Vulnerability of Subarctic and Arctic breeding birds

Recent research predicts that future climate change will result in substantial biodiversity loss associated with loss of habitat for species. However, the magnitude of the anticipated biodiversity impacts are less well known. Studies of species vulnerability to climate change through species distribution models are often limited to assessing the extent of species' exposure to the consequences of climate change to their local environment, neglecting species sensitivity to global change. The likelihood that species or populations will decline or go extinct due to climate change also depends on the general sensitivity and adaptive capacity of species. Hence, analyses should also obtain more accurate assessments of their vulnerability. We addressed this by constructing a vulnerability matrix for 180 bird species currently breeding in Subarctic and Arctic Europe that integrates a climatic exposure-based vulnerability index and a natural-history trait-based vulnerability index. Species that may need extra conservation attention based on our matrix include the Great Snipe (Gallinago media), the Rough-legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus), the Red-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus), the Common Swift (Apus apus), the Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris), and the Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica). Our vulnerability matrix stresses the importance of looking beyond exposure to climate change when species conservation is the aim. For the species that scored high in our matrix the future in the region looks grim and targeted conservation actions, incorporating macroecological and global perspectives, may be needed to alleviate severe population declines. We further demonstrate that climate change is predicted to significantly reduce the current breeding range of species adapted to cold climates in Subarctic and Arctic Europe. The number of incubation days and whether the species was a habitat specialist or not were also among the variables most strongly related to predicted contraction or expansion of species' breeding ranges. This approach may aid the identification of vulnerable bird species worldwide.