Landscape-associated differences in fine-scale habitat selection modulate the potential impact of climate change on White-winged Snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis

Capsule: Fine-scale use of climate-sensitive habitats by White-winged Snowfinches Montifringilla nivalis is affected by landscape composition, which thus modulates the potential impact of climate change. Aims: To explore the fine-scale habitat use for foraging by breeding White-winged Snowfinches, with the aim of identifying the potential impacts of climate change on their dependence on habitat characteristics in the wider landscape, which could shape the species’ response to climate change. Pairs mostly relying on snow could be at higher risk due to a decrease in spring snow-cover, but the reliance on snow may be mediated by the presence of alternative habitats in the landscape. Methods: The White-winged Snowfinch uses alpine grassland, snowfields and melting snow margins for capturing prey during nestling rearing and is threatened by earlier snowmelt induced by climate change. We investigated habitat use in 17 Snowfinch pairs in relation to landscape composition within a 300 m buffer around their nests. Results: The use of snowfields and snow-bare margins was positively associated with wind intensity (probably due to greater wind-borne arthropod fallout with wind), and negatively associated with grassland cover (i.e. the main alternative habitat) and date within the season. Conclusions: Fine-scale habitat selection was affected by landscape composition: the availability of patches of alternative habitats decreased the reliance on more climate-sensitive resources, modulating the potential impact of climate change. Coupling assessments of fine-scale resource selection with broader habitat descriptors, which are easier to assess over broader scales, may help understand and predict climate change impacts.