Flexibility in the diel migratory schedule of an Arctic songbird despite robust 24-h activity rhythms across the annual cycle
Huffeldt, Nicholas P. LU ; Fossøy, Frode ; Hedh, Linus LU ; Moksnes, Arne ; Snell, Katherine R.S. ; Stokke, Bård G. ; Stolz, Christian ; Thorup, Kasper and Sjöberg, Sissel LU
(2025)
In Journal of Avian Biology
2025(5).
- Abstract
Many birds schedule their activity to a specific phase of the diel (24-h) light–dark cycle. Two notable exceptions are the nocturnal migration of many otherwise diurnal songbirds and the diverse activity patterns of birds during the continuous light above the Polar Circles during summer. Assumptions about the phase relationship between migratory activity and the diel cycle can be incorrect, and the diel activity of Arctic migratory birds during the year is largely unknown. We used the snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis to investigate whether breeding songbirds above the northern Polar (Arctic) Circle have 24-h activity rhythms with distinct active and inactive phases across the annual cycle, and whether their migration aligns with a... (More)
Many birds schedule their activity to a specific phase of the diel (24-h) light–dark cycle. Two notable exceptions are the nocturnal migration of many otherwise diurnal songbirds and the diverse activity patterns of birds during the continuous light above the Polar Circles during summer. Assumptions about the phase relationship between migratory activity and the diel cycle can be incorrect, and the diel activity of Arctic migratory birds during the year is largely unknown. We used the snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis to investigate whether breeding songbirds above the northern Polar (Arctic) Circle have 24-h activity rhythms with distinct active and inactive phases across the annual cycle, and whether their migration aligns with a specific phase of their activity rhythm. We found that male snow buntings maintain a robust 24-h activity rhythm with distinct active and inactive phases across most of the annual cycle, including during polar summer, but the robust 24-h periodicity attenuated during vernal migration. Birds scheduled long and short flights across their diel activity rhythm. However, shorter flights most often began during the active phase, and the longest flights most often began during the transition between the active and inactive phase of the diel activity rhythm. This indicates that snow buntings can flexibly schedule their flights across their prominent diel activity rhythm, although their longest flights during migration typically overlapped with their normal inactive phase, probably corresponding to nighttime. Several open questions, however, remain about the generality of our results for other songbirds, such as: what is the phase relationship between the diel activity rhythm and flight to the diel light–dark cycle, and how do historical accounts of diel migration phase align with empirical activity data for other species?.
(Less)
- author
- Huffeldt, Nicholas P.
LU
; Fossøy, Frode
; Hedh, Linus
LU
; Moksnes, Arne
; Snell, Katherine R.S.
; Stokke, Bård G.
; Stolz, Christian
; Thorup, Kasper
and Sjöberg, Sissel
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-09
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- annual activity, Arctic bird, chronobiology of bird migration, daily activity rhythm, daily migration timing, flexible migration strategy, sideral day, snow bunting, songbird migration
- in
- Journal of Avian Biology
- volume
- 2025
- issue
- 5
- article number
- e03483
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105019788948
- ISSN
- 0908-8857
- DOI
- 10.1002/jav.03483
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Avian Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic Society Oikos.
- id
- 30f95763-60cc-4d92-9bfe-dce069fa2af0
- date added to LUP
- 2025-12-08 15:26:02
- date last changed
- 2025-12-09 02:59:42
@article{30f95763-60cc-4d92-9bfe-dce069fa2af0,
abstract = {{<p>Many birds schedule their activity to a specific phase of the diel (24-h) light–dark cycle. Two notable exceptions are the nocturnal migration of many otherwise diurnal songbirds and the diverse activity patterns of birds during the continuous light above the Polar Circles during summer. Assumptions about the phase relationship between migratory activity and the diel cycle can be incorrect, and the diel activity of Arctic migratory birds during the year is largely unknown. We used the snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis to investigate whether breeding songbirds above the northern Polar (Arctic) Circle have 24-h activity rhythms with distinct active and inactive phases across the annual cycle, and whether their migration aligns with a specific phase of their activity rhythm. We found that male snow buntings maintain a robust 24-h activity rhythm with distinct active and inactive phases across most of the annual cycle, including during polar summer, but the robust 24-h periodicity attenuated during vernal migration. Birds scheduled long and short flights across their diel activity rhythm. However, shorter flights most often began during the active phase, and the longest flights most often began during the transition between the active and inactive phase of the diel activity rhythm. This indicates that snow buntings can flexibly schedule their flights across their prominent diel activity rhythm, although their longest flights during migration typically overlapped with their normal inactive phase, probably corresponding to nighttime. Several open questions, however, remain about the generality of our results for other songbirds, such as: what is the phase relationship between the diel activity rhythm and flight to the diel light–dark cycle, and how do historical accounts of diel migration phase align with empirical activity data for other species?.</p>}},
author = {{Huffeldt, Nicholas P. and Fossøy, Frode and Hedh, Linus and Moksnes, Arne and Snell, Katherine R.S. and Stokke, Bård G. and Stolz, Christian and Thorup, Kasper and Sjöberg, Sissel}},
issn = {{0908-8857}},
keywords = {{annual activity; Arctic bird; chronobiology of bird migration; daily activity rhythm; daily migration timing; flexible migration strategy; sideral day; snow bunting; songbird migration}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{5}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Journal of Avian Biology}},
title = {{Flexibility in the diel migratory schedule of an Arctic songbird despite robust 24-h activity rhythms across the annual cycle}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jav.03483}},
doi = {{10.1002/jav.03483}},
volume = {{2025}},
year = {{2025}},
}