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Santos CD, Sapir N, Becciu P, Granadeiro JP, Wikelski M. Risk-sensitive response of soaring birds to crosswind over dangerous sea highlights age-specific differences in migratory performance. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240454. [PMID: 38807519 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Challenges imposed by geographical barriers during migration are selective agents for animals. Juvenile soaring landbirds often cross large water bodies along their migratory path, where they lack updraft support and are vulnerable to harsh weather. However, the consequences of inexperience in accomplishing these water crossings remain largely unquantified. To address this knowledge gap, we tracked the movements of juvenile and adult black kites Milvus migrans over the Strait of Gibraltar using high-frequency tracking devices in variable crosswind conditions. We found that juveniles crossed under higher crosswind speeds and at wider sections of the strait compared with adults during easterly winds, which represent a high risk owing to their high speed and steady direction towards the Atlantic Ocean. Juveniles also drifted extensively with easterly winds, contrasting with adults who strongly compensated for lateral displacement through flapping. Age differences were inconspicuous during winds with a west crosswind speed component, as well as for airspeed modulation in all wind conditions. We suggest that the suboptimal sea-crossing behaviour of juvenile black kites may impact their survival rates, either by increasing chances of drowning owing to exhaustion or by depleting critical energy reserves needed to accomplish their first migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos D Santos
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Science Centre and ARNET - Aquatic Research Network Associate Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon , Caparica 2829-516, Portugal
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior , Radolfzell 78315, Germany
| | - Nir Sapir
- Animal Flight Laboratory, Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology and Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa , Haifa 3498838, Israel
| | - Paolo Becciu
- Animal Flight Laboratory, Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology and Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa , Haifa 3498838, Israel
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne , Lausanne 1015-CH, Switzerland
| | - José P Granadeiro
- CESAM - Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa , Lisboa 1749-016, Portugal
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior , Radolfzell 78315, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz , Konstanz 78457, Germany
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2
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Aikens EO, Nourani E, Fiedler W, Wikelski M, Flack A. Learning shapes the development of migratory behavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2306389121. [PMID: 38437530 PMCID: PMC10962998 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2306389121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
How animals refine migratory behavior over their lifetime (i.e., the ontogeny of migration) is an enduring question with important implications for predicting the adaptive capacity of migrants in a changing world. Yet, our inability to monitor the movements of individuals from early life onward has limited our understanding of the ontogeny of migration. The exploration-refinement hypothesis posits that learning shapes the ontogeny of migration in long-lived species, resulting in greater exploratory behavior early in life followed by more rapid and direct movement during later life. We test the exploration-refinement hypothesis by examining how white storks (Ciconia ciconia) balance energy, time, and information as they develop and refine migratory behavior during the first years of life. Here, we show that young birds reduce energy expenditure during flight while also increasing information gain by exploring new places during migration. As the birds age and gain more experience, older individuals stop exploring new places and instead move more quickly and directly, resulting in greater energy expenditure during migratory flight. During spring migration, individuals innovated novel shortcuts during the transition from early life into adulthood, suggesting a reliance on spatial memory acquired through learning. These incremental refinements in migratory behavior provide support for the importance of individual learning within a lifetime in the ontogeny of long-distance migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen O. Aikens
- School of Computing, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY82071
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY82072
- Collective Migration Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell78315, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz78468, Germany
| | - Elham Nourani
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell78315, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz78457, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Fiedler
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell78315, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz78457, Germany
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell78315, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz78457, Germany
| | - Andrea Flack
- Collective Migration Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell78315, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz78468, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz78457, Germany
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3
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Timing rather than movement decisions explains age-related differences in wind support for a migratory bird. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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4
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Dufour P, Åkesson S, Hellström M, Hewson C, Lagerveld S, Mitchell L, Chernetsov N, Schmaljohann H, Crochet PA. The Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) as a model to understand vagrancy and its potential for the evolution of new migration routes. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2022; 10:59. [PMID: 36517925 PMCID: PMC9753335 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00345-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Why and how new migration routes emerge remain fundamental questions in ecology, particularly in the context of current global changes. In its early stages, when few individuals are involved, the evolution of new migration routes can be easily confused with vagrancy, i.e. the occurrence of individuals outside their regular breeding, non-breeding or migratory distribution ranges. Yet, vagrancy can in theory generate new migration routes if vagrants survive, return to their breeding grounds and transfer their new migration route to their offspring, thus increasing a new migratory phenotype in the population. Here, we review the conceptual framework and empirical challenges of distinguishing regular migration from vagrancy in small obligate migratory passerines and explain how this can inform our understanding of migration evolution. For this purpose, we use the Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) as a case study. This Siberian species normally winters in southern Asia and its recent increase in occurrence in Western Europe has become a prominent evolutionary puzzle. We first review and discuss available evidence suggesting that the species is still mostly a vagrant in Western Europe but might be establishing a new migration route initiated by vagrants. We then list possible empirical approaches to check if some individuals really undertake regular migratory movements between Western Europe and Siberia, which would make this species an ideal model for studying the links between vagrancy and the emergence of new migratory routes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Dufour
- LECA, CNRS, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, Grenoble, France.
