Springtime migratory restlessness and departure orientation of great knots (Calidris tenuirostris) in the south compared to the north yellow sea
Hua, Ning ; Åkesson, Susanne LU
; Zhou, Qianyan
and Ma, Zhijun
(2017)
In Avian Research
8(1).
p.1-11
- Abstract
Background: The motivation of birds to proceed with migration is associated with both endogenous and exogenous factors. According to their migratory situation and to the characteristics of stopover sites, birds might exhibit migratory motivation differently among sites. Although migratory motivation of migrating birds has been well stud-ied in many species, the investigation of the same species in different migratory situations and at different stopover sites is still limited. We predicted that birds at different stopover sites could differ in migratory disposition, including expression of migratory restlessness and responses to environmental cues. Methods: Here we compared migration motivation and orientation of Great Knots (Calidris... (More)
Background: The motivation of birds to proceed with migration is associated with both endogenous and exogenous factors. According to their migratory situation and to the characteristics of stopover sites, birds might exhibit migratory motivation differently among sites. Although migratory motivation of migrating birds has been well stud-ied in many species, the investigation of the same species in different migratory situations and at different stopover sites is still limited. We predicted that birds at different stopover sites could differ in migratory disposition, including expression of migratory restlessness and responses to environmental cues. Methods: Here we compared migration motivation and orientation of Great Knots (Calidris tenuirostris) at two stopover sites, Chongming Dongtan in the south Yellow Sea, which is a temporary rest site, and Yalujiang Estuary Wetland in the north Yellow Sea, which is a critical refuelling site, during northward migration. Modified Emlen funnels, with thermal paper inside to record scratches of the birds, were used to detect activity (intensity and direction) of birds. Environmental conditions, including wind direction and speed, cloud cover, tide condition, times of the day (before and after sunset) were recorded during experiments. Generalized linear models were used to detect the effects of endogenous and exogenous factors on the migratory motivation of the birds. Results: In the south Yellow Sea, the migratory activity intensity of Great Knots was positively related to wind assistance. In the north Yellow Sea, where birds exhibited higher intensity of migratory activity than in the south, the intensity increased and the motivation to initiate migration grew stronger as the season advanced. The Great Knots exhibited wind-related orientation behaviour in the funnels at both sites. Conclusions: The results suggest that the intensity of migratory motivation differed between the two sites. Departure decisions of Great Knots appear to be affected mainly by external factors at the temporary rest site in the south Yellow Sea but possibly by endogenous factors at the final pre-breeding refuelling site in the north Yellow Sea.
(Less)
- author
- Hua, Ning
; Åkesson, Susanne
LU
; Zhou, Qianyan
and Ma, Zhijun
- organization
- publishing date
- 2017
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Departure decision, Migratory restlessness, Migratory situation, Orientation, Shorebirds, Spatio-temporal program, Stopover, Yellow Sea
- in
- Avian Research
- volume
- 8
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 20
- pages
- 11 pages
- publisher
- BioMed Central (BMC)
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85047088210
- ISSN
- 2053-7166
- DOI
- 10.1186/s40657-017-0078-1
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2017.
- id
- 75c7ff2c-826a-4cf5-9132-d13376476c7d
- date added to LUP
- 2025-04-14 13:12:45
- date last changed
- 2025-04-24 17:28:27
@article{75c7ff2c-826a-4cf5-9132-d13376476c7d,
abstract = {{<p>Background: The motivation of birds to proceed with migration is associated with both endogenous and exogenous factors. According to their migratory situation and to the characteristics of stopover sites, birds might exhibit migratory motivation differently among sites. Although migratory motivation of migrating birds has been well stud-ied in many species, the investigation of the same species in different migratory situations and at different stopover sites is still limited. We predicted that birds at different stopover sites could differ in migratory disposition, including expression of migratory restlessness and responses to environmental cues. Methods: Here we compared migration motivation and orientation of Great Knots (Calidris tenuirostris) at two stopover sites, Chongming Dongtan in the south Yellow Sea, which is a temporary rest site, and Yalujiang Estuary Wetland in the north Yellow Sea, which is a critical refuelling site, during northward migration. Modified Emlen funnels, with thermal paper inside to record scratches of the birds, were used to detect activity (intensity and direction) of birds. Environmental conditions, including wind direction and speed, cloud cover, tide condition, times of the day (before and after sunset) were recorded during experiments. Generalized linear models were used to detect the effects of endogenous and exogenous factors on the migratory motivation of the birds. Results: In the south Yellow Sea, the migratory activity intensity of Great Knots was positively related to wind assistance. In the north Yellow Sea, where birds exhibited higher intensity of migratory activity than in the south, the intensity increased and the motivation to initiate migration grew stronger as the season advanced. The Great Knots exhibited wind-related orientation behaviour in the funnels at both sites. Conclusions: The results suggest that the intensity of migratory motivation differed between the two sites. Departure decisions of Great Knots appear to be affected mainly by external factors at the temporary rest site in the south Yellow Sea but possibly by endogenous factors at the final pre-breeding refuelling site in the north Yellow Sea.</p>}},
author = {{Hua, Ning and Åkesson, Susanne and Zhou, Qianyan and Ma, Zhijun}},
issn = {{2053-7166}},
keywords = {{Departure decision; Migratory restlessness; Migratory situation; Orientation; Shorebirds; Spatio-temporal program; Stopover; Yellow Sea}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{1--11}},
publisher = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
series = {{Avian Research}},
title = {{Springtime migratory restlessness and departure orientation of great knots (Calidris tenuirostris) in the south compared to the north yellow sea}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40657-017-0078-1}},
doi = {{10.1186/s40657-017-0078-1}},
volume = {{8}},
year = {{2017}},
}