Abrupt environmental changes can affect the population structures of living species and cause habitat loss and fragmentations in the ecosystem. During August–October 2020, remarkably high mortality events of avian species were reported across the western and central United States, likely resulting from winter storms and wildfires. However, the differences of mortality events among various species responding to the abrupt environmental changes remain poorly understood. In this study, we focused on three species, Wilson’s Warbler, Barn Owl, and Common Murre, with the highest mortality events that had been recorded by citizen scientists. We leveraged the citizen science data and multiple remotely sensed earth observations and employed the ensemble random forest models to disentangle the species responses to winter storm and wildfire. We found that the mortality events of Wilson’s Warbler were primarily impacted by early winter storms, with more deaths identified in areas with a higher average daily snow cover. The Barn Owl’s mortalities were more identified in places with severe wildfire-induced air pollution. Both winter storms and wildfire had relatively mild effects on the mortality of Common Murre, which might be more related to anomalously warm water. Our findings highlight the species-specific responses to environmental changes, which can provide significant insights into the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change and avian conservations. Additionally, the study emphasized the efficiency and effectiveness of monitoring large-scale abrupt environmental changes and conservation using remotely sensed and citizen science data.

: Most studies on tick-borne diseases in the United States have focused on suburban and rural areas, leaving a gap in understanding risks in cities, where environmental conditions and human–tick interactions differ. Recent research has examined microhabitat effects on tick abundance but are limited in spatial and temporal scope. Tick behavior, such as host seeking, is shaped by local environmental factors and remains underexplored in urban landscapes. Integrating Earth observations of macroenvironmental and habitat conditions may improve our understanding of urban tick ecology. We hypothesize that a combination of micro- and macroenvironmental and habitat conditions predicts tick abundance in urban parks. Specifically, we expect microclimate factors (humidity and leaf litter depth) and macroconditions (habitat type and spatial arrangement) to influence questing tick abundance. In summer 2023, we collected ticks from 13 parks in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area using carbon dioxide traps and flagging techniques. Over 97% of ticks were Amblyomma americanum, a species known for aggressive host-seeking behavior. Our analysis of tick abundance in relation to microenvironmental (temperature, humidity, wind, and vegetation) and macroenvironmental (land-cover and landscape metrics) factors showed that solar radiation negatively affected tick abundance, whereas soil pH, woody vegetation, and forest cover were positive predictors. For adults, leaf litter depth and solar radiation were negative predictors, whereas woody vegetation and forest cover had positive impacts. Amblyomma americanum nymph abundance increased with humidity and soil pH. These findings underscore the complex interactions between environmental factors and tick distributions, with implications for urban health and park management.