Demand-resource mismatch explains body shrinkage in a migratory shorebird

Recent observations of body size declines in animal populations have given rise to discussions whether or not this is related to climate change-induced temperature increases, with which the body size changes would follow Bergmann’s rule. Although the debate is ongoing, the limited thermal benefits of currently observed size reductions make it unlikely that temperature increase shapes a direct selection pressure. Food constraints during early-life development, which could be caused by mismatches between available resources and energetic demands, could cause smaller body sizes too. Here we investigate whether a decrease in body size, observed in a migratory shorebird the red knot (Calidris canutus canutus) at their West-African non-breeding grounds over two decades, is linked to developmental plasticity during chick growth in the High Arctic. To do so, we combined datasets from both the wintering and breeding grounds on body size measurements (during chick growth and in fully-grown juveni..., , , READ ME file for data and analyses appearing in:

\"Demand-resource mismatch explains body shrinkage in a migratory shorebird\"

Oortwijn, T., Lameris, T.K., Zhemchuzhnikov, M.K., Dekinga, A., ten Horn, J., Kutcherov, D., Lisovski, S.,
Piersma, T., Rakhimberdiev, R., Soloviev, M.Y., Spaans, B., Syroechkovsky, E.E., Tomkovich, P.S.,
Zhemchuzhnikova, E., van Gils, J.A.

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The data is analysed using 5 scripts and 13 data files (of which 1 data file (no. 13) generated in the scripts).

Data files include:

1. chicks.csv
2. SI_data_Taymyr.csv
3. Barcoding_Taymyr.csv
4. pitfall_arthropod_specimens_Taymyr.csv
5. pitfall_station_metadata_Taymyr.csv
6. pitfall_status_Taymyr.csv
7. biomass_length_Taymyr.csv
8. snowmelt_Knipovich.csv
9. temperature_Knipovich.csv
10. snowmelt_Taimyr.csv
11. isotopes_arthropods_Taimyr.csv
12. juveniles_Mauritania.csv
13. chicks_data.csv
14. adults_Mauritania.csv

Scripts include:

1. Taimyr_analyses.R
2. Tipulidae_traps.R
3. SI mixing model script.R
4. Structural_E...,