Northern Bobwhite Response to Drought is Biome-Specific

Weather extremes are increasing in frequency and magnitude, and this trend is projected to continue as anthropogenic climate change progresses. These extremes can include increases in severe drought as well as anomalously heavy rainfall. As birds continue to face novel climatic pressures, including precipitation extremes, the need to hone our understanding of their variable responses is becoming increasingly urgent. Though many studies have evaluated wildlife responses to precipitation variability, less is known about possible biome-specific responses within a single species. Using a half-century of systematically collected count data, we investigate northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) responses to drought and abnormally high rainfall in the Great Plains and Eastern Temperate Forest biomes of North America. Our study demonstrated that, though bobwhite underwent a significant response to declining precipitation throughout its range, the direction of effect was biome-dependent. Specifically, bobwhite relative abundance declined following 12-month droughts prior to the breeding season April in the Great Plains but had a weak, positive association with drought in the Eastern Temperate Forest. This study adds complexity to our understanding of how bobwhite respond to the same environmental pressure (i.e., drought) across its geographic range and highlights the importance of developing region-specific management strategies in the face of a changing climate.