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden.
| | - Susanne Åkesson
- Department of Biology, Center for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, 22362, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Chris Hewson
- British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP27 2PU, UK
| | - Sander Lagerveld
- Wageningen University & Research, Ankerpark 27, 1781 AG, Den Helder, Netherlands
| | - Lucy Mitchell
- Environmental Research Institute, Centre for Energy and Environment (CfEE), The North Highland College UHI, Ormlie Road, Thurso, KW14 7EE, UK
| | - Nikita Chernetsov
- Ornithology Lab, Zoological Institute RAS, 1 Universitetskaya Emb, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg State University, 7-9 Universitetskaya Emb, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Heiko Schmaljohann
- Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences (IBU), Car Von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Carl-Von-Ossietzky-Straße 9-11, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany
- Institute of Avian Research, An Der Vogelwarte 21, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
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5
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Flack A, Aikens EO, Kölzsch A, Nourani E, Snell KR, Fiedler W, Linek N, Bauer HG, Thorup K, Partecke J, Wikelski M, Williams HJ. New frontiers in bird migration research. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R1187-R1199. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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6
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Vernasco BJ, Watts HE. Telomere length predicts timing and intensity of migratory behaviour in a nomadic songbird. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20220176. [PMID: 35920029 PMCID: PMC9346355 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Our understanding of state-dependent behaviour is reliant on identifying physiological indicators of condition. Telomeres are of growing interest for understanding behaviour as they capture differences in biological state and residual lifespan. To understand the significance of variable telomere lengths for behaviour and test two hypotheses describing the relationship between telomeres and behaviour (i.e. the causation and the selective adoption hypotheses), we assessed if telomere lengths are longitudinally repeatable traits related to spring migratory behaviour in captive pine siskins (Spinus pinus). Pine siskins are nomadic songbirds that exhibit highly flexible, facultative migrations, including a period of spring nomadism. Captive individuals exhibit extensive variation in spring migratory restlessness and are an excellent system for mechanistic studies of migratory behaviour. Telomere lengths were found to be significantly repeatable (R = 0.51) over four months, and shorter pre-migratory telomeres were associated with earlier and more intense expression of spring nocturnal migratory restlessness. Telomere dynamics did not vary with migratory behaviour. Our results describe the relationship between telomere length and migratory behaviour and provide support for the selective adoption hypothesis. More broadly, we provide a novel perspective on the significance of variable telomere lengths for animal behaviour and the timing of annual cycle events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben J Vernasco
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Heather E Watts
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.,Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
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Nussbaumer R, Schmid B, Bauer S, Liechti F. Favorable winds speed up bird migration in spring but not in autumn. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9146. [PMID: 35923938 PMCID: PMC9339755 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9146] [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: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Wind has a significant yet complex effect on bird migration speed. With prevailing south wind, overall migration is generally faster in spring than in autumn. However, studies on the difference in airspeed between seasons have shown contrasting results so far, in part due to their limited geographical or temporal coverage. Using the first full‐year weather radar data set of nocturnal bird migration across western Europe together with wind speed from reanalysis data, we investigate variation of airspeed across season. We additionally expand our analysis of ground speed, airspeed, wind speed, and wind profit variation across time (seasonal and daily) and space (geographical and altitudinal). Our result confirms that wind plays a major role in explaining both temporal and spatial variabilities in ground speed. The resulting airspeed remains relatively constant at all scales (daily, seasonal, geographically and altitudinally). We found that spring airspeed is overall 5% faster in Spring than autumn, but we argue that this number is not significant compared to the biases and limitation of weather radar data. The results of the analysis can be used to further investigate birds' migratory strategies across space and time, as well as their energy use.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Silke Bauer
- Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach Switzerland
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8
