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Temperature-Related Changes in Avian Nestling Provisioning: A Global Analysis.
Elke Molenaar1, Kat Bebbington1,2, Kevin D Matson2
1Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Global Change Biology
|April 18, 2026
Summary
Rising temperatures negatively impact bird parental care, with larger species and those feeding non-insectivorous young most affected. This reduced provisioning by parents can impact offspring survival during climate change.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Climate Change Biology
- Ornithology
Background:
- Temperature-sensitive behaviors can threaten population persistence.
- Parental care, crucial for offspring development and survival, may be compromised by temperature-induced parental constraints.
- Species exhibit varied responses to temperature changes in nestling provisioning, necessitating an understanding of vulnerability factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate factors influencing species-specific vulnerability to temperature-induced changes in parental care.
- To determine how latitude, climate, breeding system, nestling diet, and body mass explain variation in the relationship between ambient temperature and nestling provisioning rate.
Main Methods:
- Meta-analysis of 47 effect sizes from published studies.
- Quantified the relationship between ambient temperature and nestling provisioning rate across 39 bird species.
Main Results:
- Nestling provisioning rate showed a negative correlation with ambient temperature across all species, irrespective of latitude or climate.
- Cooperative breeders provisioned less with rising temperatures, unlike biparental care species which displayed varied responses.
- Provisioning was more sensitive to temperature in larger-bodied species and those with non-exclusively insectivorous offspring.
Conclusions:
- Species characteristics, such as body size and diet, influence vulnerability to temperature-induced reductions in parental care.
- Parents do not consistently buffer against increased temperatures, potentially leaving nestlings to bear the energetic costs.
- Identifying vulnerable species aids in predicting climate change impacts on avian populations and guiding future research.
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