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Ugland CR, Acker P, Burthe SJ, Fortuna R, Gunn C, Haaland TR, Harris MP, Morley TI, Newell MA, Swann RL, Wanless S, Daunt F, Reid JM. Early-life variation in migration is subject to strong fluctuating survival selection in a partially migratory bird. J Anim Ecol 2024; 93:1567-1581. [PMID: 39219166 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14172] [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: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 08/11/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Population dynamic and eco-evolutionary responses to environmental variation and change fundamentally depend on combinations of within- and among-cohort variation in the phenotypic expression of key life-history traits, and on corresponding variation in selection on those traits. Specifically, in partially migratory populations, spatio-seasonal dynamics depend on the degree of adaptive phenotypic expression of seasonal migration versus residence, where more individuals migrate when selection favours migration. Opportunity for adaptive (or, conversely, maladaptive) expression could be particularly substantial in early life, through the initial development of migration versus residence. However, within- and among-cohort dynamics of early-life migration, and of associated survival selection, have not been quantified in any system, preventing any inference on adaptive early-life expression. Such analyses have been precluded because data on seasonal movements and survival of sufficient young individuals, across multiple cohorts, have not been collected. We undertook extensive year-round field resightings of 9359 colour-ringed juvenile European shags Gulosus aristotelis from 11 successive cohorts in a partially migratory population. We fitted Bayesian multi-state capture-mark-recapture models to quantify early-life variation in migration versus residence and associated survival across short temporal occasions through each cohort's first year from fledging, thereby quantifying the degree of adaptive phenotypic expression of migration within and across years. All cohorts were substantially partially migratory, but the degree and timing of migration varied considerably within and among cohorts. Episodes of strong survival selection on migration versus residence occurred both on short timeframes within years, and cumulatively across entire first years, generating instances of instantaneous and cumulative net selection that would be obscured at coarser temporal resolutions. Further, the magnitude and direction of selection varied among years, generating strong fluctuating survival selection on early-life migration across cohorts, as rarely evidenced in nature. Yet, the degree of migration did not strongly covary with the direction of selection, indicating limited early-life adaptive phenotypic expression. These results reveal how dynamic early-life expression of and selection on a key life-history trait, seasonal migration, can emerge across seasonal, annual, and multi-year timeframes, yet be substantially decoupled. This restricts the potential for adaptive phenotypic, microevolutionary, and population dynamic responses to changing seasonal environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra R Ugland
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Paul Acker
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Sarah J Burthe
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, UK
| | - Rita Fortuna
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Carrie Gunn
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, UK
| | - Thomas R Haaland
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | | | - Timothy I Morley
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Mark A Newell
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, UK
| | | | - Sarah Wanless
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, UK
| | - Francis Daunt
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, UK
| | - Jane M Reid
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
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Chan YC, Kormann UG, Witczak S, Scherler P, Grüebler MU. Ontogeny of migration destination, route and timing in a partially migratory bird. J Anim Ecol 2024. [PMID: 39072797 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
In migratory animals, the developmental period from inexperienced juveniles to breeding adults could be a key life stage in shaping population migration patterns. Nevertheless, the development of migration routines in early life remains underexplored. While age-related changes in migration routes and timing have been described in obligate migrants, most investigations into the ontogeny of partial migrants only focused on age-dependency of migration as a binary tactic (migrant or resident), and variations in routes and timing among individuals classified as 'migrants' is rarely considered. To fill this gap, we study the ontogeny of migration destination, route and timing in a partially migratory red kite (Milvus milvus) population. Using an extensive GPS-tracking dataset (292 fledglings and 38 adults, with 1-5 migrations tracked per individual), we studied how nine different migration characteristics changed with age and breeding status in migrant individuals, many of which become resident later in life. Individuals departed later from and arrived earlier at the breeding areas as they aged, resulting in a gradual prolongation of stay in the breeding area by 2 months from the first to the fifth migration. Individuals delayed southward migration in the year prior to territory acquirement, and they further delayed it after occupying a territory. Migration routes became more direct with age. Individuals were highly faithful to their wintering site. Migration distance shortened only slightly with age and was more similar among siblings than among unrelated individuals. The large gradual changes in northward and southward migrations suggest a high degree of plasticity in temporal characteristics during the developmental window. However, the high wintering site fidelity points towards large benefits of site familiarity, prompting spatial migratory plasticity to be expressed through a switch to residency. The contrasting patterns of trajectories of age-related changes between spatial and temporal migration characteristics might reflect different mechanisms underlying the expression of plasticity. Investigating such patterns among species along the entire spectrum of migration tactics would enable further understanding of the plastic responses exhibited by migratory species to rapid environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying-Chi Chan
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Urs G Kormann
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Stephanie Witczak
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach, Switzerland
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Brønnvik H, Nourani E, Fiedler W, Flack A. Experience reduces route selection for conspecifics by the collectively migrating white stork. Curr Biol 2024; 34:2030-2037.e3. [PMID: 38636512 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.052] [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: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Migration can be an energetically costly behavior with strong fitness consequences in terms of mortality and reproduction.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 Migrants should select migratory routes to minimize their costs, but both costs and benefits may change with experience.12,13,14 This raises the question of whether experience changes how individuals select their migratory routes. Here, we investigate the effect of age on route selection criteria in a collectively migrating soaring bird, the white stork (Ciconia ciconia). We perform step-selection analysis on a longitudinal dataset tracking 158 white storks over up to 9 years to quantify how they select their routes based on the social and atmospheric environments and to examine how this selection changes with age. We find clear ontogenetic shifts in route selection criteria. Juveniles choose routes that have good atmospheric conditions and high conspecific densities. Yet, as they gain experience, storks' selection on the availability of social information reduces-after their fifth migration, experienced birds also choose routes with low conspecific densities. Thus, our results suggest that as individuals age, they gradually replace information gleaned from other individuals with information gained from experience, allowing them to shift their migration timing and increasing the timescale at which they select their routes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hester Brønnvik
- Collective Migration Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany.
| | - Elham Nourani
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany; Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78468 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Fiedler
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Andrea Flack
- Collective Migration Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78468 Konstanz, Germany.
