Teleconnections and local weather orchestrate the reproduction of tit species in the Carpathian Basin

Variation in climatic conditions is an important driving force of ecological processes. Populations are under selection to respond to climatic changes with respect to phenology of the annual cycle (e.g. breeding, migration) and life-history. As teleconnections can reflect climate on a global scale, the responses of terrestrial animals are often investigated in relation to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and North Atlantic Oscillation. However, investigation of other teleconnections and local climate is often neglected. In this study, we examined over a 33-year period the relationships between four teleconnections (El Niño-Southern Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, Arctic Oscillation, East Atlantic Pattern), local weather parameters (temperature and precipitation) and reproduction in great tits Parus major and blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus in the Carpathian Basin, Hungary. Furthermore, we explored how annual variations in the timing of food availability were correlated with bre...