Climate Change Ecology
As part of my first postdoctoral position (UW-Madison, USA) and my ongoing projects in collaboration with Dr. Benjamin Zuckerberg, I developed an integrative approach to study the response of populations and communities to climate change, at different spatio-temporal scales, and to explore the mechanisms underlying these responses.
* Based on a species-centered approach, I studied the phenomena of spatio-temporal correlation in populations and the influence of environmental changes (climate, pollution, biological invasion, etc.) on these phenomena. For example, the study of climatic variability in wintering areas has demonstrated its important role in the phenology of temperate migratory birds (Zuckerberg et al. 2015) (Princé et al. In prep).
In a different project, I studied the spatial synchrony of botulinum toxin-related avian mortality events in the Great Lakes region, with particular interest for species in high decline such as the Common Loon (Gavia immer). This project was based on the development of an integrated approach to botulism eruption research, understanding the mechanisms and processes that lead to these epidemics, how this occurs, what causes and consequences, and so on (Princé et al. 2018).
* As part of a broader project, I was interested in the spatio-temporal changes in the composition of wintering bird communities, and in the potential influence of regional changes in winter temperatures observed in recent decades in North America.
Using a functional index based on a species-specific climate niche measure a functional index corresponding to a climatic niche measure of species, I investigated whether and how community composition is affected by climate change. For example, I have been able to show that the structure of wintering bird communities has recently changed towards communities that are increasingly composed of warm-adapted species (Princé & Zuckerberg, 2015).
I have also been interested in the spatio-temporal trajectories of overwintering bird communities and whether they were similar to those of climate change during its last decades (Collaboration w/ B. Bateman & A. Pidgeon, UW Madison) (Princé et al., In prep).
As species adapted to warm temperatures continue to move north, questions remain as to whether these new wintering bird communities are more sensitive to the increasing intensity and frequency of winter harshness. To attempt to answer this question, I conducted a complementary study to quantify the effects of recent extreme weather events on population extinction / colonization processes and community diversity (Princé et al., In prep). This work was carried out in the framework of a Master 2 Research internship (E. Delmas, 2015. Collaboration w/ M. Tingley, U Connecticut; PDF Master Thesis).
* I am also interested in the influence of the landscape on the recent response of communities to climate change. Indeed, large-scale climate gradients can alter the spatial distribution of species, but topographic heterogeneity creates local microclimates that can, at finer spatial scales, generate variations in responses to macro changes-climate (Gaüzere, Princé & Devictor, 2016) (Princé et al., In prep). In order to better understand the species-habitat associations and the influence on the structure and dynamics of communities, we recently investigated the role of structural and functional variability of vegetation in the selection of species habitats and diversity of bird communities in forests (S. Wroza, Master student 2016. Collaboration w/ P. Townsend. PDF Master Thesis).
Relevant publications
Gaüzère, P., K. Princé, and V. Devictor. Where do they go? 2016. The effects of topography and habitat diversity on reducing climatic debt in birds. Global Change Biology 23, 2218–2229
Princé, K., and B. Zuckerberg. 2015. Climate change in our backyards: the reshuffling of North America’s winter bird communities. Global Change Biology 21, 572-585.
Princé, K., J. G. Chipault, C. L. White, and B. Zuckerberg. 2018. Synchronisation of avian botulism type E outbreaks and environmental conditions in the Great Lakes. Journal of Applied Ecology
Zuckerberg, B., E. J. Ross, K. Princé, and D. N. Bonter. 2015. Climate variability on wintering grounds drives spring arrival of short-distance migrants to the Upper Midwestern United States. in E. M. Wood and J. L. Kellermann (editors), Phenological synchrony and bird migration: changing climate and seasonal resources in North America. Studies in Avian Biology (no. 47), CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.