What Is a Mild Winter? Regional Differences in Within-Species Responses to Climate Change

摘要: Climate change is known to affect ecosystems globally, but our knowledge of its impact on large and widespread mammals, possibly population-specific responses still sparse. We investigated large-scale long-term effects climate local population dynamics using the wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) as a model species. Our results show that increases across Europe are strongly associated with increasingly mild winters, yet region-specific threshold temperatures for onset exponential growth. Additionally, we found abundant availability critical food resources, e.g. beech nuts, can outweigh negative cold winters growth boar. Availability nuts highly variable highest in years mast which increased frequency since 1980, according data. conclude drives directly by relaxing effect survival reproduction, indirectly increasing availability. However, need be considered order fully understand species’ demographic response change.