Arthropods are an important food source for birds and other wildlife. They also have economic and environmental impacts on our forests and crops. Caterpillars, a type of arthropod, are one of the most important sources of food for many migratory birds, and provide a tasty snack for growing nestlings.
Climate change is affecting the timing of spring leaf out, insect activity, and bird migration and breeding.
But are the plants, insects and birds all responding to the same degree?
If either insects or birds are not keeping up with phenological shifts of the other organisms that they depend on, then further climate change may have negative consequences for their populations.