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Rader JA, Matute DR. Isotopic niches do not follow the expectations of niche conservatism in the bird genus Cinclodes. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:1185-1197. [PMID: 37428811 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Phenotypic traits are expected to be more similar among closely related species than among species that diverged long ago (all else being equal). This pattern, known as phylogenetic niche conservatism, also applies to traits that are important to determine the niche of species. To test this hypothesis on ecological niches, we analysed isotopic data from 254 museum study skins from 12 of the 16 species of the bird genus Cinclodes and measured stable isotope ratios for four different elements: carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen. We find that all traits, measured individually, or as a composite measurement, lack any phylogenetic signal, which in turn suggests a high level of lability in ecological niches. We compared these metrics to the measurements of morphological traits in the same genus and found that isotopic niches are uniquely evolutionarily labile compared to other traits. Our results suggest that, in Cinclodes, the realized niche evolves much faster than expected by the constraints of phylogenetic history and poses the question of whether this is a general pattern across the tree of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan A Rader
- Dept. of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Daniel R Matute
- Dept. of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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2
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Tapia-Harris C, Izang A, Cresswell W. Migratory routes, breeding locations and multiple non-breeding sites of Common Whitethroats Curruca communis revealed by geolocators. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0274017. [PMID: 36048861 PMCID: PMC9436143 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding general migration characteristics and how breeding and non-breeding sites are connected is crucial for predicting the response of long-distance migratory bird populations to environmental changes. We use data collected from six geolocators to describe migratory routes and identify breeding and non-breeding locations, migratory behaviour and differences between spring and autumn migration of Common Whitethroats Curruca communis, an Afro-Palearctic migrant, wintering in Nigeria. Most individuals departed on spring migration in April, following a north-easterly direction, arriving at their breeding grounds across central-eastern Europe (~425,000 km2) in May. Departures from breeding grounds took place between July and August in a south-westerly direction. During spring migration individuals travelled longer distances at faster rates making its overall duration shorter than autumn migration. We suggest that, while Whitethroats can cross the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea in a single flight, they are likely to refuel before and after crossing. Results indicate that Whitethroats undertook loop migration and visited two wintering sites: first in the Sahel, then in Nigeria, where they remained until spring migration. Geolocator results and data from the European Union for Bird Migration’s (EURING) ringing database suggest that Whitethroats have a relatively high migratory spread—individuals from a single non-breeding site breed across a wide area of Europe. Our research is the first to track and describe the complete annual cycle of Whitethroats and one of the few studies to do so for any Afro-Palearctic migrant from non-breeding grounds. We identified the Sahel as an important refuelling and first wintering site indicating its conservation, alongside other stopover sites, is crucial for the species. We believe that changes in this region will have severe effects on a subset of individuals of specific European breeding populations, but these effects will greatly depend on the severity of the changes and at what spatial scale they occur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Tapia-Harris
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kindom
- A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, Jos, Nigeria
- * E-mail:
| | - Arin Izang
- A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, Jos, Nigeria
| | - Will Cresswell
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kindom
- A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, Jos, Nigeria
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3
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Multidimensional natal isotopic niches reflect migratory patterns in birds. Sci Rep 2021; 11:20800. [PMID: 34675313 PMCID: PMC8531022 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00373-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Naturally occurring stable isotope ratios in animal tissues allow estimation of species trophic position and ecological niche. Measuring multiple isotopes of migratory species along flyway bottlenecks offers the opportunity to sample multiple populations and species whose tissues carry information at continental scales. We measured δ2H, δ18O, δ13C, δ15N in juvenile feathers of 21 bird species captured at a migratory bottleneck in the Italian Alps. We examined if trends in individual isotopes reflected known migratory strategies and whether dietary (δ13C–δ15N) and spatially-explicit breeding origin (δ2H–δ18O) niche breadth (NB) differed among long-distance trans-Saharan (TS), short-distance (IP) and irruptive (IR) intra-Palearctic migrants, and whether they correlated with reported populations long-term trends. In both TS and IP groups, species δ2H declined with capture date, indicating that northern populations reached the stopover site later in the season, following a Type-I migration strategy. Values of δ2H indicated that breeding range of TS migrants extended farther north than IP and IR migrants. The breeding season was longer for IP migrants whose δ13C and δ15N values declined and increased, respectively, with time of capture. Average species dietary NB did not differ among migratory groups, but TS migrants displayed wider breeding origin niches, suggesting that long-distant migration is linked to broader ecological niches. Isotope origin NB well reflected species geographic range extent, while dietary NB did not correlate with literature accounts of species’ diet. We found no relationship between species breeding NB and population trends in Europe, suggesting that conditions in the breeding grounds, as inferred by stable isotopes, are not the only determinant of species’ long-term persistence. We demonstrate that ringing activities and isotopic measurements of passerines migrating through a bottleneck represents a unique opportunity to investigate large-scale life-history phenomena relevant to conservation.
