Indirect effects of higher mean air temperature related to climate change on major life-history traits in a pulsed-resource consumer

TL;DR

Higher air temperatures linked to climate change are altering seed cycles, which in turn affects survival and reproduction in edible dormice.

Contribution

The study reveals how climate-induced changes in seed availability indirectly impact life-history traits in pulsed-resource consumers.

Findings

Increased mean air temperature shifted beech pollen production to a biannual cycle.

Yearling dormice survival decreased while adult survival remained stable with altered mast cycles.

Both age classes increased litter size in response to changing seed availability.

Abstract

Climate change is directly and indirectly affecting species. The degree of these effect types differs by species and context, with indirect effects likely to be stronger for consumers of pulsed resources. Here, we investigated how higher mean air temperature related to climate change affects masting, and in parallel, how this change affects life-history traits in edible dormice (Glis glis). We analysed 17 years of capture-recapture data from 2,530 individuals. We collected air temperature, and, as a measure of seed production, pollen data from European beech (Fagus sylvatica). Our results show that increasing mean air temperature was associated with a shift in beech pollen production, leading to a biannual mast cycle in recent years, with alteration of years with very high and very low seed availability. The changed cycle in mast events resulted in a significant reduction in overall yearling survival in dormice, while overall adult survival remained stable. In parallel, both age classes significantly increased their litter size in this timeframe. Furthermore, survival probabilities in the two age classes also differed depending on the beech mast status (mast, mast-failure). We show that the observed dramatic changes in seed production had complex effects on life-history traits in a pulsed resource consumer.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-026-37071-3.

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