Divergent Population Trajectories Despite Similar Response to Temperature in a Widespread Aerial Insectivore

Authors

• Conor C. Taff, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• J. Ryan Shipley, Eawag - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology
• Daniel R. Ardia, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster
• David Aborn, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
• Lauren Albert, Indiana University Bloomington
• Marc Bélisle, Université de Sherbrooke
• Amos Belmaker, Tel Aviv University
• Lisha L. Berzins, University of Saskatchewan
• Tricia Blake, Alaska Songbird Institute
• Frances Bonier, Queen’s University
• Hannah C. Brewer, University of Connecticut
• Michael W. Butler, Lafayette College
• Kyle Cameron, Long Point Bird Observatory
• Samuel B. Case, University of Wyoming
• David Chang van Oordt, Princeton University
• Robert G. Clark, Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Ethan D. Clotfelter, Amherst College
• Amelia R. Cox, Government of the Northwest Territories
• Russell D. Dawson, University of Northern British Columbia
• Elizabeth P. Derryberry, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Ana M. Diaz Bohorquez, Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Peter O. Dunn, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-14-2026

Publication Source

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Volume Number

123

Issue Number

28

ISSN

00278424

E-ISSN

10916490

Article Number

e2601817123

Abstract

Climate change is shifting when animals breed [C. Parmesan, G. Yohe, Nature 421, 37–42 (2003) and S. J. Thackeray et al., Nature 535, 241–245 (2016)], but it is not clear why some populations keep pace with warming while others fall behind [L. D. Bailey et al., Nat. Commun. 13, 2112 (2022) and J. M. Samplonius et al., Glob. Change Biol. 24, 3780–3790 (2018)]. Differences could arise from variation in sensitivity to temperature [L. D. Bailey et al., Nat. Commun. 13, 2112 (2022)] or constraints on the ability to respond to temperature. Without knowing whether populations differ in sensitivity—or in their ability to act on that sensitivity—we cannot identify which are most at risk. Using 1,555 population-years from 123 populations of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), we show that populations have similar sensitivity to local temperature, advancing breeding by about one day per degree of warming. However, northern populations face tighter time constraints and greater exposure to recent warming. Northern populations have advanced laying dates the most, but still experience stronger selection for earlier breeding, especially in warm years; they have also declined most in breeding abundance. These findings suggest that vulnerability to climate change can arise not just from different sensitivity to warming, but from when and where populations can respond effectively. By disentangling sensitivity from timing constraints, our results are consistent with a general mechanism by which even uniformly responsive species can show uneven impacts of climate change across their ranges.

Keywords

adaptation, climate change, laying date, phenological sensitivity

Recommended Citation

Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Volume 123, Issue 28, July 14, 2026.