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Hahn S, Briedis M, Barboutis C, Schmid R, Schulze M, Seifert N, Szép T, Emmenegger T. Spatially different annual cycles but similar haemosporidian infections in distant populations of collared sand martins. BMC ZOOL 2021; 6:6. [PMID: 37170335 PMCID: PMC10127412 DOI: 10.1186/s40850-021-00071-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Populations of long-distance migratory birds experience different environments and are consequently exposed to different parasites throughout their annual cycles. Though, specific whereabouts and accompanied host-parasite interactions remain unknown for most migratory passerines. Collared sand martins (Riparia riparia) breeding in the western Palaearctic spend the nonbreeding period in Africa, but it is not yet clear whether specific populations differ in overwintering locations and whether these also result in varying infections with vector-transmitted endoparasites.
Results
Geolocator tracking revealed that collared sand martins from northern-central and central-eastern Europe migrate to distant nonbreeding sites in West Africa and the Lake Chad basin in central Africa, respectively. While the ranges of these populations were clearly separated throughout the year, they consistently spent up to 60% of the annual cycle in Africa. Ambient light recorded by geolocators further indicated unsheltered roosting during the nonbreeding season in Africa compared to the breeding season in Europe.
We found 5–26% prevalence of haemosporidian parasites in three breeding populations and one migratory passage population that was only sampled but not tracked. In total, we identified seven Plasmodium and nine Haemoproteus lineages (incl. two and seven new lineages, respectively), the latter presumably typical for swallows (Hirundinae) hosts. 99.5% of infections had a low intensity, typical for chronic infection stages, whereas three individuals (0.5%) showed high parasitaemia typical for acute infections during spring migration and breeding.
Conclusions
Our study shows that blood parasite infections are common in several western Palaearctic breeding populations of collared sand martins who spent the nonbreeding season in West Africa and the lake Chad region. Due to long residency at the nonbreeding grounds blood parasite transmissions may mainly occur at host population-specific residences sites in Europe and Africa; the latter being likely facilitated by unsheltered roosting and thus high vulnerability to hematophagous insects. The rare cases of high parasitaemia during spring migration and breeding further indicates either relapses of chronic infection or primary infections which occurred shortly before migration and during breeding.
