Anthropogenic climate change is one of the most important factors influencing population growth and survival. Therefore, to be able to predict the effect of climate change on ecosystem composition and function, it is important to understand its effect on demographic variables, such as productivity. As a measure of productivity, I related the proportion of yearling birds captured during bird ringing in southern Sweden with mean temperature during the breeding season. I then compared the relationship between temperature and productivity for species with different traits regarding number of broods produced per season, thermal niches and migration behaviours. For most species (72%), productivity positively related to temperature during the breeding season. The relationship was strongest for species with the ability to vary the number of broods per year and species with a warmer thermal niche, whereas there was no difference between long-distance migratory and short-distance migratory species. The results suggest that, for some bird species in the study area, climate warming can increase population sizes. However, long-term effects of climate change may be different than the interannual fluctuations of temperature considered in this study, especially when interacting effects of habitat losses are taken into account.

This collection of studies was designed to understand the mechanisms and consequences of competition among early life stages of red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), with a special attention to asymmetric competition and multiple-breeding strategy of parents. The overall hypotheses were that (1) red drum larvae show behavioral interactions, and the magnitude of these interactions is explained by the sizes of the competing individuals, (2) red drum larvae compete for food and habitat use, and the competition is asymmetric as determined by size and behavioral interactions, and (3) the parents can reduce negative effects of competition among larvae and increase larval survival by altering their multiple-spawning traits. The laboratory experiments showed the existence of sociality in red drum larvae. The magnitudes of aggressive behavior, vigilant behavior and shoaling behavior were explained by a combination of absolute and relative phenotypes of competing individuals, such as body lengths and body condition. A new method of combining the laboratory experiments and the foraging theory disentangled interference competition for food from exploitative competition, revealing that both absolute and relative body lengths of competing individuals influence feeding efficiencies. In addition, vigilant behavior decreased feeding efficiency regardless of body sizes. The competitor size and behavioral interactions between individuals had different effects on competition for habitat use: the existence of larger individuals prevented the newly settled larvae from entering preferred habitats, whereas the aggressive behavior from the occupants of preferred habitats moved newly settled larvae to the unpreferred habitats. Finally, computer simulations using an individual-based model revealed that as interference competition among larvae increased, the number of spawning events and the spawning interval of the parents increased to lessen competition and maximize total survival of offspring. / text