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Brønnvik H, Safi K, Vansteelant WMG, Byholm P, Nourani E. Experience does not change the importance of wind support for migratory route selection by a soaring bird. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220746. [PMID: 36569232 PMCID: PMC9768468 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Migration is a complex behaviour that is costly in terms of time, energy and risk of mortality. Thermal soaring birds rely on airflow, specifically wind support and uplift, to offset their energetic costs of flight. Their migratory routes are a record of movement decisions to negotiate the atmospheric environment and achieve efficiency. We expected that, regardless of age, birds use wind support to select their routes. Because thermal soaring is a complex flight behaviour that young birds need to learn, we expected that, as individuals gain more experience, their movement decisions will also increasingly favour the best thermal uplift conditions. We quantified how route choice during autumn migration of young European honey buzzards (Pernis apivorus) was adjusted to wind support and uplift over up to 4 years of migration and compared this with the choices of adult birds. We found that wind support was important in all migrations. However, we did not find an increase in the use of thermal uplifts. This could be due to the species-specific learning period and/or an artefact of the spatio-temporal scale of our uplift proxies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hester Brønnvik
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell 78315, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
| | - Kamran Safi
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell 78315, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
| | - Wouter M. G. Vansteelant
- Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, Seville 41092, Spain
- Theoretical and Computational Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1012 WX, The Netherlands
| | - Patrik Byholm
- Novia University of Applied Sciences, Ekenäs 10600, Finland
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Elham Nourani
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell 78315, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
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Pancerasa M, Ambrosini R, Romano A, Rubolini D, Winkler DW, Casagrandi R. Across the deserts and sea: inter-individual variation in migration routes of south-central European barn swallows (Hirundo rustica). MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2022; 10:51. [PMID: 36419202 PMCID: PMC9682807 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00352-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The spatiotemporal organization of migratory routes of long-distance migrants results from trade-offs between minimizing the journey length and en route risk of migration-related mortality, which may be reduced by avoiding crossing inhospitable ecological barriers. Despite flourishing avian migration research in recent decades, little is still known about inter-individual variability in migratory routes, as well as the carry-over effects of spatial and temporal features of migration on subsequent migration stages. METHODS We reconstructed post- and pre-breeding migration routes, barrier crossing behaviour and non-breeding movements of the largest sample (N = 85) analysed to date of individual barn swallows breeding in south-central Europe, which were tracked using light-level geolocators. RESULTS Most birds spent their non-breeding period in the Congo basin in a single stationary area, but a small fraction of itinerant individuals reaching South Africa was also observed. Birds generally followed a 'clockwise loop migration pattern', moving through the central Mediterranean and the Sahara Desert during post-breeding (north to south) migration yet switching to a more western route, along the Atlantic coast of Africa, Iberia and western Mediterranean during the pre-breeding (south to north) migration. Southward migration was straighter and less variable, while northward migration was significantly faster despite the broader detour along the Atlantic coast and Iberia. These patterns showed limited sex-related variability. The timing of different circannual events was tightly linked with previous migration stages, considerably affecting migration route and speed of subsequent movements. Indeed, individuals departing late from Africa performed straighter and faster pre-breeding migrations, partly compensating for the initial departure delays, but likely at the cost of performing riskier movements across ecological barriers. CONCLUSIONS Different spatiotemporal migration strategies during post- and pre-breeding migration suggest that conditions en route may differ seasonally and allow for more efficient travelling along different migration corridors in either season. While highlighting patterns of inter-individual variability, our results support increasing evidence for widespread loop migration patterns among Afro-Palearctic avian migrants. Also, they suggest that carry-over effects acting across different phases of the annual cycle of migratory species can have major impacts on evolutionary processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Pancerasa
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico Di Milano, Via Ponzio 34/5, 20131, Milan, Italy
| | - Roberto Ambrosini
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milan, Italy.
| | - Andrea Romano
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Diego Rubolini
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milan, Italy
- Istituto di Ricerca sulle Acque, IRSA-CNR, Via del Mulino 19, 20861, Brugherio, MB, Italy
| | | | - Renato Casagrandi
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico Di Milano, Via Ponzio 34/5, 20131, Milan, Italy.