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Sottas C, Schmiedová L, Kreisinger J, Albrecht T, Reif J, Osiejuk TS, Reifová R. Gut microbiota in two recently diverged passerine species: evaluating the effects of species identity, habitat use and geographic distance. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:41. [PMID: 33691625 PMCID: PMC7948333 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01773-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background It has been proposed that divergence in the gut microbiota composition between incipient species could contribute to their reproductive isolation. Nevertheless, empirical evidence for the role of gut microbiota in speciation is scarce. Moreover, it is still largely unknown to what extent closely related species in the early stages of speciation differ in their gut microbiota composition, especially in non-mammalian taxa, and which factors drive the divergence. Here we analysed the gut microbiota in two closely related passerine species, the common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) and the thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia). The ranges of these two species overlap in a secondary contact zone, where both species occasionally hybridize and where interspecific competition has resulted in habitat use differentiation. Results We analysed the gut microbiota from the proximal, middle and distal part of the small intestine in both sympatric and allopatric populations of the two nightingale species using sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA. We found small but significant differences in the microbiota composition among the three gut sections. However, the gut microbiota composition in the two nightingale species did not differ significantly between either sympatric or allopatric populations. Most of the observed variation in the gut microbiota composition was explained by inter-individual differences. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to assess the potential role of the gut microbiota in bird speciation. Our results suggest that neither habitat use, nor geographical distance, nor species identity have strong influence on the nightingale gut microbiota composition. This suggests that changes in the gut microbiota composition are unlikely to contribute to reproductive isolation in these passerine birds. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12862-021-01773-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Sottas
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Lucie Schmiedová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Kreisinger
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Albrecht
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic.,Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Květná 8, Brno, 603 65, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Reif
- Faculty of Science, Institute for Environmental Studies, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.,Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Tomasz S Osiejuk
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Radka Reifová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague, Czech Republic
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Taylor CM. Effects of Natal Dispersal and Density-Dependence on Connectivity Patterns and Population Dynamics in a Migratory Network. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
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Hill JM, Renfrew RB. Migratory patterns and connectivity of two North American grassland bird species. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:680-692. [PMID: 30680148 PMCID: PMC6342103 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2018] [Revised: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Effective management and conservation of migratory bird populations require knowledge and incorporation of their movement patterns and space use throughout the annual cycle. To investigate the little-known migratory patterns of two grassland bird species, we deployed 180 light-level geolocators on Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum) and 29 Argos-GPS tags on Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna) at Konza Prairie, Kansas, USA, and six US Department of Defense (DoD) installations distributed across the species' breeding ranges. We analyzed location data from 34 light-level geolocators and five Argos-GPS tags attached for 1 year to Grasshopper Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlarks, respectively. Grasshopper Sparrows were present on the breeding grounds from mid-April through early October, substantially longer than previously estimated, and migrated on average ~2,500 km over ~30 days. Grasshopper Sparrows exhibited strong migratory connectivity only at a continental scale. The North American Great Lakes region likely serves as a migratory divide for Midwest and East Coast Grasshopper Sparrows; Midwest populations (Kansas, Wisconsin, and North Dakota; n = 13) largely wintered in Texas or Mexico, whereas East Coast populations (Maryland and Massachusetts, n = 20) wintered in the northern Caribbean or Florida. Our data from Eastern Meadowlarks provided evidence for a diversity of stationary and short- and long-distance migration strategies. By providing the most extensive examination of the nonbreeding movement ecology for these two North American grassland bird species to date, we refine information gaps and provide key insight for their management and conservation.
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8
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Peña-Peniche A, Ruvalcaba-Ortega I, Rojas-Soto O. Climate complexity in the migratory cycle of Ammodramus bairdii. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202678. [PMID: 30148886 PMCID: PMC6110464 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2018] [Accepted: 07/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
