Who lives and who dies? The impact of severe April weather on breeding common sandpipers Actitis hypoleucos

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Abstract
The impact of occasional severe events on the individuals comprising a study population has been the subject of some classic studies, for differential mortality is the essence of natural selection. For ornithology, the prime example is that of House Sparrows Passer domesticus killed by a snow storm in the U.S.A. (Bumpus, 1899; O'Donald, 1973). More recent examples include Grant (1983) demonstrating that larger Geospiza fortis in the Galapagos survived better through a drought, and Jones (1987) showing, conversely, that smaller Sand Martins Riparia riparia were favoured during a population crash.