Anthropogenic Nest Cavities Used by Snow Buntings in an Urban Arctic Landscape
ABSTRACT Northern and Arctic ecosystems are experiencing rapid climate change, and simultaneously, human populations in the North are growing and centralizing. The Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) is a Holarctic‐breeding songbird and abundant in urban Iqaluit (pop. 7400), Nunavut. In nonurban ar...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71457 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849726520420990976 |
|---|---|
| author | Samuelle Simard‐Provençal Patricia Rokitnicki Rebecca Golat François Vézina Oliver P. Love Emily A. McKinnon |
| author_facet | Samuelle Simard‐Provençal Patricia Rokitnicki Rebecca Golat François Vézina Oliver P. Love Emily A. McKinnon |
| author_sort | Samuelle Simard‐Provençal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Northern and Arctic ecosystems are experiencing rapid climate change, and simultaneously, human populations in the North are growing and centralizing. The Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) is a Holarctic‐breeding songbird and abundant in urban Iqaluit (pop. 7400), Nunavut. In nonurban areas of the Arctic, nest cavities are a limited resource for breeding Snow Buntings. Our goal was to assess the extent of Snow Buntings' use of anthropogenic structures versus natural rock cavities for nesting in Iqaluit. We found 160 Snow Bunting nests (2023, 2024) in Iqaluit; 45% of these were in anthropogenic nest cavities, for example, in vents in buildings or human‐made rock structures (e.g., revetment gabions). This is the first documentation of extensive anthropogenic cavity use of Snow Buntings in an urban‐Arctic environment. Nests in anthropogenic structures were significantly higher off the ground than nests in natural cavities but were similar in orientation and depth. Natural cavities were exclusively in rock. Anthropogenic nesting cavities were also primarily in rock (77%) but about 10% of cavities were in other materials, including wood, metal, or buildings. Given this flexibility in nest cavity use, Snow Buntings may be less limited for nest cavities in the urban environment compared to a natural landscape, although the impacts of anthropogenic nest cavities on reproductive success remain to be explored. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2501d6f36bbd4d2ca7ec2242e1f78613 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-2501d6f36bbd4d2ca7ec2242e1f786132025-08-20T03:10:09ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-05-01155n/an/a10.1002/ece3.71457Anthropogenic Nest Cavities Used by Snow Buntings in an Urban Arctic LandscapeSamuelle Simard‐Provençal0Patricia Rokitnicki1Rebecca Golat2François Vézina3Oliver P. Love4Emily A. McKinnon5Department of Integrative Biology University of Windsor Windsor Ontario CanadaDepartment of Integrative Biology University of Windsor Windsor Ontario CanadaDepartment of Integrative Biology University of Windsor Windsor Ontario CanadaDépartement de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie Université du Québec à Rimouski Rimouski Québec CanadaDepartment of Integrative Biology University of Windsor Windsor Ontario CanadaDepartment of Integrative Biology University of Windsor Windsor Ontario CanadaABSTRACT Northern and Arctic ecosystems are experiencing rapid climate change, and simultaneously, human populations in the North are growing and centralizing. The Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) is a Holarctic‐breeding songbird and abundant in urban Iqaluit (pop. 7400), Nunavut. In nonurban areas of the Arctic, nest cavities are a limited resource for breeding Snow Buntings. Our goal was to assess the extent of Snow Buntings' use of anthropogenic structures versus natural rock cavities for nesting in Iqaluit. We found 160 Snow Bunting nests (2023, 2024) in Iqaluit; 45% of these were in anthropogenic nest cavities, for example, in vents in buildings or human‐made rock structures (e.g., revetment gabions). This is the first documentation of extensive anthropogenic cavity use of Snow Buntings in an urban‐Arctic environment. Nests in anthropogenic structures were significantly higher off the ground than nests in natural cavities but were similar in orientation and depth. Natural cavities were exclusively in rock. Anthropogenic nesting cavities were also primarily in rock (77%) but about 10% of cavities were in other materials, including wood, metal, or buildings. Given this flexibility in nest cavity use, Snow Buntings may be less limited for nest cavities in the urban environment compared to a natural landscape, although the impacts of anthropogenic nest cavities on reproductive success remain to be explored.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71457Arcticclimate changesongbirdsynanthropicurban ecology |
| spellingShingle | Samuelle Simard‐Provençal Patricia Rokitnicki Rebecca Golat François Vézina Oliver P. Love Emily A. McKinnon Anthropogenic Nest Cavities Used by Snow Buntings in an Urban Arctic Landscape Ecology and Evolution Arctic climate change songbird synanthropic urban ecology |
| title | Anthropogenic Nest Cavities Used by Snow Buntings in an Urban Arctic Landscape |
| title_full | Anthropogenic Nest Cavities Used by Snow Buntings in an Urban Arctic Landscape |
| title_fullStr | Anthropogenic Nest Cavities Used by Snow Buntings in an Urban Arctic Landscape |
| title_full_unstemmed | Anthropogenic Nest Cavities Used by Snow Buntings in an Urban Arctic Landscape |
| title_short | Anthropogenic Nest Cavities Used by Snow Buntings in an Urban Arctic Landscape |
| title_sort | anthropogenic nest cavities used by snow buntings in an urban arctic landscape |
| topic | Arctic climate change songbird synanthropic urban ecology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71457 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT samuellesimardprovencal anthropogenicnestcavitiesusedbysnowbuntingsinanurbanarcticlandscape AT patriciarokitnicki anthropogenicnestcavitiesusedbysnowbuntingsinanurbanarcticlandscape AT rebeccagolat anthropogenicnestcavitiesusedbysnowbuntingsinanurbanarcticlandscape AT francoisvezina anthropogenicnestcavitiesusedbysnowbuntingsinanurbanarcticlandscape AT oliverplove anthropogenicnestcavitiesusedbysnowbuntingsinanurbanarcticlandscape AT emilyamckinnon anthropogenicnestcavitiesusedbysnowbuntingsinanurbanarcticlandscape |