Population Growth in a Wild Bird Is Buffered Against Phenological Mismatch

Abstract

Balancing Act Life cycles are strongly influenced by seasonal and interannual environmental and climate events. Such phenological timings are likely to shift as our climate changes, but species exist in communities, and not all species can be expected to shift in concert. Reed et al. (p. 488 ) used long-term data on European great tits to reveal how the negative consequences of phenological mismatch can be buffered: Lower fitness in individuals subject to mismatch-driven reductions of food availability was balanced by reductions in competition. Thus, overall, the population is resilient and has not declined.