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Patchett R, Kirschel ANG, Robins King J, Styles P, Cresswell W. Age-related changes in migratory behaviour within the first annual cycle of a passerine bird. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0273686. [PMID: 36260548 PMCID: PMC9581414 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
First time migrants (juveniles hereafter) of many species migrate without specific knowledge of non-breeding locations, but experience may aid adults in timing and route decisions because they can migrate more efficiently to their previous non-breeding sites. Consequently, we expect a transition to more efficient migratory behaviour with age, but when and how this happens is little known. We used light-level geolocator data from Cyprus wheatears Oenanthe cypriaca to compare migration timing and route directness between juveniles and adults, and repeatability of their timing and non-breeding locations. We predicted that juveniles would depart and arrive later than adults for both autumn and spring migration; that duration of migration would be greater for juveniles; that routes taken by juveniles would be less direct than those for adults; and that autumn and spring departure timing, and non-breeding locations, would be more repeatable for adults between two years than for juveniles between their first and subsequent migration. We found that juveniles departed significantly later than adults in autumn but there was no difference in arrival timing, and although spring departure timings did not differ, juveniles arrived on the breeding grounds later than adults. Nevertheless, we found no significant age-related difference in the duration of migration in autumn or spring. Yet, juvenile migrations were less direct than those of adults in autumn, but not spring. We found evidence that spring departure timing and non-breeding locations were repeatable for adults but not juveniles. Our findings show that age-related changes in migratory behaviour begin to occur during the first annual cycle demonstrating the potential for early adaptation to environmental variability within an individual's life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Patchett
- Centre for Biological Diversity, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | | | - Joanna Robins King
- Centre for Biological Diversity, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Patrick Styles
- Centre for Biological Diversity, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Will Cresswell
- Centre for Biological Diversity, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
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7
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Acácio M, Catry I, Soriano-Redondo A, Silva JP, Atkinson PW, Franco AMA. Timing is critical: consequences of asynchronous migration for the performance and destination of a long-distance migrant. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2022; 10:28. [PMID: 35725653 PMCID: PMC9901525 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00328-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Migration phenology is shifting for many long-distance migrants due to global climate change, however the timing and duration of migration may influence the environmental conditions individuals encounter, with potential fitness consequences. Species with asynchronous migrations, i.e., with variability in migration timing, provide an excellent opportunity to investigate how of the conditions individuals experience during migration can vary and affect the migratory performance, route, and destination of migrants. METHODS Here, we use GPS tracking and accelerometer data to examine if timing of autumn migration influences the migratory performance (duration, distance, route straightness, energy expenditure) and migration destinations of a long-distance, asynchronous, migrant, the white stork (Ciconia ciconia). We also compare the weather conditions (wind speed, wind direction, and boundary layer height) encountered on migration and examine the influence of wind direction on storks' flight directions. RESULTS From 2016 to 2020, we tracked 172 white storks and obtained 75 complete migrations from the breeding grounds in Europe to the sub-Saharan wintering areas. Autumn migration season spanned over a 3-month period (July-October) and arrival destinations covered a broad area of the Sahel, 2450 km apart, from Senegal to Niger. We found that timing of migration influenced both the performance and conditions individuals experienced: later storks spent fewer days on migration, adopted shorter and more direct routes in the Sahara Desert and consumed more energy when flying, as they were exposed to less supportive weather conditions. In the Desert, storks' flight directions were significantly influenced by wind direction, with later individuals facing stronger easterly winds (i.e., winds blowing to the west), hence being more likely to end their migration in western areas of the Sahel region. Contrastingly, early storks encountered more supportive weather conditions, spent less energy on migration and were exposed to westerly winds, thus being more likely to end migration in eastern Sahel. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that the timing of migration influences the environmental conditions individuals face, the energetic costs of migration, and the wintering destinations, where birds may be exposed to different environmental conditions and distinct threats. These findings highlight that on-going changes in migration phenology, due to environmental change, may have critical fitness consequences for long-distance soaring migrants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Acácio
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UK.
| | - Inês Catry
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade Do Porto, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Andrea Soriano-Redondo
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade Do Porto, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal
- Helsinki Lab of Interdisciplinary Conservation Science (HELICS), Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - João Paulo Silva
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade Do Porto, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
| | | | - Aldina M A Franco
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UK
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Paternal transmission of migration knowledge in a long-distance bird migrant. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1566. [PMID: 35322030 PMCID: PMC8943069 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29300-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
While advances in biologging have revealed many spectacular animal migrations, it remains poorly understood how young animals learn to migrate. Even in social species, it is unclear how migratory skills are transmitted from one generation to another and what implications this may have. Here we show that in Caspian terns Hydroprogne caspia family groups, genetic and foster male parents carry the main responsibility for migrating with young. During migration, young birds stayed close to an adult at all times, with the bond dissipating on the wintering grounds. Solo-migrating adults migrated faster than did adults accompanying young. Four young that lost contact with their parent at an early stage of migration all died. During their first solo migration, subadult terns remained faithful to routes they took with their parents as young. Our results provide evidence for cultural inheritance of migration knowledge in a long-distance bird migrant and show that sex-biased (allo)parental care en route shapes migration through social learning.
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Linscott JA, Navedo JG, Clements SJ, Loghry JP, Ruiz J, Ballard BM, Weegman MD, Senner NR. Compensation for wind drift prevails for a shorebird on a long-distance, transoceanic flight. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2022; 10:11. [PMID: 35255994 PMCID: PMC8900403 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00310-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Conditions encountered en route can dramatically impact the energy that migratory species spend on movement. Migratory birds often manage energetic costs by adjusting their behavior in relation to wind conditions as they fly. Wind-influenced behaviors can offer insight into the relative importance of risk and resistance during migration, but to date, they have only been studied in a limited subset of avian species and flight types. We add to this understanding by examining in-flight behaviors over a days-long, barrier-crossing flight in a migratory shorebird. METHODS Using satellite tracking devices, we followed 25 Hudsonian godwits (Limosa haemastica) from 2019-2021 as they migrated northward across a largely transoceanic landscape extending > 7000 km from Chiloé Island, Chile to the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. We identified in-flight behaviors during this crossing by comparing directions of critical movement vectors and used mixed models to test whether the resulting patterns supported three classical predictions about wind and migration. RESULTS Contrary to our predictions, compensation did not increase linearly with distance traveled, was not constrained during flight over open ocean, and did not influence where an individual ultimately crossed over the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico at the end of this flight. Instead, we found a strong preference for full compensation throughout godwit flight paths. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that compensation is crucial to godwits, emphasizing the role of risk in shaping migratory behavior and raising questions about the consequences of changing wind regimes for other barrier-crossing aerial migrants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A Linscott
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, 715 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.
