scholarly journals Photoperiodic response may facilitate adaptation to climatic change in long-distance migratory birds

2003 ◽  
Vol 270 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Coppack ◽  
Francisco Pulido ◽  
Michael Czisch ◽  
Dorothee P. Auer ◽  
Peter Berthold
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Change ◽  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Photoperiodic Response ◽  
Long Distance

scholarly journals Great flights by great snipes: long and fast non-stop migration over benign habitats

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 833-835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond H. G. Klaassen ◽  
Thomas Alerstam ◽  
Peter Carlsson ◽  
James W. Fox ◽  
Åke Lindström
Keyword(s):  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Strenuous Exercise ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Migration Strategy ◽  
Ice Caps ◽  
Fuel Loads ◽  
Stopover Sites ◽  
Ecological Barriers ◽  
Suitable Habitats

Migratory land birds perform extreme endurance flights when crossing ecological barriers, such as deserts, oceans and ice-caps. When travelling over benign areas, birds are expected to migrate by shorter flight steps, since carrying the heavy fuel loads needed for long non-stop flights comes at considerable cost. Here, we show that great snipes Gallinago media made long and fast non-stop flights (4300–6800 km in 48–96 h), not only over deserts and seas but also over wide areas of suitable habitats, which represents a previously unknown migration strategy among land birds. Furthermore, the great snipes achieved very high ground speeds (15–27 m s −1 ), which was not an effect of strong tailwind support, and we know of no other animal that travels this rapidly over such a long distance. Our results demonstrate that some migratory birds are prepared to accept extreme costs of strenuous exercise and large fuel loads, even when stopover sites are available along the route and there is little tailwind assistance. A strategy of storing a lot of energy before departure, even if migration is over benign habitats, may be advantageous owing to differential conditions of fuel deposition, predation or infection risk along the migration route.

scholarly journals Lower annual fecundity in long-distance migrants than in less migratory birds of temperate Europe

2008 ◽  
Vol 150 (1) ◽  
pp. 281-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Bruderer ◽  
Volker Salewski
Keyword(s):  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Temperate Europe

scholarly journals Birds facing climate change: a qualitative model for the adaptive potential of migratory behaviour

2015 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelangelo Morganti
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Qualitative Model ◽  
Migratory Behaviour ◽  
Adaptive Potential ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Genetic Determination ◽  
Recent Climate

Recent climate change is altering the migratory behaviour of many bird species. An advancement in the timing of spring events and a shift in the geographical distribution have been detected for birds around the world. In particular, intra-Palearctic migratory birds have advanced arrivals in spring and shortened migratory distances by shifting northward their wintering grounds. These changes in migratory patterns are considered adaptive responses facilitating the adjustment of the life cycle to the phenological changes found in their breeding areas. However, in some cases, populations exposed to the same selective pressures do not show any appreciable adaptive change in their behaviour. Basing on the comparison of realized and non-realized adaptive changes, I propose here the formulation of a qualitative model that predicts the potential of migratory birds populations to change adaptively their migratory behaviour. The model assumes that the adaptive potential of migratory behaviour is fuelled by both genetic diversity and phenotypic plasticity. Populations of long-distance migrants are exposed to strong environmental canalization that largely eroded their phenotypic plasticity and reduced genetic variability, so that they show a very low amount of adaptive potential regarding migratory behaviour. On the contrary, partial-migrant populations have a highly varied genetic profile and are more plastic at the phenotypic level, and consequently show the highest amount of adaptive potential. Species with mainly social and mainly genetic determination of the migratory behaviour are separately treated in the model. Specific empirical models to foresee the adaptive strategies of wild bird populations that face to climate change can be derived from the general theoretical model. As example, a specific model about the shortening of migratory distances in Western European migratory bird is presented. Finally, a number of future research lines on the topic of adaptive potential of migratory behaviour are discussed, including some examples of concrete study cases. In conclusion, partial-migration emerge as the less known system and future research efforts on this topic are expected to be especially fruitful.

scholarly journals Climate change relaxes the time constraints for late-born offspring in a long-distance migrant

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1839) ◽  
pp. 20161366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara M. Tomotani ◽  
Phillip Gienapp ◽  
Domien G. M. Beersma ◽  
Marcel E. Visser
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Annual Cycle ◽  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Time Constraints ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Hatch Date ◽  
Breeding Bird ◽  
And Migration