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Bianco G, Köhler RC, Ilieva M, Åkesson S. The importance of time of day for magnetic body alignment in songbirds. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2022; 208:135-144. [PMID: 34997291 PMCID: PMC8918448 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-021-01536-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/18/2021] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Spontaneous magnetic alignment is the simplest known directional response to the geomagnetic field that animals perform. Magnetic alignment is not a goal directed response and its relevance in the context of orientation and navigation has received little attention. Migratory songbirds, long-standing model organisms for studying magnetosensation, have recently been reported to align their body with the geomagnetic field. To explore whether the magnetic alignment behaviour in songbirds is involved in the underlying mechanism for compass calibration, which have been suggested to occur near to sunset, we studied juvenile Eurasian reed warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) captured at stopover during their first autumn migration. We kept one group of birds in local daylight conditions and an experimental group under a 2 h delayed sunset. We used an ad hoc machine learning algorithm to track the birds' body alignment over a 2-week period. Our results show that magnetic body alignment occurs prior to sunset, but shifts to a more northeast-southwest alignment afterwards. Our findings support the hypothesis that body alignment could be associated with how directional celestial and magnetic cues are integrated in the compass of migratory birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Bianco
- Centre for Animal Movement Research, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden.
| | - Robin Clemens Köhler
- Centre for Animal Movement Research, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden.,Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, 35043, Marburg, Germany
| | - Mihaela Ilieva
- Centre for Animal Movement Research, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden.,Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Str., 1113, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Susanne Åkesson
- Centre for Animal Movement Research, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden.
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9
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Cabrera-Cruz SA, Larkin RP, Gimpel ME, Gruber JG, Zenzal TJ, Buler JJ. Potential effect of low-rise, downcast artificial lights on nocturnally migrating land birds. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 61:1216-1236. [PMID: 34240165 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Artificial light at night (ALAN) affects the flight behavior of night-migrating birds at tall or upward-pointed lighting installations. We hypothesized that common low-rise lights pointing downwards also affect the movement of nocturnal migrants. We predicted that birds in flight will react close to low-rise lights, and be attracted and grounded near light sources, with a stronger effect on juveniles during their autumn migration. We conducted a controlled longitudinal experiment with LED floodlights and considered nearby structures that turn on lights at night. We analyzed 1501 high-resolution 3D nocturnal flight paths of free-flying migrants and diurnally captured 758-2009 birds around experimental lights during spring and autumn 2016, and spring 2017. We identified change points along flight paths where birds turned horizontally or vertically, and we considered these indicatives of reactions. Flight paths with and without reactions were generally closer to our experimental site in spring than in autumn when the lights were on. Reactions were up to 40% more likely in autumn than spring depending on threshold magnitude of turning angle. Reactions in spring were up to ∼60% more likely to occur at ∼35m from the lights than at >1.5km. In autumn, some vertical reactions were ∼40% more likely ∼50m from the lights than at >2.2km. Interactions between distance to lights and visibility or cloud cover were consistent with known effects of ALAN on nocturnal migrants. Under poor visibility, reactions were up to 50% more likely farthest from structures in spring, but up to 60% more likely closest to lights in autumn. Thus, the effects of ALAN on night-migrating land birds are not limited to bright lights pointing upwards or lights on tall structures in urban areas. Diurnal capture rates of birds were not different when lights were on or off for either season. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that low-rise lights pointing downwards affect night-migrating birds. Although the interpreted reactions constitute subtle modifications in the linearity of flight paths, we discuss future work that could verify whether the protection of nocturnal migrants with lights-out programs would have greater impact if implemented beyond urban areas and include management of low-rise lights.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio A Cabrera-Cruz
- Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Delaware, USA
| | - Ronald P Larkin
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Maren E Gimpel
- Foreman's Branch Bird Observatory, Washington College, Chestertown, MD, USA
| | - James G Gruber
- Foreman's Branch Bird Observatory, Washington College, Chestertown, MD, USA
| | - Theodore J Zenzal
- U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Lafayette, LA, USA.,School of Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA
| | - Jeffrey J Buler
- Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Delaware, USA
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10
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Baldaccini NE. Moving towards a far-away goal: a foreword. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2021.1908493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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