NOTE: THIS IS A REQUEST FOR A RENEWAL. This is a project that has been originally approved in 2015 and amended in 2017. The general long-term objective of this project is to determine how changing conditions associated with climate change influence the capacity of arctic breeding birds to recover from, and prepare for migration and determine how this may interfere with their reproductive preparation, reproductive effort and success as well as their survival. The project approved in 2015 focused on snow buntings at Alert, Nunavut. The project was then amended in 2017 to add three species of shorebirds that are common at Alert (red knots, sanderlings and ruddy turnstones). For this renewal, we want to continue our research on these 4 species. The measurements on birds will be the same as before. In terms of land use, this new component of the project does not change our work. In fact, captures of shorebirds have to be restricted to the station vicinity as this is where they are the most effective. Nest monitoring will be done only for snow buntings and turnstones as before. NOTE: The following text is presenting the work to be conducted under our new CWS permit application (for continuation of our research). The text is essentially the same as the original NPC application (2015 amended in 2017) The Canadian Forces Station Alert is the northernmost site to study arctic breeding birds in Canada. Due to its location, the area undergoes rapid changes in conditions. It is therefore an ideal location to measure the consequences of climate change on arrival, breeding and departure phenology of birds and to study whether birds are able to adjust to their rapidly changing environment. Our goal is to evaluate post-migratory condition of birds on their arrival, monitor change in physiological condition during the transition from migration to breeding and determine how this influences timing of breeding, breeding success and yearly survival. In the fall, we will focus on preparation for migration by documenting physiological changes over time in adults and juveniles until their departure. Our work will involve banding snow buntings, red knots, ruddy turnstones and sanderlings with standard bands (metal bands from CWS). We will also determine the migratory route of this snow bunting population using light-sensitive geolocators as the wintering location for Alert snow buntings is not known. Our project also involves nest monitoring of snow buntings and turnstones (the only shorebird species with conspicuous nests at Alert). We will conduct measurements of individual condition (body mass, visual fat and muscle scores, blood metabolites) as well as individual performance (measure of basal and maximal metabolic rates). These techniques have been highly refined and are successfully used at this site by our team since 2015. The field crew, led by Dr. François Vézina (UQAR), includes himself and 3 students and postdocs. The project will run annually between 15 May and 30 September but exact duration for each year will depend on budget and available lodging space at the station. Travelling around the station to monitor and capture birds will require the use of ATVs. Crew members will be lodged at the station. This work is new, the questions have never been answered and are developed based on previous findings on these birds at Alert.