| | - Juan G Navedo
- Estacion Experimental Quempillén, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Ancud, Chiloé, Chile
- Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Sarah J Clements
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, 103 Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Jason P Loghry
- Texas A&M University, Kingsville, 700 University Blvd., MSC 218, Kingsville, TX, 78363, USA
| | - Jorge Ruiz
- Estacion Experimental Quempillén, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Ancud, Chiloé, Chile
- Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Bart M Ballard
- Texas A&M University, Kingsville, 700 University Blvd., MSC 218, Kingsville, TX, 78363, USA
| | - Mitch D Weegman
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E2, Canada
| | - Nathan R Senner
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, 715 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA
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10
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Verhoeven MA, Loonstra AHJ, McBride AD, Kaspersma W, Hooijmeijer JCEW, Both C, Senner NR, Piersma T. Age-dependent timing and routes demonstrate developmental plasticity in a long-distance migratory bird. J Anim Ecol 2021; 91:566-579. [PMID: 34822170 PMCID: PMC9299929 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Longitudinal tracking studies have revealed consistent differences in the migration patterns of individuals from the same populations. The sources or processes causing this individual variation are largely unresolved. As a result, it is mostly unknown how much, how fast and when animals can adjust their migrations to changing environments. We studied the ontogeny of migration in a long‐distance migratory shorebird, the black‐tailed godwit Limosa limosa limosa, a species known to exhibit marked individuality in the migratory routines of adults. By observing how and when these individual differences arise, we aimed to elucidate whether individual differences in migratory behaviour are inherited or emerge as a result of developmental plasticity. We simultaneously tracked juvenile and adult godwits from the same breeding area on their south‐ and northward migrations. To determine how and when individual differences begin to arise, we related juvenile migration routes, timing and mortality rates to hatch date and hatch year. Then, we compared adult and juvenile migration patterns to identify potential age‐dependent differences. In juveniles, the timing of their first southward departure was related to hatch date. However, their subsequent migration routes, orientation, destination, migratory duration and likelihood of mortality were unrelated to the year or timing of migration, or their sex. Juveniles left the Netherlands after all tracked adults. They then flew non‐stop to West Africa more often and incurred higher mortality rates than adults. Some juveniles also took routes and visited stopover sites far outside the well‐documented adult migratory corridor. Such juveniles, however, were not more likely to die. We found that juveniles exhibited different migratory patterns than adults, but no evidence that these behaviours are under natural selection. We thus eliminate the possibility that the individual differences observed among adult godwits are present at hatch or during their first migration. This adds to the mounting evidence that animals possess the developmental plasticity to change their migration later in life in response to environmental conditions as those conditions are experienced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mo A Verhoeven
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - A H Jelle Loonstra
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Alice D McBride
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Wiebe Kaspersma
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jos C E W Hooijmeijer
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Christiaan Both
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Nathan R Senner
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Theunis Piersma
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.,Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, The Netherlands
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11
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Nourani E, Bohrer G, Becciu P, Bierregaard RO, Duriez O, Figuerola J, Gangoso L, Giokas S, Higuchi H, Kassara C, Kulikova O, Lecomte N, Monti F, Pokrovsky I, Sforzi A, Therrien JF, Tsiopelas N, Vansteelant WMG, Viana DS, Yamaguchi NM, Wikelski M, Safi K. The interplay of wind and uplift facilitates over-water flight in facultative soaring birds. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211603. [PMID: 34493076 PMCID: PMC8424339 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Flying over the open sea is energetically costly for terrestrial birds. Despite this, over-water journeys of many birds, sometimes hundreds of kilometres long, are uncovered by bio-logging technology. To understand how these birds afford their flights over the open sea, we investigated the role of atmospheric conditions, specifically wind and uplift, in subsidizing over-water flight at a global scale. We first established that ΔT, the temperature difference between sea surface and air, is a meaningful proxy for uplift over water. Using this proxy, we showed that the spatio-temporal patterns of sea-crossing in terrestrial migratory birds are associated with favourable uplift conditions. We then analysed route selection over the open sea for five facultative soaring species, representative of all major migratory flyways. The birds maximized wind support when selecting their sea-crossing routes and selected greater uplift when suitable wind support was available. They also preferred routes with low long-term uncertainty in wind conditions. Our findings suggest that, in addition to wind, uplift may play a key role in the energy seascape for bird migration that in turn determines strategies and associated costs for birds crossing ecological barriers such as the open sea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elham Nourani
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Germany
| | - Gil Bohrer
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, USA
| | - Paolo Becciu
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, and Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Israel
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Olivier Duriez
- Centre for Evolutionary and Functional Ecology, Montpellier University-CNRS, France
| | - Jordi Figuerola
- Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, Spain
| | - Laura Gangoso
- Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, Spain
- Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sinos Giokas
- Department of Biology, University of Patras, Greece
| | - Hiroyoshi Higuchi
- Research and Education Centre for Natural Sciences, Keio University, Japan
| | | | - Olga Kulikova
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Germany
- Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of the Biological Problems of the North, Russia
