Low Migratory Connectivity and Use of Multiple Non-Breeding Sites in American Golden-Plovers Breeding Across the Nearctic Tundra
(2026) In Diversity and Distributions 32(1).- Abstract
Aim: Many populations of migratory birds are currently declining. Understanding space use throughout the entire annual cycle, as well as migratory connectivity (i.e., geographic linkage of individuals and populations across different stages of the annual cycle), can improve our ability to identify factors driving population declines and influencing extinction risk. The main objectives of our study were to (i) document the space use and phenology of migration during the non-breeding period and (ii) quantify the degree of migratory connectivity across the range of the American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica) breeding across the North American Arctic. Location: American Golden-Plovers that breed across their entire breeding range... (More)
Aim: Many populations of migratory birds are currently declining. Understanding space use throughout the entire annual cycle, as well as migratory connectivity (i.e., geographic linkage of individuals and populations across different stages of the annual cycle), can improve our ability to identify factors driving population declines and influencing extinction risk. The main objectives of our study were to (i) document the space use and phenology of migration during the non-breeding period and (ii) quantify the degree of migratory connectivity across the range of the American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica) breeding across the North American Arctic. Location: American Golden-Plovers that breed across their entire breeding range (northern North America) and migrate up to their main wintering site located in South America. Methods: We used archival light-level geolocators to track the migration. We quantified migratory connectivity based on the non-breeding range spread of all individuals and the breeding population spread. We used Mantel tests to evaluate whether the relative spatial configuration of the sampled breeding area was preserved on the non-breeding ground. Results: We identified 13 and 7 stopover sites used during the fall (post-breeding, southbound) and spring (pre-breeding, northbound) migrations, respectively, and one main site used during the wintering period. We highlight stopover sites that were previously unknown and show the transatlantic and transpacific routes used by plovers during migration. We found that individuals breeding in proximity tended to be closer to each other during brief and highly limited portions of the non-breeding period. Broadly, individuals from different breeding populations were well mixed during the wintering period and throughout most of the spring and fall migrations. Main Conclusions: Overall, the migratory connectivity of American Golden-Plovers is relatively low for most of the non-breeding period, suggesting that breeding populations separated by large distances should be similarly affected by disturbances and changes encountered at some migratory stopovers and in the wintering area.
(Less)
- author
- Lamarre, Jean François
; Gauthier, Gilles
; Lanctot, Richard B.
; Saalfeld, Sarah T.
; Love, Oliver P.
; Reed, Eric T.
; Johnson, Oscar W.
; Liebezeit, Joe
; McGuire, Rebecca
; Russell, Mike
; Nol, Erica
; Koloski, Laura
; Sanders, Felicia
; McKinnon, Laura
; Smith, Paul A.
; Flemming, Scott A.
; Brown, Stephen C.
; Lecomte, Nicolas
; Giroux, Marie Andrée
; Bauer, Silke
; Emmenegger, Tamara
LU
and Bêty, Joël
(Less) - organization
- publishing date
- 2026-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- American Golden-Plover, arctic birds, migration, migratory connectivity, space use, stopover, timing, trans-hemispheric migrant
- in
- Diversity and Distributions
- volume
- 32
- issue
- 1
- article number
- e70126
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105026108610
- ISSN
- 1366-9516
- DOI
- 10.1111/ddi.70126
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2025 His Majesty the King in Right of Canada. Bird Alliance of Oregon. Manomet, Inc and The Author(s). Diversity and Distributions published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.
- id
- 15b38e1d-ce69-443b-9e5d-476e897e7c8e
- date added to LUP
- 2026-03-24 13:38:42
- date last changed
- 2026-03-31 13:40:47
@article{15b38e1d-ce69-443b-9e5d-476e897e7c8e,
abstract = {{<p>Aim: Many populations of migratory birds are currently declining. Understanding space use throughout the entire annual cycle, as well as migratory connectivity (i.e., geographic linkage of individuals and populations across different stages of the annual cycle), can improve our ability to identify factors driving population declines and influencing extinction risk. The main objectives of our study were to (i) document the space use and phenology of migration during the non-breeding period and (ii) quantify the degree of migratory connectivity across the range of the American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica) breeding across the North American Arctic. Location: American Golden-Plovers that breed across their entire breeding range (northern North America) and migrate up to their main wintering site located in South America. Methods: We used archival light-level geolocators to track the migration. We quantified migratory connectivity based on the non-breeding range spread of all individuals and the breeding population spread. We used Mantel tests to evaluate whether the relative spatial configuration of the sampled breeding area was preserved on the non-breeding ground. Results: We identified 13 and 7 stopover sites used during the fall (post-breeding, southbound) and spring (pre-breeding, northbound) migrations, respectively, and one main site used during the wintering period. We highlight stopover sites that were previously unknown and show the transatlantic and transpacific routes used by plovers during migration. We found that individuals breeding in proximity tended to be closer to each other during brief and highly limited portions of the non-breeding period. Broadly, individuals from different breeding populations were well mixed during the wintering period and throughout most of the spring and fall migrations. Main Conclusions: Overall, the migratory connectivity of American Golden-Plovers is relatively low for most of the non-breeding period, suggesting that breeding populations separated by large distances should be similarly affected by disturbances and changes encountered at some migratory stopovers and in the wintering area.</p>}},
author = {{Lamarre, Jean François and Gauthier, Gilles and Lanctot, Richard B. and Saalfeld, Sarah T. and Love, Oliver P. and Reed, Eric T. and Johnson, Oscar W. and Liebezeit, Joe and McGuire, Rebecca and Russell, Mike and Nol, Erica and Koloski, Laura and Sanders, Felicia and McKinnon, Laura and Smith, Paul A. and Flemming, Scott A. and Brown, Stephen C. and Lecomte, Nicolas and Giroux, Marie Andrée and Bauer, Silke and Emmenegger, Tamara and Bêty, Joël}},
issn = {{1366-9516}},
keywords = {{American Golden-Plover; arctic birds; migration; migratory connectivity; space use; stopover; timing; trans-hemispheric migrant}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Diversity and Distributions}},
title = {{Low Migratory Connectivity and Use of Multiple Non-Breeding Sites in American Golden-Plovers Breeding Across the Nearctic Tundra}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ddi.70126}},
doi = {{10.1111/ddi.70126}},
volume = {{32}},
year = {{2026}},
}