Continent-Wide Drivers of Spatial Synchrony in Breeding Demographic Structure Across Wild Great Tit Populations

Joe P. Woodman* (Corresponding author), Stefan J.G. Vriend, Frank Adriaensen, Elena Álvarez, Alexander Artemyev, Emilio Barba, Malcolm D. Burgess, Samuel P. Caro, Laure Cauchard, Anne Charmantier, Ella F. Cole, Niels Dingemanse, Blandine Doligez, Tapio Eeva, Simon R. Evans, Arnaud Grégoire, Marcel Lambrechts, Agu Leivits, András Liker, Erik MatthysenMarkku Orell, John S. Park, Seppo Rytkönen, Juan Carlos Senar, Gábor Seress, Marta Szulkin, Kees van Oers, Emma Vatka, Marcel E. Visser, Josh A. Firth, Ben C. Sheldon

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/periodicalArticleScientificpeer-review

Abstract

Variation in age structure influences population dynamics, yet we have limited understanding of the spatial scale at which its fluctuations are synchronised between populations. Using 32 great tit populations, spanning 4° W–33° E and 35°–65° N involving > 130,000 birds across 67 years, we quantify spatial synchrony in breeding demographic structure (subadult vs. adult breeders) and its drivers. We show that larger clutch sizes, colder winters, and larger beech crops lead to younger populations. We report distance-dependent synchrony of demographic structure, maintained at approximately 650 km. Despite covariation with demographic structure, we do not find evidence for environmental variables influencing the scale of synchrony, except for beech masting. We suggest that local ecological and density-dependent dynamics impact how environmental variation interacts with demographic structure, influencing estimates of the environment's effect on synchrony. Our analyses demonstrate the operation of synchrony in demographic structure over large scales, with implications for age-dependent demography in populations.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere70079
JournalEcology Letters
Volume28
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2025

Keywords

  • age structure
  • demographic structure
  • great tit
  • mast seeding
  • Moran effect
  • Parus major
  • population dynamics
  • spatial synchrony
  • data from: Continent-Wide Drivers of Spatial Synchrony in Breeding Demographic Structure Across Wild Great Tit Populations

    Woodman, J. P. (Creator), Vriend, S. (Creator), Adriaensen, F. (Creator), Álvarez, E. (Creator), Artemyev, A. (Creator), Barba, E. (Creator), Burgess, M. D. (Creator), Caro, S. P. (Creator), Cauchard, L. (Creator), Charmantier, A. (Creator), Cole, E. F. (Creator), Dingemanse, N. (Creator), Doligez, B. F. (Creator), Eeva, T. (Creator), Evans, S. R. (Creator), Grégoire, A. (Creator), Lambrechts, M. M. (Creator), Leivits, A. (Creator), Liker, A. (Creator), Matthysen, E. (Creator), Orell, M. (Creator), Park, J. S. (Creator), Rytkönen, S. (Creator), Senar, J. C. (Creator), Seress, G. (Creator), Szulkin, M. (Creator), van Oers, K. (Creator), Vatka, E. (Creator), Visser, M. E. (Creator), Firth, J. A. (Creator) & Sheldon, B. C. (Creator), Dryad, 22 Jan 2025

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