Animals in seasonal environments need to fit their annual-cycle stages, such as moult and migration, in a tight schedule. Climate change affects the phenology of organisms and causes advancements in timing of these annual-cycle stages but not necessarily at the same rates. For migratory birds, this can lead to more severe or more relaxed time constraints in the time from fledging to migration, depending on the relative shifts of the different stages. We tested how a shift in hatch date, which has advanced due to climate change, impacts the organization of the birds' whole annual cycle. We experimentally advanced and delayed the hatch date of pied flycatcher chicks in the field and then measured the timing of their annual-cycle stages in a controlled laboratory environment. Hatch date affected the timing of moult and pre-migratory fattening, but not migration. Early-born birds hence had a longer time to fatten up than late-born ones; the latter reduced their interval between onset of fattening and migration to be able to migrate at the same time as the early-born birds. This difference in time constraints for early- and late-born individuals may explain why early-born offspring have a higher probability to recruit as a breeding bird. Climate change-associated advancements of avian egg-lay dates, which in turn advances hatch dates, can thus reduce the negative fitness consequences of reproducing late, thereby reducing the selection for early egg-laying migratory birds.

scholarly journals Experimental Quantification of Long Distance Dispersal Potential of Aquatic Snails in the Gut of Migratory Birds

PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. e32292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casper H. A. van Leeuwen ◽  
Gerard van der Velde ◽  
Bart van Lith ◽  
Marcel Klaassen
Keyword(s):  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Long Distance Dispersal ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Dispersal Potential

scholarly journals Summer pre-breeding movements of Eleonora’s Falcon Falco eleonorae revealed by satellite telemetry: implications for conservation

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
UGO MELLONE ◽  
PASCUAL LÓPEZ-LÓPEZ ◽  
RUBÉN LIMIÑANA ◽  
VICENTE URIOS
Keyword(s):  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Satellite Telemetry ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Priority Species ◽  
Wintering Areas ◽  
Eleonora’S Falcon ◽  
Falco Eleonorae

SummaryRecent advances in bird tracking technologies are revealing that migratory birds use temporal staging sites other than breeding and wintering areas, and these areas deserve conservation efforts. Eleonora’s Falcon Falco eleonorae is a long-distance migratory raptor that breeds colonially on islands and is considered a priority species for conservation. Anecdotal observations indicate that during the pre-breeding period, Eleonora’s Falcons stay in inland areas far away from the colonies, but, to date there are no detailed data concerning the connectivity between these areas and breeding colonies. Using satellite telemetry, we analysed data from four summering events belonging to three individuals breeding in two colonies in the Western Mediterranean (Spain). All of them made inland movements in areas up to c.400 km distant from the respective breeding colonies, visiting several habitats, from forests to arable lands, probably taking advantage of high densities of insects. Perturbations occurring in these areas could threaten Eleonora’s Falcons with serious consequences at the population level. We suggest that conservation measures implemented at breeding and wintering grounds may not suffice and that temporary staging areas should be identified at a larger scale and deserve protection as well.

scholarly journals Seasonal changes in the altitudinal distribution of nocturnally migrating birds during autumn migration

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
pp. 150347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank A. La Sorte ◽  
Wesley M. Hochachka ◽  
Andrew Farnsworth ◽  
Daniel Sheldon ◽  
Benjamin M. Van Doren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Migratory Bird ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Altitudinal Distribution ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Intermediate Distance ◽  
Migrating Birds

Wind plays a significant role in the flight altitudes selected by nocturnally migrating birds. At mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, atmospheric conditions are dictated by the polar-front jet stream, whose amplitude increases in the autumn. One consequence for migratory birds is that the region’s prevailing westerly winds become progressively stronger at higher migration altitudes. We expect this seasonality in wind speed to result in migrants occupying progressively lower flight altitudes, which we test using density estimates of nocturnal migrants at 100 m altitudinal intervals from 12 weather surveillance radar stations located in the northeastern USA. Contrary to our expectations, median migration altitudes deviated little across the season, and the variance was lower during the middle of the season and higher during the beginning and especially the end of the season. Early-season migrants included small- to intermediate-sized long-distance migrants in the orders Charadriiformes and Passeriformes, and late-season migrants included large-bodied and intermediate-distance migrants in the order Anseriformes. Therefore, seasonality in the composition of migratory species, and related variation in migration strategies and behaviours, resulted in a convex–concave bounded distribution of migration altitudes. Our results provide a basis for assessing the implications for migratory bird populations of changes in mid-latitude atmospheric conditions probably occurring under global climate change.

Can long-distance migratory birds adjust to the advancement of spring by shortening migration distance? The response of the pied flycatcher to latitudinal photoperiodic variation

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 2516-2522 ◽  
Author(s):  
TIMOTHY COPPACK ◽  
ILSE TINDEMANS ◽  
MICHAEL CZISCH ◽  
ANNEMIE VAN der LINDEN ◽  
PETER BERTHOLD ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Pied Flycatcher ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Migration Distance
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