Monthly Meeting – 3/12/2024 – Factors Limiting Warbler Distributions in the Southern Appalachian Mountains

Sam Merkel, Ph.D will be returning to Hartford Audubon to present the program, Factors Limiting Warbler Distributions in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, at our Monthly Meeting on March 12.

Species’ ranges are shifting northward in response to climate change.  As species’ ranges shift northward, some species are experiencing rapid declines in the southern limits of their range. The exact factors affecting these declines are not known. Sam will discuss possible factors affecting these declines, breaking them down into abiotic and biotic factors.  Abiotic factors are those factors which are non-living and physical components of the environment such as temperature and humidity; Biotic factors are those that are living or relate to living organisms such as competition, predation, or parasites.  Sam will discuss these factors and how understanding these factors is paramount to enacting successful conservation measures and avoiding local bird extinctions.  Sam’s graduate research was focused on Black-throated Blue Warblers, Canada Warblers, and Hooded Warblers in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.  Even though, his research was centered on the Southern Appalachians, it will help us better understand what is happening in our own back yard.