Snow depth drives habitat selection by overwintering birds in built-up areas, farmlands and forests

Abundances of animals vary according to species-specific habitat selection, but habitats are undergoing rapid change in response to anthropogenic alterations of land use and climate. The long-term decline of snowfall is one of the most dramatic abiotic changes in boreal regions, with potential to alter species communities and shape future ecosystems. However, the effects of snow cover on habitat-specific abundances remain unclear for many taxa. Here we explore whether long-term declines in snow cover affect the abundances of overwintering birds.

Fifty bird species.

Finland, Northern Europe.

We used generalized linear mixed models to analyse citizen-led monitoring data from 196 transects over a 32-year period to assess whether abundances of birds have changed in built-up areas, farmlands and forests, and whether these covary with warming temperatures and decreasing snow. We then explored if changes in abundance can be explained by body mass, migration strategy or feeding guilds of the species.

Over the study period, the abundance of overwintering birds increased. This increase was most pronounced in farmlands (69.6%), where abundances were positively associated with decreasing snow depth. On the other hand, while abundances in built-up habitats (19.5%) decreased over the study period, they increased in periods of high snow depths. Finally, we found that the short-distance migration strategy explains changes in bird abundances with snow. In farmlands, ground feeding birds and heavier birds also show a positive trends in abundance with decreasing snow depths.

Local snow conditions are driving habitat selection of birds in the winter; birds in farmlands were most responsive to a decrease in snow depth. Changing snow depths can affect bird movements across habitats in the winter, but also influence migratory patterns and range shifts of species.