One way to understand the ecology of bird migration is to analyze how birds use their ecological niche during their annual cycle. Ammodramus bairdii is a grassland specialist sparrow that breeds in southern Canada and the northern U.S.A. and winters in the Chihuahuan Desert. A continuous and alarming decrease of its populations has been observed over the last 50 years, and studying its seasonal distribution and associated climatic niches could help improve strategies for its conservation. We analyzed the temporal use of its Grinnellian niche (GN) -set of environmental conditions under which a species can establish and persist; in this case the climatic attributes-. We modeled the GN for the reproductive and winter seasons and projected them onto each other (inter-prediction), and also onto transient migratory periods. To measure niche breadth and their overlap, minimum convex polygons (MCP) were calculated for the climatic space. The niches of each of the two seasons were tested for similarity using the PCA axes of climatic variables. The geographic areas with optimal, suboptimal and marginal conditions were identified, based on the distance to the centroid of the GN. The models for each season revealed no geographic inter-prediction among them, with the exception of winter to migratory seasons. The niche breadth of the winter was greater than that of the reproductive season, with an overlap of 22.47% and 45.18%, respectively. The similarity analyses showed a value of zero between seasons. The climate conditions for the records during the migratory months corresponded with suboptimal and marginal conditions of the sparrow's winter niche. These results suggest that A. bairdii uses different climate conditions within ecological niches of each season during its migratory cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Peña-Peniche
- Red de Biología Evolutiva, Laboratorio de Bioclimatología, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., El Haya, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - Irene Ruvalcaba-Ortega
- Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León UANL, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Laboratorio de Biología de la Conservación y Desarrollo Sustentable, Ciudad Universitaria, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, México
| | - Octavio Rojas-Soto
- Red de Biología Evolutiva, Laboratorio de Bioclimatología, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., El Haya, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
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9
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Pancerasa M, Ambrosini R, Saino N, Casagrandi R. Barn swallows long-distance migration occurs between significantly temperature-correlated areas. Sci Rep 2018; 8:12359. [PMID: 30120379 PMCID: PMC6098147 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-30849-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2018] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Organisms are routinely confronted with crucial decisions on the best time and place to perform fundamental activities. However, unpredictable spatio-temporal variation in ecological factors makes life-history optimization difficult particularly for long-distance migrants, which are putatively blind of conditions thousands of kilometers and weeks ahead along their journey. Here we challenge, on a hierarchy of geographical scales, the common wisdom that migratory birds have no clue to ecological conditions at destination. Using ringing data of the inter-continental migrating barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), we show that temperatures at breeding sites and at times of arrival from migration are more correlated with those at actual wintering sites and at times of departure than with those at other sites and at periods before/after departure. Hence, individual swallows have clues to adjust timing of spring migration based on expected conditions at destination, and they apparently choose wintering sites to increase availability of such information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Pancerasa
- Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, Milano, 20161, Italy
| | - Roberto Ambrosini
- University of Milano Bicocca, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Piazza della Scienza 1, Milano, 20126, Italy.
| | - Nicola Saino
- University of Milan, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Via Celoria 26, Milano, 20133, Italy.
| | - Renato Casagrandi
- Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, Milano, 20161, Italy.
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10
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Diverse migration strategies in hoopoes (Upupa epops) lead to weak spatial but strong temporal connectivity. Naturwissenschaften 2018; 105:42. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-018-1566-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Revised: 05/24/2018] [Accepted: 05/25/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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11
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Kramer GR, Andersen DE, Buehler DA, Wood PB, Peterson SM, Lehman JA, Aldinger KR, Bulluck LP, Harding S, Jones JA, Loegering JP, Smalling C, Vallender R, Streby HM. Population trends in Vermivora warblers are linked to strong migratory connectivity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E3192-E3200. [PMID: 29483273 PMCID: PMC5889647 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1718985115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Migratory species can experience limiting factors at different locations and during different periods of their annual cycle. In migratory birds, these factors may even occur in different hemispheres. Therefore, identifying the distribution of populations throughout their annual cycle (i.e., migratory connectivity) can reveal the complex ecological and evolutionary relationships that link species and ecosystems across the globe and illuminate where and how limiting factors influence population trends. A growing body of literature continues to identify species that exhibit weak connectivity wherein individuals from distinct breeding areas co-occur during the nonbreeding period. A detailed account of a broadly distributed species exhibiting strong migratory connectivity in which nonbreeding isolation of populations is associated with differential population trends remains undescribed. Here, we present a range-wide assessment of the nonbreeding distribution and migratory connectivity of two broadly dispersed Nearctic-Neotropical migratory songbirds. We used geolocators to track the movements of 70 Vermivora warblers from sites spanning their breeding distribution in eastern North America and identified links between breeding populations and nonbreeding areas. Unlike blue-winged warblers (Vermivora cyanoptera), breeding populations of golden-winged warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) exhibited strong migratory connectivity, which was associated with historical trends in breeding populations: stable for populations that winter in Central America and declining for those that winter in northern South America.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gunnar R Kramer