| | - Nicolas Lecomte
- Canada Research Chair in Polar and Boreal Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Moncton, Canada
| | - Flavio Monti
- Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Italy
| | - Ivan Pokrovsky
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Germany
- Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of the Biological Problems of the North, Russia
- Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
| | | | | | | | - Wouter M. G. Vansteelant
- Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, Spain
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Duarte S. Viana
- German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany
- Leipzig University, Germany
| | - Noriyuki M. Yamaguchi
- Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, Japan
- Organization for Marine Science and Technology, Nagasaki University, Japan
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Germany
| | - Kamran Safi
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Germany
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12
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Vansteelant WMG, Gangoso L, Bouten W, Viana DS, Figuerola J. Adaptive drift and barrier-avoidance by a fly-forage migrant along a climate-driven flyway. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2021; 9:37. [PMID: 34253264 PMCID: PMC8276455 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-021-00272-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Route choice and travel performance of fly-forage migrants are partly driven by large-scale habitat availability, but it remains unclear to what extent wind support through large-scale wind regimes moulds their migratory behaviour. We aimed to determine to what extent a trans-equatorial fly-forage migrant engages in adaptive drift through distinct wind regimes and biomes across Africa. The Inter-tropical Front (ITF) marks a strong and seasonally shifting climatic boundary at the thermal equator, and we assessed whether migratory detours were associated with this climatic feature. Furthermore, we sought to disentangle the influence of wind and biome on daily, regional and seasonal travel performance. METHODS We GPS-tracked 19 adult Eleonora's falcons Falco eleonorae from the westernmost population on the Canary Islands across 39 autumn and 36 spring migrations to and from Madagascar. Tracks were annotated with wind data to assess the falcons' orientation behaviour and the wind support they achieved in each season and distinct biomes. We further tested whether falcon routes across the Sahel were correlated with the ITF position, and how realized wind support and biome affect daily travel times, distances and speeds. RESULTS Changes in orientation behaviour across Africa's biomes were associated with changes in prevailing wind fields. Falcons realized higher wind support along their detours than was available along the shortest possible route by drifting through adverse autumn wind fields, but compromised wind support while detouring through supportive spring wind fields. Movements across the Sahel-Sudan zone were strongly associated to the ITF position in autumn, but were more individually variable in spring. Realized wind support was an important driver of daily travel speeds and distances, in conjunction with regional wind-independent variation in daily travel time budgets. CONCLUSIONS Although daily travel time budgets of falcons vary independently from wind, their daily travel performance is strongly affected by orientation-dependent wind support. Falcons thereby tend to drift to minimize or avoid headwinds through opposing wind fields and over ecological barriers, while compensating through weak or supportive wind fields and over hospitable biomes. The ITF may offer a climatic leading line to fly-forage migrants in terms of both flight and foraging conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wouter M G Vansteelant
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC. Cartuja TA-10, Edificio I, Calle Américo Vespucio, s/n, 41092, Sevilla, Spain.
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, Sciencepark 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Laura Gangoso
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC. Cartuja TA-10, Edificio I, Calle Américo Vespucio, s/n, 41092, Sevilla, Spain
- Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution. Faculty of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid, C/ José Antonio Novais 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Willem Bouten
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, Sciencepark 904, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Duarte S Viana
- German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Deutscher Platz 5e, Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jordi Figuerola
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC. Cartuja TA-10, Edificio I, Calle Américo Vespucio, s/n, 41092, Sevilla, Spain
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13
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Lopez-Ricaurte L, Vansteelant WMG, Hernández-Pliego J, García-Silveira D, Bermejo-Bermejo A, Casado S, Cecere JG, de la Puente J, Garcés-Toledano F, Martínez-Dalmau J, Ortega A, Rodríguez-Moreno B, Rubolini D, Sarà M, Bustamante J. Barrier crossings and winds shape daily travel schedules and speeds of a flight generalist. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12044. [PMID: 34103580 PMCID: PMC8187636 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91378-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
External factors such as geography and weather strongly affect bird migration influencing daily travel schedules and flight speeds. For strictly thermal-soaring migrants, weather explains most seasonal and regional differences in speed. Flight generalists, which alternate between soaring and flapping flight, are expected to be less dependent on weather, and daily travel schedules are likely to be strongly influenced by geography and internal factors such as sex. We GPS-tracked the migration of 70 lesser kestrels (Falco naumanni) to estimate the relative importance of external factors (wind, geography), internal factors (sex) and season, and the extent to which they explain variation in travel speed, distance, and duration. Our results show that geography and tailwind are important factors in explaining variation in daily travel schedules and speeds. We found that wind explained most of the seasonal differences in travel speed. In both seasons, lesser kestrels sprinted across ecological barriers and frequently migrated during the day and night. Conversely, they travelled at a slower pace and mainly during the day over non-barriers. Our results highlighted that external factors far outweighed internal factors and season in explaining variation in migratory behaviour of a flight generalist, despite its ability to switch between flight modes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lina Lopez-Ricaurte
- Departament of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), C/Américo Vespucio 26, E-41092, Seville, Spain.
