Continent‐Wide Drivers of Spatial Synchrony in Breeding Demographic Structure Across Wild Great Tit Populations
Variation in age structure influences population dynamics, yet we have limited understanding of the spatial scale at which its fluctuations are synchronised between populations. Using 32 great tit populations, spanning 4° W-33° E and 35°-65° N involving > 130,000 birds across 67 years, we quantify spatial synchrony in breeding demographic structure (subadult vs. adult breeders) and its drivers. We show that larger clutch sizes, colder winters, and larger beech crops lead to younger populations. We report distance-dependent synchrony of demographic structure, maintained at approximately 650 km. Despite covariation with demographic structure, we do not find evidence for environmental variables influencing the scale of synchrony, except for beech masting. We suggest that local ecological and density-dependent dynamics impact how environmental variation interacts with demographic structure, influencing estimates of the environment's effect on synchrony. Our analyses demonstrate the operation of synchrony in demographic structure over large scales, with implications for age-dependent demography in populations.
Authors
- Anne Charmantier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0691-2647)
- Josh A. Firth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7183-4115)
- Simon R. Evans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5812-4039)
- Blandine Doligez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3015-5022)
- Stefan J. G. Vriend (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9006-5988)
- P. Samuel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5405-7753)
- Ben C. Sheldon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5240-7828)
- Kees van Oers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6984-906X)
- Tapio Eeva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0395-1536)
- Emilio Barba (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2882-9788)
- Marcel E. Visser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1456-1939)
- András Liker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8545-4869)
- Laure Cauchard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7444-5473)
- Arnaud Grégoire (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6103-355X)
- Erik Matthysen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7521-9248)
- Juan Carlos Señar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9955-3892)
- Gábor Seress (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9828-4934)
- Ella F. Cole (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2689-946X)
- Seppo Rytkönen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5186-6072)
- Niels J. Dingemanse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3320-0861)
- Joe P. Woodman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9774-1910)
- Malcolm D. Burgess (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1288-1231)
- Frank Adriaensen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5160-0351)
- Marta Szulkin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7355-5846)
- Markku Orell
- John S. Park
- Emma Vatka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2935-8295)
- Agu Leivits (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5144-7617)
- Elena Álvarez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8256-443X)
- Marcel M. Lambrechts (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5829-7877)
- Alexander V. Artemyev
Institutions
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR)
- Uppsala University (SE)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Leeds (GB)
- Russian Academy of Sciences (RU)
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- University of Pannonia (HU)
- University of Antwerp (BE)
- University of Turku (FI)
- École Pratique des Hautes Études (FR)
- Université de Montpellier (FR)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- Swiss Ornithological Institute (CH)
- Parc Científic de la Universitat de València (ES)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive (FR)
- Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (ES)
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NL)
- Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive (FR)
- Karelian Research Centre (RU)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
- University of Warsaw (PL)
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE)
- Wageningen University & Research (NL)
- University of Oulu (FI)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Ecology Letters
- Published
- 2025-02-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70079
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.87
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- UK Research and Innovation
- Sight Research UK
- University of Oxford
- European Commission
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Academy of Finland
- Magyar Tudományos Akadémia
- Narodowe Centrum Nauki
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
- Natural Environment Research Council
- European Research Council
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación
- National Research, Development and Innovation Office
- H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions