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Prolonged stopover duration characterises migration strategy and constraints of a long-distance migrant songbird

Arlt, Debora ; Olsson, Peter LU orcid ; Fox, James W ; Low, Matthew and Pärt, Tomas (2015) In Animal Migration 2(1). p.47-62
Abstract
Stopover behaviour is a central element of migration strategies. But in recent geolocator studies, despite now being able to track individual songbirds during their entire migration, their stopover behaviour has received little attention. We used light-sensitive geolocators to identify the migratory routes and schedules of 12 northern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe) breeding in Sweden. Three geolocators collected temperature data complementing inferences from light data by providing additional information on behaviour during migration. The wheatears performed a slow migration with considerable stopover time (84%/76% of autumn/spring migration), with short stops while traveling through Europe, and a prolonged stopover period in both autumn... (More)
Stopover behaviour is a central element of migration strategies. But in recent geolocator studies, despite now being able to track individual songbirds during their entire migration, their stopover behaviour has received little attention. We used light-sensitive geolocators to identify the migratory routes and schedules of 12 northern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe) breeding in Sweden. Three geolocators collected temperature data complementing inferences from light data by providing additional information on behaviour during migration. The wheatears performed a slow migration with considerable stopover time (84%/76% of autumn/spring migration), with short stops while traveling through Europe, and a prolonged stopover period in both autumn and spring in the Mediterranean region. Spring migration was faster than autumn migration, mainly because of decreased stopover time. Migration routes and time schedules were similar to those from a German breeding population. Compared to wheatears breeding in Alaska with a three-fold migration distance, Swedish wheatears spent more time during stopovers during autumn and spring migration, suggesting less time constraints and potential flexibility in migration schedules. The finding of prolonged stopovers, similar to other recent geolocator studies, shows that temporary residency periods may be common. This changes our current view on stopover ecology to one where temporary residency periods are part of spatio-temporal strategies optimising resource use during the entire annual cycle. (Less)
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author
; ; ; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
geolocator, light geolocation, stop-over, annual cycle, Oenanthe oenanthe, temporary residency
in
Animal Migration
volume
2
issue
1
pages
47 - 62
external identifiers
  • scopus:84951018791
DOI
10.1515/ami-2015-0002
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
85ba9313-47db-4d4b-9bca-e147da2a5738
date added to LUP
2017-07-06 11:13:28
date last changed
2022-04-17 02:58:25
@article{85ba9313-47db-4d4b-9bca-e147da2a5738,
  abstract     = {{Stopover behaviour is a central element of migration strategies. But in recent geolocator studies, despite now being able to track individual songbirds during their entire migration, their stopover behaviour has received little attention. We used light-sensitive geolocators to identify the migratory routes and schedules of 12 northern wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe) breeding in Sweden. Three geolocators collected temperature data complementing inferences from light data by providing additional information on behaviour during migration. The wheatears performed a slow migration with considerable stopover time (84%/76% of autumn/spring migration), with short stops while traveling through Europe, and a prolonged stopover period in both autumn and spring in the Mediterranean region. Spring migration was faster than autumn migration, mainly because of decreased stopover time. Migration routes and time schedules were similar to those from a German breeding population. Compared to wheatears breeding in Alaska with a three-fold migration distance, Swedish wheatears spent more time during stopovers during autumn and spring migration, suggesting less time constraints and potential flexibility in migration schedules. The finding of prolonged stopovers, similar to other recent geolocator studies, shows that temporary residency periods may be common. This changes our current view on stopover ecology to one where temporary residency periods are part of spatio-temporal strategies optimising resource use during the entire annual cycle.}},
  author       = {{Arlt, Debora and Olsson, Peter and Fox, James W and Low, Matthew and Pärt, Tomas}},
  keywords     = {{geolocator; light geolocation; stop-over; annual cycle; Oenanthe oenanthe; temporary residency}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{47--62}},
  series       = {{Animal Migration}},
  title        = {{Prolonged stopover duration characterises migration strategy and constraints of a long-distance migrant songbird}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/ami-2015-0002}},
  doi          = {{10.1515/ami-2015-0002}},
  volume       = {{2}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}