| | - Wouter M G Vansteelant
- Departament of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), C/Américo Vespucio 26, E-41092, Seville, Spain
| | | | - Daniel García-Silveira
- Departament of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), C/Américo Vespucio 26, E-41092, Seville, Spain
| | - Ana Bermejo-Bermejo
- Bird Monitoring Unit, SEO/BirdLife, C/Melquiades Biencinto 34, 28053, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Jacopo G Cecere
- Area Avifauna Migratrice, Istituto Superiore Per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Via Ca' Fornacetta 9, 40064, Ozzano dell'Emilia BO, Italy
| | - Javier de la Puente
- Bird Monitoring Unit, SEO/BirdLife, C/Melquiades Biencinto 34, 28053, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | - Diego Rubolini
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Maurizio Sarà
- Dipartimento STEBICEF, Università Degli Studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi 18, 90123, Palermo, Italy
| | - Javier Bustamante
- Departament of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), C/Américo Vespucio 26, E-41092, Seville, Spain.
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14
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Oudman T, Laland K, Ruxton G, Tombre I, Shimmings P, Prop J. Young Birds Switch but Old Birds Lead: How Barnacle Geese Adjust Migratory Habits to Environmental Change. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
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15
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Nourani E, Vansteelant WMG, Byholm P, Safi K. Dynamics of the energy seascape can explain intra-specific variations in sea-crossing behaviour of soaring birds. Biol Lett 2020; 16:20190797. [PMID: 31964257 PMCID: PMC7013482 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Thermal soaring birds extract energy from the atmosphere to achieve energetically low-cost movement. When encountering regions that are energetically costly to fly over, such as open seas, they should attempt to adjust the spatio-temporal pattern of their passage to maximize energy extraction from the atmosphere over these ecological barriers. We applied the concept of energy landscapes to investigate the spatio-temporal dynamics of energy availability over the open sea for soaring flight. We specifically investigated how the 'energy seascape' may shape age-specific sea-crossing behaviour of European honey buzzards, Pernis apivorus, over the Mediterranean Sea in autumn. We found uplift potential over the sea to be the main determinant of sea-crossing distance, rather than wind conditions. Considering this variable as a proxy for available energy over the sea, we constructed the energy seascape for the autumn migration season using 40 years of temperature data. Our results indicate that early-migrating adult buzzards are likely to encounter adverse energy subsidence over the Mediterranean, whereas late-migrating juveniles face less adverse flight conditions, and even conditions conducive to soaring flight. Our study provides evidence that the dynamics of the energy landscape can explain intra-specific variation in migratory behaviour also at sea.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. Nourani
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - W. M. G. Vansteelant
- Theoretical and Computational Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - P. Byholm
- Novia University of Applied Sciences, Ekenäs, Finland
| | - K. Safi
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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16
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Norevik G, Åkesson S, Artois T, Beenaerts N, Conway G, Cresswell B, Evens R, Henderson I, Jiguet F, Hedenström A. Wind-associated detours promote seasonal migratory connectivity in a flapping flying long-distance avian migrant. J Anim Ecol 2019; 89:635-646. [PMID: 31581321 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
It is essential to gain knowledge about the causes and extent of migratory connectivity between stationary periods of migrants to further the understanding of processes affecting populations, and to allow efficient implementation of conservation efforts throughout the annual cycle. Avian migrants likely use optimal routes with respect to mode of locomotion, orientation and migration strategy, influenced by external factors such as wind and topography. In self-powered flapping flying birds, any increases in fuel loads are associated with added flight costs. Energy-minimizing migrants are therefore predicted to trade-off extended detours against reduced travel across ecological barriers with no or limited foraging opportunities. Here, we quantify the extent of detours taken by different populations of European nightjars Caprimulgus europaeus, to test our predictions that they used routes beneficial according to energetic principles and evaluate the effect of route shape on seasonal migratory connectivity. We combined data on birds tracked from breeding sites along a longitudinal gradient from England to Sweden. We analysed the migratory connectivity between breeding and main non-breeding sites, and en route stopover sites just south of the Sahara desert. We quantified each track's route extension relative to the direct route between breeding and wintering sites, respectively, and contrasted it to the potential detour derived from the barrier reduction along the track while accounting for potential wind effects. Nightjars extended their tracks from the direct route between breeding and main non-breeding sites as they crossed the Mediterranean Sea-Sahara desert, the major ecological barrier in the Palaearctic-African migration system. These clockwise detours were small for birds from eastern sites but increased from east to west breeding longitude. Routes of the tracked birds were associated with partial reduction in the barrier crossing resulting in a trade-off between route extension and barrier reduction, as expected in an energy-minimizing migrant. This study demonstrates how the costs of barrier crossings in prevailing winds can disrupt migratory routes towards slightly different goals, and thereby promote migratory connectivity. This is an important link between individual migration strategies in association with an ecological barrier, and both spatially and demographic population patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Norevik
- Department of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Susanne Åkesson
- Department of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Tom Artois
- Centre for Environmental Sciences, Research Group: Zoology, Biodiversity and Toxicology, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Natalie Beenaerts
- Centre for Environmental Sciences, Research Group: Zoology, Biodiversity and Toxicology, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | | | | | - Ruben Evens
- Centre for Environmental Sciences, Research Group: Zoology, Biodiversity and Toxicology, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.,Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach, Switzerland
| | | | - Frédéric Jiguet
- UMR7204 MNHN-CNRS-SU, Centre d'Ecologie et de Sciences de la Conservation, Paris, France
| | - Anders Hedenström
- Department of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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17
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Phipps WL, López-López P, Buechley ER, Oppel S, Álvarez E, Arkumarev V, Bekmansurov R, Berger-Tal O, Bermejo A, Bounas A, Alanís IC, de la Puente J, Dobrev V, Duriez O, Efrat R, Fréchet G, García J, Galán M, García-Ripollés C, Gil A, Iglesias-Lebrija JJ, Jambas J, Karyakin IV, Kobierzycki E, Kret E, Loercher F, Monteiro A, Morant Etxebarria J, Nikolov SC, Pereira J, Peške L, Ponchon C, Realinho E, Saravia V, Sekercioğlu CH, Skartsi T, Tavares J, Teodósio J, Urios V, Vallverdú N. Spatial and Temporal Variability in Migration of a Soaring Raptor Across Three Continents. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
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18
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Abstract
