Author ORCID Identifier:
Date of Graduation
12-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Biology (PhD)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Biological Sciences
Advisor/Mentor
DuRant, Sarah
Committee Member
Siepielski, Adam
Second Committee Member
DeGregorio, Brett
Third Committee Member
Beaulieu, Jeremy
Keywords
behavioral ecology; birds; climate change
Abstract
Anthropogenic climate change is projected to shift not only average temperatures across the globe, but also the amount of thermal variation experienced in the natural environment. Exposure to shifts in averages and a wider range of thermal experiences will cause shifts in wildlife behavior. In avian species, behaviors exhibited during reproduction have implications for the well-being of their offspring. Here, I explore specific incubation behaviors in four species: Scaled Quail (Callipepla squamata), Northern Bobwhite Quail (Colinus virginianus), Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), and Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis). I examined constancy, or the percentage of time on the nest, and off-bout duration, or the time spent off the nest. I found that constancy and off-bout duration in all species responded to both average temperature and thermal variation in differing ways. Thermal variation restricted the length of off-bouts generally, but they became more frequent in the smaller, passerine Tree Swallow and Eastern Bluebirds. Constancy increased generally with increasing average temperature. Relationships with behaviors varied by the timescale and temperature observed, pointing to the importance of data-driven and specifically contextualized wildlife responses to climate change. In an observational and experimental framework, I also examine the responses of offspring growth to adult behavior and external temperature in the passerine species. Hatch mass and structural growth increases with increasing investment in Eastern Bluebirds, but increasing environmental average temperature leads to declines in mass, suggesting increased investment does not lead to heavier offspring.
Citation
Kirkpatrick, W. H. (2025). Multiple Aspects of Environmental Temperature have Complex Interactions with Avian Parental Behavior to Influence Offspring Outcomes. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/6072
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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons
