In recent years scientists have identified strong relationships between avian population dynamics, climate, and weather. Consistent with the Institute for Bird Populations' (IBP) mission (link) scientists Phil Nott, Dave DeSante, Rodney Siegel and Peter Pyle are investigating these relationships in selected regions of North and Central America. This is made possible by combining data on birth and death rates, derived from the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program, with satellite- and ground-sensed data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Their first publication in this series appeared in the July issue of the British scientific journal Global Ecology and Biogeography (Blackwell Science).

Nott, M.P., DeSante, D.F., Siegel, R.B., and P. Pyle. 2002. Influences of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation on avian productivity in forests of the Pacific Northwest of North America. Global Ecology and Biogeography 11:333-342.

Here we provide downloadable documents relating to this study ....

Bird Reproduction in Northwest U.S Linked to Global Climate Phenomena (pdf format 250k) describing how the El Nino Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation climate cycles affect birds that breed in the Pacific Northwest.

ENSO and NAO: What are they? (pdf format 150k) a brief explanation of how the El Nino Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation affect weather in western Mexico and the Pacific Northwest.

Supplemental Figures (pdf format 230k) to Nott et al. (2002) depicting temporal patterns (1992-2000) of reproductive indices for, A) 18 Neotropical wintering species and, B) 16 temperate wintering species.

IBP's brochure (pdf format 530k) more information about IBP - its goals, activities and acheivements.

American Bird Conservancy (ABC) develops models examining how the summer distributions of North American birds might change under various climate change scenarios. As future funding becomes available, ABC will also be looking at how winter ranges might change.

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