Wind-assisted sprint migration in northern swifts
Summary: Long-distance migration has evolved repeatedly in animals and covers substantial distances across the globe. The overall speed of migration in birds is determined by fueling rate at stopover, flight speed, power consumption during flight, and wind support. The highest speeds (500 km/day) ha...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-06-01
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| Series: | iScience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004221004429 |
| _version_ | 1831672064124125184 |
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| author | Susanne Åkesson Giuseppe Bianco |
| author_facet | Susanne Åkesson Giuseppe Bianco |
| author_sort | Susanne Åkesson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Long-distance migration has evolved repeatedly in animals and covers substantial distances across the globe. The overall speed of migration in birds is determined by fueling rate at stopover, flight speed, power consumption during flight, and wind support. The highest speeds (500 km/day) have been predicted in small birds with a fly-and-forage strategy, such as swallows and swifts. Here, we use GLS tracking data for common swifts breeding in the northern part of the European range to study seasonal migration strategies and overall migration speeds. The data reveal estimated overall migration speeds substantially higher (average: 570 km/day; maximum: 832 km/day over 9 days) than predicted for swifts. In spring, swift routes provided 20% higher tailwind support than in autumn. Sustained migration speeds of this magnitude can only be achieved in small birds by a combined strategy including high fueling rate at stopover, fly-and-forage during migration, and selective use of tailwinds. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T23:46:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-60bdaa5792b9497782377f376278a37c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T23:46:38Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj.art-60bdaa5792b9497782377f376278a37c2022-12-21T20:01:18ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422021-06-01246102474Wind-assisted sprint migration in northern swiftsSusanne Åkesson0Giuseppe Bianco1Department of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62 Lund, Sweden; Corresponding authorDepartment of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62 Lund, SwedenSummary: Long-distance migration has evolved repeatedly in animals and covers substantial distances across the globe. The overall speed of migration in birds is determined by fueling rate at stopover, flight speed, power consumption during flight, and wind support. The highest speeds (500 km/day) have been predicted in small birds with a fly-and-forage strategy, such as swallows and swifts. Here, we use GLS tracking data for common swifts breeding in the northern part of the European range to study seasonal migration strategies and overall migration speeds. The data reveal estimated overall migration speeds substantially higher (average: 570 km/day; maximum: 832 km/day over 9 days) than predicted for swifts. In spring, swift routes provided 20% higher tailwind support than in autumn. Sustained migration speeds of this magnitude can only be achieved in small birds by a combined strategy including high fueling rate at stopover, fly-and-forage during migration, and selective use of tailwinds.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004221004429EcologyBiological sciencesZoologyAnimalsEthology |
| spellingShingle | Susanne Åkesson Giuseppe Bianco Wind-assisted sprint migration in northern swifts iScience Ecology Biological sciences Zoology Animals Ethology |
| title | Wind-assisted sprint migration in northern swifts |
| title_full | Wind-assisted sprint migration in northern swifts |
| title_fullStr | Wind-assisted sprint migration in northern swifts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wind-assisted sprint migration in northern swifts |
| title_short | Wind-assisted sprint migration in northern swifts |
| title_sort | wind assisted sprint migration in northern swifts |
| topic | Ecology Biological sciences Zoology Animals Ethology |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004221004429 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT susanneakesson windassistedsprintmigrationinnorthernswifts AT giuseppebianco windassistedsprintmigrationinnorthernswifts |