A partial migrant relies upon a range-wide cue set but uses population-specific weighting for migratory timing
Abstract Background Many birds species range over vast geographic regions and migrate seasonally between their breeding and overwintering sites. Deciding when to depart for migration is one of the most consequential life-history decisions an individual may make. However, it is still not fully unders...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Movement Ecology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-021-00298-y |
| _version_ | 1819177918678433792 |
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| author | Nils Linek Paweł Brzęk Phillip Gienapp M. Teague O’Mara Ivan Pokrovsky Andreas Schmidt J. Ryan Shipley Jan R. E. Taylor Juha Tiainen Tamara Volkmer Martin Wikelski Jesko Partecke |
| author_facet | Nils Linek Paweł Brzęk Phillip Gienapp M. Teague O’Mara Ivan Pokrovsky Andreas Schmidt J. Ryan Shipley Jan R. E. Taylor Juha Tiainen Tamara Volkmer Martin Wikelski Jesko Partecke |
| author_sort | Nils Linek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Many birds species range over vast geographic regions and migrate seasonally between their breeding and overwintering sites. Deciding when to depart for migration is one of the most consequential life-history decisions an individual may make. However, it is still not fully understood which environmental cues are used to time the onset of migration and to what extent their relative importance differs across a range of migratory strategies. We focus on departure decisions of a songbird, the Eurasian blackbird Turdus merula, in which selected Russian and Polish populations are full migrants which travel relatively long-distances, whereas Finnish and German populations exhibit partial migration with shorter migration distances. Methods We used telemetry data from the four populations (610 individuals) to determine which environmental cues individuals from each population use to initiate their autumn migration. Results When departing, individuals in all populations selected nights with high atmospheric pressure and minimal cloud cover. Fully migratory populations departed earlier in autumn, at longer day length, at higher ambient temperatures, and during nights with higher relative atmospheric pressure and more supportive winds than partial migrants; however, they did not depart in higher synchrony. Thus, while all studied populations used the same environmental cues, they used population-specific and locally tuned thresholds to determine the day of departure. Conclusions Our data support the idea that migratory timing is controlled by general, species-wide mechanisms, but fine-tuned thresholds in response to local conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T21:34:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-509994ac7b394b869a70921469ffd0da |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2051-3933 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T21:34:17Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Movement Ecology |
| spelling | doaj.art-509994ac7b394b869a70921469ffd0da2022-12-21T18:11:49ZengBMCMovement Ecology2051-39332021-12-019111410.1186/s40462-021-00298-yA partial migrant relies upon a range-wide cue set but uses population-specific weighting for migratory timingNils Linek0Paweł Brzęk1Phillip Gienapp2M. Teague O’Mara3Ivan Pokrovsky4Andreas Schmidt5J. Ryan Shipley6Jan R. E. Taylor7Juha Tiainen8Tamara Volkmer9Martin Wikelski10Jesko Partecke11Max Planck Institute of Animal BehaviorFaculty of Biology, University of BiałystokMichael-Otto-Institut im NABUMax Planck Institute of Animal BehaviorMax Planck Institute of Animal BehaviorMax Planck Institute of Animal BehaviorMax Planck Institute of Animal BehaviorFaculty of Biology, University of BiałystokNatural Resources Institute FinlandMax Planck Institute of Animal BehaviorMax Planck Institute of Animal BehaviorMax Planck Institute of Animal BehaviorAbstract Background Many birds species range over vast geographic regions and migrate seasonally between their breeding and overwintering sites. Deciding when to depart for migration is one of the most consequential life-history decisions an individual may make. However, it is still not fully understood which environmental cues are used to time the onset of migration and to what extent their relative importance differs across a range of migratory strategies. We focus on departure decisions of a songbird, the Eurasian blackbird Turdus merula, in which selected Russian and Polish populations are full migrants which travel relatively long-distances, whereas Finnish and German populations exhibit partial migration with shorter migration distances. Methods We used telemetry data from the four populations (610 individuals) to determine which environmental cues individuals from each population use to initiate their autumn migration. Results When departing, individuals in all populations selected nights with high atmospheric pressure and minimal cloud cover. Fully migratory populations departed earlier in autumn, at longer day length, at higher ambient temperatures, and during nights with higher relative atmospheric pressure and more supportive winds than partial migrants; however, they did not depart in higher synchrony. Thus, while all studied populations used the same environmental cues, they used population-specific and locally tuned thresholds to determine the day of departure. Conclusions Our data support the idea that migratory timing is controlled by general, species-wide mechanisms, but fine-tuned thresholds in response to local conditions.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-021-00298-ySongbird migrationDeparture decisionControl mechanismsEnvironmental cues |
| spellingShingle | Nils Linek Paweł Brzęk Phillip Gienapp M. Teague O’Mara Ivan Pokrovsky Andreas Schmidt J. Ryan Shipley Jan R. E. Taylor Juha Tiainen Tamara Volkmer Martin Wikelski Jesko Partecke A partial migrant relies upon a range-wide cue set but uses population-specific weighting for migratory timing Movement Ecology Songbird migration Departure decision Control mechanisms Environmental cues |
| title | A partial migrant relies upon a range-wide cue set but uses population-specific weighting for migratory timing |
| title_full | A partial migrant relies upon a range-wide cue set but uses population-specific weighting for migratory timing |
| title_fullStr | A partial migrant relies upon a range-wide cue set but uses population-specific weighting for migratory timing |
| title_full_unstemmed | A partial migrant relies upon a range-wide cue set but uses population-specific weighting for migratory timing |
| title_short | A partial migrant relies upon a range-wide cue set but uses population-specific weighting for migratory timing |
| title_sort | partial migrant relies upon a range wide cue set but uses population specific weighting for migratory timing |
| topic | Songbird migration Departure decision Control mechanisms Environmental cues |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-021-00298-y |
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