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606;
| | - David E Andersen
- US Geological Survey, Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
| | - David A Buehler
- Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996
| | - Petra B Wood
- US Geological Survey, West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506
| | - Sean M Peterson
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Justin A Lehman
- Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996
| | - Kyle R Aldinger
- West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506
| | - Lesley P Bulluck
- Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284
| | - Sergio Harding
- Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Henrico, VA 23228
| | - John A Jones
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118
| | - John P Loegering
- Agriculture and Natural Resources Department, University of Minnesota, Crookston, MN 56716
| | | | - Rachel Vallender
- Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Gatineau, QC, K1A OH3 Canada
| | - Henry M Streby
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606
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Liechti F, Bauer S, Dhanjal-Adams KL, Emmenegger T, Zehtindjiev P, Hahn S. Miniaturized multi-sensor loggers provide new insight into year-round flight behaviour of small trans-Sahara avian migrants. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2018; 6:19. [PMID: 30305904 PMCID: PMC6167888 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-018-0137-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2018] [Accepted: 07/26/2018] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Over the past decade, the miniaturisation of animal borne tags such as geolocators and GPS-transmitters has revolutionized our knowledge of the whereabouts of migratory species. Novel light-weight multi-sensor loggers (1.4 g), which harbour sensors for measuring ambient light intensity, atmospheric pressure, temperature and acceleration, were fixed to two long-distance migrant bird species - eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops) and great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus). Using acceleration and atmospheric pressure data recorded every 5 and 30 min, respectively, we aimed at reconstructing individual diurnal and seasonal patterns of flight activity and flight altitude and thereby, at describing basic, yet hitherto unknown characteristics of migratory flight behaviour. Furthermore, we wanted to characterise the variability in these migration characteristics between individuals, species and migration periods. RESULTS The flight duration from breeding to sub-Saharan African non-breeding sites and back was more variable within than between the species. Great reed warblers were airborne for a total of 252 flight hours and thus, only slightly longer than eurasian hoopoes with 232 h. With a few exceptions, both species migrated predominantly nocturnally - departure around dusk and landing before dawn. Mean flight altitudes were higher during pre- than during post-breeding migration (median 1100 to 1600 m a.s.l.) and flight above 3000 m occurred regularly with a few great reed warblers exceeding 6000 m a.s.l. (max. 6458 m a.s.l.). Individuals changed flight altitudes repeatedly during a flight bout, indicating a continuous search for (more) favourable flight conditions. CONCLUSIONS We found high variation between individuals in the flight behaviour parameters measured - a variation that surprisingly even exceeded the variation between the species. More importantly, our results have shown that multi-sensor loggers have the potential to provide detailed insights into many fundamental aspects of individual behaviour in small aerial migrants. Combining the data recorded on the multiple sensors with, e.g., remote sensing data like weather and habitat quality on the spatial and temporal scale will be a great step forward to explore individual decisions during migration and their consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Liechti
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Department of Bird Migration, Seerose 1, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Silke Bauer
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Department of Bird Migration, Seerose 1, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Kiran L. Dhanjal-Adams
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Department of Bird Migration, Seerose 1, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Tamara Emmenegger
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Department of Bird Migration, Seerose 1, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Pavel Zehtindjiev
- Institute of Biodiversity & Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Steffen Hahn
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Department of Bird Migration, Seerose 1, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland
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13
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Jónás B, Harnos A, Csörgő T. Detection of passerines’ loop migration pattern using wing length measurements. ACTA ZOOL ACAD SCI H 2018. [DOI: 10.17109/azh.64.4.383.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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14
