ tornado tracks

Clearcuts

LEDAPS disturbance

data

LEDAPS disturbance

data

Fragmen-tation

NLCD 1992/93

LEDAPS reflectance

data

Houses

U.S. Census data 1980, 1990, 2000

t-test of biodiversity response disturbed versus undisturbed

LEDAPS disturbance

data

LEDAPS disturbance

data

MODIS active fires/ burned area

Extreme weather Human disturbance

Hurricanes : Hurricanes changed species abundances, and community composition, but did not change species richness

Rittenhouse et al., 2010, Global Change Biology

Disturbance and bird biodiversityDisturbance and bird biodiversity

Disturbance and bird biodiversityDisturbance and bird biodiversity

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Study sites

Forested ecoregions

km1000±

Disturbance and bird biodiversityDisturbance and bird biodiversity

Disturbance and bird biodiversityDisturbance and bird biodiversity

d1 d2Legend

BBS route

Non-forest

Forest

Water

Post-disturbance forest

Disturbed forest

Post-disturb. Non-forest

Successive change Progressive change

Com

mun

ity s

imila

rity

Predicted Community Similarity: Neotrop migrant

0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.100.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

0.35

Proportion of disturbed forestPro

port

ion

of p

ost-

dist

urba

nce

non-

fore

st

(For

est L

oss)

Predicted Community Similarity: Residents

Lat

itude

0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10

32

34

36

38

40

42

44

46

Proportion of disturbed forest

N

S

Predicted Community Similarity: Ground nesters

-117 -103 -89 -82 -750.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

0.35

Longitude EWPro

port

ion

of p

ost-

dist

urba

nce

non-

fore

st

(For

est L

oss)

Forest Forest disturbancedisturbance maintained community maintained community similarity for several guilds, including similarity for several guilds, including neotropical migrants, permanent residents and neotropical migrants, permanent residents and cavity nesters cavity nesters

Forest Forest lossloss decreased community similarity for decreased community similarity for all forest birds, and most guilds all forest birds, and most guilds

Disturbance and bird biodiversityDisturbance and bird biodiversity

Disturbance and bird biodiversityDisturbance and bird biodiversity

Drought associated with abundance declines among migratory birds in High Plains

[Albright et al., in press, Global Change Biol.]

Response to -3 S.D. June-ending 32-week SPI

Humid Dry Montane

Disturbance and bird biodiversityDisturbance and bird biodiversity

Disturbance and bird biodiversityDisturbance and bird biodiversity

MODIS Land MODIS Land surface surface temperaturetemperature

Disturbance and bird biodiversityDisturbance and bird biodiversity

Standardized seasonal land surface Standardized seasonal land surface temperature exceedancetemperature exceedance

Summer-long heat wave associated with avian abundance

[Albright et al., in revision, Remote Sens. Environ.]

Response to summer-long heat wave

(+3 C° mean exceedance)

Disturbance and bird biodiversityDisturbance and bird biodiversity

Drought and heatwaves: Why consider them jointly?

Interaction effects

1) Physical: Negative correlation between anomalies of temperature and precipitation

2) Biotic: Water requirements rise with temperature

[Kevin McGowan]

Response of ground-nesting species to drought/heat events

Nesting period Post-fledging period

Changes in migratory bird abundance

associated with “drought/heat events

Nesting period Post-fledging periodTemperate migrants

Neotropical migrants

+20%

+15%

+10%

+5%

+2%

-2%

-5%

-10%

-15%

-20%

N Y

Significance (P < 0.05)

Drought - Abundance declined, species Drought - Abundance declined, species richness did not change richness did not change

Heatwave - Avian community patterns most Heatwave - Avian community patterns most related to MODIS 8-day LST exceedancesrelated to MODIS 8-day LST exceedances

Drought/Heat events- effects most severe in Drought/Heat events- effects most severe in arid southwestarid southwest

Disturbance and bird biodiversityDisturbance and bird biodiversity

DiscussionDiscussion

Abundance – 1Abundance – 1stst signal of change signal of change

Mechanisms-loss of juveniles? Mechanisms-loss of juveniles?

-returning migrant birds -returning migrant birds redistribute themselves?redistribute themselves?

ConclusionsConclusions

Remote sensing measures Remote sensing measures of of climatic stabilityclimatic stability and and forest disturbance forest disturbance are effective in characterizing drivers of are effective in characterizing drivers of avian patterns avian patterns

ConclusionsConclusions

Communities are continuously in fluxCommunities are continuously in flux

Disturbance affects both interannual Disturbance affects both interannual variability and long-term avian patternsvariability and long-term avian patterns

Abundance is more strongly affected by Abundance is more strongly affected by climate events than species richnessclimate events than species richness

Thank you!

Northern Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsi

n

Landcover

Housing density