As a form of adaptive plasticity that allows organisms to shift their phenotype toward the optimum, learning is inherently a source of developmental bias. Learning may be of particular significance to the evolutionary biology community because it allows animals to generate adaptively biased novel behavior tuned to the environment and, through social learning, to propagate behavioral traits to other individuals, also in an adaptively biased manner. We describe several types of developmental bias manifest in learning, including an adaptive bias, historical bias, origination bias, and transmission bias, stressing that these can influence evolutionary dynamics through generating nonrandom phenotypic variation and/or nonrandom environmental states. Theoretical models and empirical data have established that learning can impose direction on adaptive evolution, affect evolutionary rates (both speeding up and slowing down responses to selection under different conditions) and outcomes, influence the probability of populations reaching global optimum, and affect evolvability. Learning is characterized by highly specific, path-dependent interactions with the (social and physical) environment, often resulting in new phenotypic outcomes. Consequently, learning regularly introduces novelty into phenotype space. These considerations imply that learning may commonly generate plasticity first evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin N Laland
- School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK
| | - Wataru Toyokawa
- School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK.,Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Thomas Oudman
- School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK.,Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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19
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Campioni L, Dias MP, Granadeiro JP, Catry P. An ontogenetic perspective on migratory strategy of a long‐lived pelagic seabird: Timings and destinations change progressively during maturation. J Anim Ecol 2019; 89:29-43. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2018] [Accepted: 05/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Letizia Campioni
- MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Center ISPA – Instituto Universitário Lisboa Portugal
| | - Maria Peixe Dias
- MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Center ISPA – Instituto Universitário Lisboa Portugal
- Birdlife International Cambridge UK
| | - José Pedro Granadeiro
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, CESAM Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa Lisboa Portugal
| | - Paulo Catry
- MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Center ISPA – Instituto Universitário Lisboa Portugal
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20
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Howes C, Symes CT, Byholm P. Evidence of large‐scale range shift in the distribution of a Palaearctic migrant in Africa. DIVERS DISTRIB 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Howes
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences University of the Witwatersrand Wits South Africa
| | - Craig T. Symes
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences University of the Witwatersrand Wits South Africa
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21
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Johnson JS, Cantrell RS, Cosner C, Hartig F, Hastings A, Rogers HS, Schupp EW, Shea K, Teller BJ, Yu X, Zurell D, Pufal G. Rapid changes in seed dispersal traits may modify plant responses to global change. AOB PLANTS 2019; 11:plz020. [PMID: 31198528 PMCID: PMC6548345 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plz020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
When climatic or environmental conditions change, plant populations must either adapt to these new conditions, or track their niche via seed dispersal. Adaptation of plants to different abiotic environments has mostly been discussed with respect to physiological and demographic parameters that allow local persistence. However, rapid modifications in response to changing environmental conditions can also affect seed dispersal, both via plant traits and via their dispersal agents. Studying such changes empirically is challenging, due to the high variability in dispersal success, resulting from environmental heterogeneity, and substantial phenotypic variability of dispersal-related traits of seeds and their dispersers. The exact mechanisms that drive rapid changes are often not well understood, but the ecological implications of these processes are essential determinants of dispersal success, and deserve more attention from ecologists, especially in the context of adaptation to global change. We outline the evidence for rapid changes in seed dispersal traits by discussing variability due to plasticity or genetics broadly, and describe the specific traits and biological systems in which variability in dispersal is being studied, before discussing some of the potential underlying mechanisms. We then address future research needs and propose a simulation model that incorporates phenotypic plasticity in seed dispersal. We close with a call to action and encourage ecologists and biologist to embrace the challenge of better understanding rapid changes in seed dispersal and their consequences for the reaction of plant populations to global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy S Johnson
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
- Dorena Genetic Resource Center, USDA Forest Service, Cottage Grove, OR, USA
| | | | - Chris Cosner
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Florian Hartig
- Theoretical Ecology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Alan Hastings
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Haldre S Rogers
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Eugene W Schupp
- Department of Wildland Resources & Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
| | - Katriona Shea
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Brittany J Teller
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Xiao Yu
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Damaris Zurell
- Department of Geography, Humboldt-University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Land Change and Science, Swiss Federal Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Gesine Pufal
- Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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22
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Byholm P, Mäkeläinen S, Santangeli A, Goulson D. First evidence of neonicotinoid residues in a long-distance migratory raptor, the European honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus). THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 639:929-933. [PMID: 29929331 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Revised: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
The evidence of negative impacts of agricultural pesticides on non-target organisms is constantly growing. One of the most widely used group of pesticides are neonicotinoids, used in treatments of various plants, e.g. oilseed crops, corn and apples, to prevent crop damage by agricultural insect pests. Treatment effects have been found to spill over to non-target insects, such as bees, and more recently also to other animal groups, among them passerine birds. Very little is known, however, on the presence of neonicotinoids in other wild species at higher trophic levels. We present results on the presence of neonicotinoid residues in blood samples of a long-distant migratory food-specialist raptor, the European honey buzzard. Further, we investigate the spatial relationship between neonicotinoid residue prevalence in honey buzzards with that of crop fields where neonicotinoids are typically used. A majority of all blood samples contained neonicotinoids, thiacloprid accounting for most of the prevalence. While neonicotinoid residues were detected in both adults and nestlings, the methodological limit of quantification was exceeded only in nestlings. Neonicotinoids were present in all sampled nests. Neonicotinoid presence in honey buzzard nestlings' blood matched spatially with the presence of oilseed plant fields. These are the first observations of neonicotinoids in a diurnal raptor. For better understanding the potential negative sub-lethal of neonicotinoids in wild vertebrates, new (experimental) studies are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrik Byholm
- Novia University of Applied Sciences, Raseborgsvägen 9, FI-10600 Ekenäs, Finland.