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Koleček J, Procházka P, Ieronymidou C, Burfield IJ, Reif J. Non-breeding range size predicts the magnitude of population trends in trans-Saharan migratory passerine birds. OIKOS 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.04549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jaroslav Koleček
- Inst. of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i.; Květná 8 CZ-60365 Brno Czech Republic
| | - Petr Procházka
- Inst. of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i.; Květná 8 CZ-60365 Brno Czech Republic
| | | | - Ian J. Burfield
- BirdLife Int., The David Attenborough Building; Cambridge UK
| | - Jiří Reif
- Inst. for Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science, Charles Univ.; Prague Czech Republic
- Dept of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology; Faculty of Science, Palacký Univ. in Olomouc; Olomouc Czech Republic
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15
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Lerche-Jørgensen M, Willemoes M, Tøttrup AP, Snell KRS, Thorup K. No apparent gain from continuing migration for more than 3000 kilometres: willow warblers breeding in Denmark winter across the entire northern Savannah as revealed by geolocators. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2017; 5:17. [PMID: 28861271 PMCID: PMC5576281 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-017-0109-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND For most Afro-Palearctic migrants, particularly small songbirds, spatiotemporal migration schedules and migratory connectivity remain poorly understood. We mapped migration from breeding through winter of one of the smallest Afro-Palearctic migrants, the willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus, using geolocators (n = 15). RESULTS Birds migrated from North European breeding grounds to West Africa via the Iberian Peninsula following a narrow corridor along the West Coast of Africa. Birds then dispersed across the northern Savannah with termination of migration highly variable among individuals. The termination of migration appeared not to be related to timing, current and previous years' vegetation conditions or biometrics. During winter, most birds moved southwards to improved vegetation. CONCLUSION The willow warblers showed a large, unexpected longitudinal spread in winter sites of more than 3000 km between individuals breeding within a 500 m range resulting in a low degree of connectivity. The large wintering area may well be related to generalist behaviour in the species. Our findings contribute to understanding the link between breeding and wintering ecology in long-distance migratory birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Lerche-Jørgensen
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mikkel Willemoes
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anders P. Tøttrup
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Katherine Rachel Scotchburn Snell
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kasper Thorup
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
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16
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Finch T, Butler SJ, Franco AMA, Cresswell W. Low migratory connectivity is common in long‐distance migrant birds. J Anim Ecol 2017; 86:662-673. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2016] [Accepted: 12/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tom Finch
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ UK
| | - Simon J. Butler
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ UK
| | | | - Will Cresswell
- Centre for Biological Diversity University of St Andrews St Andrews Fife KY16 9TH UK
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17
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18
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Thorup K, Tøttrup AP, Willemoes M, Klaassen RHG, Strandberg R, Vega ML, Dasari HP, Araújo MB, Wikelski M, Rahbek C. Resource tracking within and across continents in long-distance bird migrants. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2017; 3:e1601360. [PMID: 28070557 PMCID: PMC5214581 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Accepted: 11/21/2016] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Migratory birds track seasonal resources across and between continents. We propose a general strategy of tracking the broad seasonal abundance of resources throughout the annual cycle in the longest-distance migrating land birds as an alternative to tracking a certain climatic niche or shorter-term resource surplus occurring, for example, during spring foliation. Whether and how this is possible for complex annual spatiotemporal schedules is not known. New tracking technology enables unprecedented spatial and temporal mapping of long-distance movement of birds. We show that three Palearctic-African species track vegetation greenness throughout their annual cycle, adjusting the timing and direction of migratory movements with seasonal changes in resource availability over Europe and Africa. Common cuckoos maximize the vegetation greenness, whereas red-backed shrikes and thrush nightingales track seasonal surplus in greenness. Our results demonstrate that the longest-distance migrants move between consecutive staging areas even within the wintering region in Africa to match seasonal variation in regional climate. End-of-century climate projections indicate that optimizing greenness would be possible but that vegetation surplus might be more difficult to track in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kasper Thorup
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anders P Tøttrup
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mikkel Willemoes
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Raymond H G Klaassen
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden.; Dutch Montagu's Harrier Foundation, P.O. Box 46, 9679ZG Scheemda, Netherlands.; Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700CC Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Roine Strandberg
