PhD in Biological Sciences and Applied Biotechnologies

Contacts

Supervisor

Curriculum vitae

Phd thesis

Interactions between alpine biodiversity, snow and climate change

How snow cover, snow melt and avalanches shape high elevation bird communities

Alba, R., Kasoar, T., Chamberlain, D., Buchanan, G., Thompson, D., & Pearce‐Higgins, J. W. (2022). Drivers of change in mountain and upland bird populations in Europe. Ibis.

Requena, E., Alba, R., Rosselli, D., & Chamberlain, D. (2022). Avalanche Tracks are Key Habitats for the Rock Bunting Emberiza cia in the Alps. Ardeola, 69(2), 203-217.

Overview

The project is planned for three years. The field work will be carried out in Alpi Cozie in the Province of Turin, Piemonte, Italy.

Mountain ecosystems show high levels of species diversity and endemism, with heterogeneous communities adapted to specific environmental conditions that change along the elevation gradient. These communities are under a range of threats, especially from climate change. However, knowledge of the basic ecology of alpine bird species is lacking. To assess potential impacts of climate change scenario, elevational gradients can be useful as they provide a space-for-time substitution for latitudinal gradients.

Avalanches are among the most important disturbances that affect mountains. Several studies have considered their effects on plants, but there have been no studies on animals. Besides their effect as hazards for people, avalanches have a strong impact on structure of subalpine forest landscapes, enhancing biodiversity by promoting habitat heterogeneity at large scale. As climate change is likely to influence avalanche–forest interactions, a better understanding of these processes is needed.

High-altitude organisms have evolved specific adaptations resulting from the interplay between temperature, snow cover and vegetation growth. The short breeding season exerts an immense pressure on high mountain animals, thus they are highly sensitive to changes in snowmelt patterns. However, there have been few studies on how snow phenology affects Alpine birds. Climate change will change snowmelt patterns in the future, thus a greater understanding of consequences for biodiversity are required.

Mountain areas are subject to higher rates of warming compared to the global average. Alpine bird species and habitats are expected to change particularly rapidly during this century due to climate change, leading to increased risk of extinction. Fine-grained studies are thus an absolute prerequisite for meaningful predictions of future distributions.

Given these aspects, the main aim of this projects is to understand how avalanches shape high-elevation bird communities, and what will be the consequences of climate change on mountain bird assemblages.

Methods: point counts and transects, habitat and vegetation surveys 

Publications