Responses of White-throated sparrows to simulated winter storm cues

These data were used in the publication \"Increased frequency of exposure to simulated winter storm cues negatively affects white-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis)\" Front. Ecol. Evol. | doi: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00222

Climate change is causing changes in weather patterns and more frequent extreme weather events. Although birds are often able to cope with and respond to inclement weather with physiological and behavioral responses, as weather events become more severe or frequent the adaptive coping responses of many species may be pushed beyond their limits. We investigated the effects of experimental recurrent inclement winter weather cues on body composition, glucocorticoid hormones, and behavior of white-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis). We used a hypobaric climatic wind tunnel to simulate storms by transiently decreasing barometric pressure and temperature, and measured behavioral responses, body composition, and baseline corticosterone levels in birds exposed, or ...