| | - Sanna Mäkeläinen
- Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus, P.O. Box 17 (P. Rautatiekatu 13), University of Helsinki, FI-00014, Finland
| | - Andrea Santangeli
- Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus, P.O. Box 17 (P. Rautatiekatu 13), University of Helsinki, FI-00014, Finland
| | - Dave Goulson
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, BN1 9RH Brighton, United Kingdom
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Horton KG, Van Doren BM, La Sorte FA, Fink D, Sheldon D, Farnsworth A, Kelly JF. Navigating north: how body mass and winds shape avian flight behaviours across a North American migratory flyway. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1055-1064. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.12971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kyle G. Horton
- Department of Biology University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA
- Oklahoma Biological Survey University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA
- Advanced Radar Research Center University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
| | | | | | - Daniel Fink
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
| | - Daniel Sheldon
- College of Information and Computer Sciences University of Massachusetts Amherst MA USA
- Department of Computer Science Mount Holyoke College South Hadley MA USA
| | | | - Jeffrey F. Kelly
- Department of Biology University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA
- Oklahoma Biological Survey University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA
- Corix Plains Institute University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma USA
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24
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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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25
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Revell C, Somveille M. A Physics-Inspired Mechanistic Model of Migratory Movement Patterns in Birds. Sci Rep 2017; 7:9870. [PMID: 28851922 PMCID: PMC5574917 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-09270-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2017] [Accepted: 07/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In this paper, we introduce a mechanistic model of migratory movement patterns in birds, inspired by ideas and methods from physics. Previous studies have shed light on the factors influencing bird migration but have mainly relied on statistical correlative analysis of tracking data. Our novel method offers a bottom up explanation of population-level migratory movement patterns. It differs from previous mechanistic models of animal migration and enables predictions of pathways and destinations from a given starting location. We define an environmental potential landscape from environmental data and simulate bird movement within this landscape based on simple decision rules drawn from statistical mechanics. We explore the capacity of the model by qualitatively comparing simulation results to the non-breeding migration patterns of a seabird species, the Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris). This minimal, two-parameter model was able to capture remarkably well the previously documented migration patterns of the Black-browed Albatross, with the best combination of parameter values conserved across multiple geographically separate populations. Our physics-inspired mechanistic model could be applied to other bird and highly-mobile species, improving our understanding of the relative importance of various factors driving migration and making predictions that could be useful for conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Revell
- Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
| | - Marius Somveille
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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26
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Vansteelant WMG, Kekkonen J, Byholm P. Wind conditions and geography shape the first outbound migration of juvenile honey buzzards and their distribution across sub-Saharan Africa. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:20170387. [PMID: 28539514 PMCID: PMC5454264 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Contemporary tracking studies reveal that low migratory connectivity between breeding and non-breeding ranges is common in migrant landbirds. It is unclear, however, how internal factors and early-life experiences of individual migrants shape the development of their migration routes and concomitant population-level non-breeding distributions. Stochastic wind conditions and geography may determine whether and where migrants end up by the end of their journey. We tested this hypothesis by satellite-tagging 31 fledgling honey buzzards Pernis apivorus from southern Finland and used a global atmospheric reanalysis model to estimate the wind conditions they encountered on their first outbound migration. Migration routes diverged rapidly upon departure and the birds eventually spread out across 3340 km of longitude. Using linear regression models, we show that the birds' longitudinal speeds were strongly affected by zonal wind speed, and negatively affected by latitudinal wind, with significant but minor differences between individuals. Eventually, 49% of variability in the birds' total longitudinal displacements was accounted for by wind conditions on migration. Some birds circumvented the Baltic Sea via Scandinavia or engaged in unusual downwind movements over the Mediterranean, which also affected the longitude at which these individuals arrived in sub-Saharan Africa. To understand why adult migrants use the migration routes and non-breeding sites they use, we must take into account the way in which wind conditions moulded their very first journeys. Our results present some of the first evidence into the mechanisms through which low migratory connectivity emerges.
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Affiliation(s)
- W M G Vansteelant
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94248, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Vansteelant Eco Research, Dijkgraaf 35, 6721 NJ Bennekom, The Netherlands
| | - J Kekkonen
- Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - P Byholm
- Bioeconomy Research Team, Novia University of Applied Sciences, 10600 Ekenäs, Finland
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