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Marta Lomas Vega
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Hari P Dasari
- Centro de Geofisica de Évora, Universidade de Évora, 7000 Évora, Portugal.; Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Miguel B Araújo
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.; Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Calle José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain.; CIBIO-InBIO, Universidade de Évora, Largo dos Colegiais, 7000 Évora, Portugal
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany.; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Carsten Rahbek
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.; Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, U.K
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19
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Hayes CL, Talbot WA, Wolf BO. Abiotic limitation and the
C
3
hypothesis: isotopic evidence from
G
unnison's prairie dog during persistent drought. Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Charles L. Hayes
- Department of Biology University of New Mexico Albuquerque New Mexico 87131 USA
- New Mexico Department of Game and Fish One Wildlife Way Santa Fe New Mexico 87507 USA
| | - William A. Talbot
- Department of Biology University of New Mexico Albuquerque New Mexico 87131 USA
| | - Blair O. Wolf
- Department of Biology University of New Mexico Albuquerque New Mexico 87131 USA
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20
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Procházka P, Hahn S, Rolland S, van der Jeugd H, Csörgő T, Jiguet F, Mokwa T, Liechti F, Vangeluwe D, Korner-Nievergelt F. Delineating large-scale migratory connectivity of reed warblers using integrated multistate models. DIVERS DISTRIB 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Petr Procházka
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology; Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; Květná 8 CZ-60365 Brno Czech Republic
| | - Steffen Hahn
- Department of Bird Migration; Swiss Ornithological Institute; Seerose 1 CH-6204 Sempach Switzerland
| | - Simon Rolland
- MNHN; Centre d'Ecologie et de Sciences de la Conservation; 55 rue Buffon CP51 75005 Paris France
| | - Henk van der Jeugd
- Dutch Centre for Avian Migration and Demography NIOO-KNAW; Postbus 50 NL-6700 AB Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Tibor Csörgő
- Department of Anatomy, Cell- and Developmental Biology; Eötvös Loránd University; Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c H-1117 Budapest Hungary
| | - Frédéric Jiguet
- MNHN; Centre d'Ecologie et de Sciences de la Conservation; 55 rue Buffon CP51 75005 Paris France
| | - Tomasz Mokwa
- Museum and Institute of Zoology; Ornithological Station; Polish Academy of Sciences; Nadwiślańska 108 80-680 Gdańsk Poland
| | - Felix Liechti
- Department of Bird Migration; Swiss Ornithological Institute; Seerose 1 CH-6204 Sempach Switzerland
| | | | - Fränzi Korner-Nievergelt
- Department of Bird Migration; Swiss Ornithological Institute; Seerose 1 CH-6204 Sempach Switzerland
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21
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Hahn S, Korner-Nievergelt F, Emmenegger T, Amrhein V, Csörgő T, Gursoy A, Ilieva M, Kverek P, Pérez-Tris J, Pirrello S, Zehtindjiev P, Salewski V. Longer wings for faster springs - wing length relates to spring phenology in a long-distance migrant across its range. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:68-77. [PMID: 26811775 PMCID: PMC4716511 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2015] [Revised: 10/27/2015] [Accepted: 11/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In migratory birds, morphological adaptations for efficient migratory flight often oppose morphological adaptations for efficient behavior during resident periods. This includes adaptations in wing shape for either flying long distances or foraging in the vegetation and in climate‐driven variation of body size. In addition, the timing of migratory flights and particularly the timely arrival at local breeding sites is crucial because fitness prospects depend on site‐specific phenology. Thus, adaptations for efficient long‐distance flights might be also related to conditions at destination areas. For an obligatory long‐distance migrant, the common nightingale, we verified that wing length as the aerodynamically important trait, but not structural body size increased from the western to the eastern parts of the species range. In contrast with expectation from aerodynamic theory, however, wing length did not increase with increasing migration distances. Instead, wing length was associated with the phenology at breeding destinations, namely the speed of local spring green‐up. We argue that longer wings are beneficial for adjusting migration speed to local conditions for birds breeding in habitats with fast spring green‐up and thus short optimal arrival periods. We suggest that the speed of spring green‐up at breeding sites is a fundamental variable determining the timing of migration that fine tune phenotypes in migrants across their range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen Hahn
- Department of Bird Migration Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach Switzerland
| | | | - Tamara Emmenegger
- Department of Bird Migration Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach Switzerland
| | | | - Tibor Csörgő
- Department of Anatomy, Cell & Developmental Biology Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
| | - Arzu Gursoy
- Department of Biology Ondokuz Mayis University Samsun Turkey
| | - Mihaela Ilieva
- Institute of Biodiversity & Ecosystem Research Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Sofia Bulgaria
| | | | - Javier Pérez-Tris
- Department of Zoology and Physical Anthropology Complutense University of Madrid Madrid Spain; SEO-Monticola Ringing Group Autonomous University of Madrid Madrid Spain
| | - Simone Pirrello
- Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) Ozzano dell'Emilia Italy
| | - Pavel Zehtindjiev
- Institute of Biodiversity & Ecosystem Research Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Sofia Bulgaria
