Université du Québec à Rimouski
M.Sc. candidate
Supervisor: François Vézina
Oliver Love, Université de Windsor
Start: 2025-09-01

Project

Arctic Warming and Overheating in the Snow Bunting: A Comparison of Reproductive Performance at the Extremes of Its Breeding Range.
In the Arctic, climate warming is occurring at a much faster rate than anywhere else on the planet. Species living there, adapted to extreme cold through specialized physiological and behavioral mechanisms, may have a limited capacity to dissipate heat. The Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), an Arctic passerine characterized by exceptional thermal insulation but low tolerance to even moderate temperatures, could see its reproductive success compromised under the projected temperature increases, notably due to a higher risk of hyperthermia during sustained activity. However, given the vast climatic and environmental heterogeneity of the Arctic, the impacts of warming are expected to vary across the species’ breeding range. This project aims to compare the effects of thermal environment on the reproductive performance of the Snow Bunting between the High and Low Arctic. First, we will compare reproductive parameters (clutch size, hatching and fledging success, breeding phenology, and chick growth) between the two sites. Next, we will analyze daily provisioning patterns in relation to thermal conditions. Finally, we will compare thermal stress and its effects on reproductive performance across the species’ breeding range extremes.

Keywords

Écophysiologie, Arctique, reproduction, Stress thermique