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22
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Marinov M, Zehtindjiev P, Dimitrov D, Ilieva M, Bobeva A, Marchetti C. Haemosporidian infections and host behavioural variation: a case study on wild-caught nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos). ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2015.1102776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- M.P. Marinov
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - P. Zehtindjiev
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - D. Dimitrov
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - M. Ilieva
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - A. Bobeva
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - C. Marchetti
- Vogeltrekstation – Dutch Centre for Avian Migration and Demography, NIOO-KNAW, Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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23
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Hahn S, Emmenegger T, Lisovski S, Amrhein V, Zehtindjiev P, Liechti F. Variable detours in long-distance migration across ecological barriers and their relation to habitat availability at ground. Ecol Evol 2014; 4:4150-60. [PMID: 25505540 PMCID: PMC4242566 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2014] [Revised: 08/28/2014] [Accepted: 09/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Migration detours, the spatial deviation from the shortest route, are a widespread phenomenon in migratory species, especially if barriers must be crossed. Moving longer distances causes additional efforts in energy and time, and to be adaptive, this should be counterbalanced by favorable condition en route. We compared migration patterns of nightingales that travelled along different flyways from their European breeding sites to the African nonbreeding sites. We tested for deviations from shortest routes and related the observed and expected routes to the habitat availability at ground during autumn and spring migration. All individuals flew detours of varying extent. Detours were largest and seasonally consistent in western flyway birds, whereas birds on the central and eastern flyways showed less detours during autumn migration, but large detours during spring migration (eastern flyway birds). Neither migration durations nor the time of arrival at destination were related to the lengths of detours. Arrival at the breeding site was nearly synchronous in birds flying different detours. Flying detours increased the potential availability of suitable broad-scale habitats en route only along the western flyway. Habitat availability on observed routes remained similar or even decreased for individuals flying detours on the central or the eastern flyway as compared to shortest routes. Thus, broad-scale habitat distribution may partially explain detour performance, but the weak detour-habitat association along central and eastern flyways suggests that other factors shape detour extent regionally. Prime candidate factors are the distribution of small suitable habitat patches at local scale as well as winds specific for the region and altitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen Hahn
- Department of Bird Migration, Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Tamara Emmenegger
- Department of Bird Migration, Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Simeon Lisovski
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University Geelong, Vic., Australia
| | - Valentin Amrhein
- Zoological Institute, University of Basel Basel, Switzerland ; Research Station Petite Camargue Alsacienne Saint-Louis, France
| | - Pavel Zehtindjiev
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Felix Liechti
- Department of Bird Migration, Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach, Switzerland
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24
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Emmenegger T, Hahn S, Bauer S. Individual migration timing of common nightingales is tuned with vegetation and prey phenology at breeding sites. BMC Ecol 2014; 14:9. [PMID: 24650177 PMCID: PMC3999983 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6785-14-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2013] [Accepted: 03/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The timing of migration substantially influences individual fitness. To match peak requirements with peak resource availability, we hypothesized that individual migrants schedule spring migration in close relation to seasonal changes in environmental conditions along the route and particularly, at the breeding destination.To test this hypothesis, we investigated the timing of spring migration in male common nightingales Luscinia megarhynchos, a small Palearctic-African long-distance migrant, by linking spring migration timing to the phenology of local environmental conditions at non-breeding migratory stopover and breeding sites. In particular, we related individual migration decisions (i.e. departure and arrival) of nine males to site-specific vegetation phenology (based on remotely sensed vegetation index) and a proxy of food availability (based on insects' thermal requirements). RESULTS We found weak relation of departures from non-breeding and no relation of stopover timing with local phenology. However, our results showed that individuals, which departed early from their non-breeding sites and arrived early at the breeding site closely matched spring green-up there. Early arrival at the breeding site meant also a close match with peak food availability for adults and in a time-lagged manner, for offspring. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that male nightingale used cues other than local phenology for their departure decisions from non-breeding grounds and that there is some evidence for equalizing late departures during the course of migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Emmenegger
- Department of Bird Migration, Swiss Ornithological Institute, Seerose 1, Sempach 6204, Switzerland.
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