Spatiotemporal Group Dynamics in a Long-Distance Migratory Bird
Dhanjal-Adams, Kiran L. ; Bauer, Silke ; Emmenegger, Tamara LU
; Hahn, Steffen
; Lisovski, Simeon
and Liechti, Felix
(2018)
In Current Biology
28(17).
p.3-2830
- Abstract
Thousands of species migrate [1]. Though we have some understanding of where and when they travel, we still have very little insight into who migrates with whom and for how long. Group formation is pivotal in allowing individuals to interact, transfer information, and adapt to changing conditions [2]. Yet it is remarkably difficult to infer group membership in migrating animals without being able to directly observe them. Here, we use novel lightweight atmospheric pressure loggers to monitor group dynamics in a small migratory bird, the European bee-eater (Merops apiaster). We present the first evidence of a migratory bird flying together with non-kin of different ages and sexes at all stages of the life cycle. In fact, 49% stay... (More)
Thousands of species migrate [1]. Though we have some understanding of where and when they travel, we still have very little insight into who migrates with whom and for how long. Group formation is pivotal in allowing individuals to interact, transfer information, and adapt to changing conditions [2]. Yet it is remarkably difficult to infer group membership in migrating animals without being able to directly observe them. Here, we use novel lightweight atmospheric pressure loggers to monitor group dynamics in a small migratory bird, the European bee-eater (Merops apiaster). We present the first evidence of a migratory bird flying together with non-kin of different ages and sexes at all stages of the life cycle. In fact, 49% stay together throughout the annual cycle, never separating longer than 5 days at a time despite the ∼14,000-km journey. Of those that separated for longer, 89% reunited within less than a month with individuals they had previously spent time with, having flown up to 5,000 km apart. These birds were not only using the same non-breeding sites, but also displayed coordinated foraging behaviors—these are unlikely to result from chance encounters in response to the same environmental conditions alone. Better understanding of migratory group dynamics, using the presented methods, could help improve our understanding of collective decision making during large-scale movements. Dhanjal-Adams et al. report on the spatiotemporal group dynamics of migrating bee-eaters using novel lightweight (1.4 g) multisensor loggers. Using synchronisation in pressure measurements, they show how some birds migrate ∼14,000 km together, while others repeatedly separate and come back together, despite separations of days or weeks.
(Less)
- author
- Dhanjal-Adams, Kiran L.
; Bauer, Silke
; Emmenegger, Tamara
LU
; Hahn, Steffen
; Lisovski, Simeon
and Liechti, Felix
- publishing date
- 2018-09-10
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- keywords
- animal migration, European bee-eater, fission-fusion dynamics, group decision making, Merops, PAM logger, pressure sensor
- in
- Current Biology
- volume
- 28
- issue
- 17
- pages
- 3 - 2830
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85053836014
- pmid:30146151
- ISSN
- 0960-9822
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.054
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Funding Information: Funding was provided by Swiss National Science Foundation 31003A_160265 to S.B. and S.H. The Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) contributed financial support for the development of the tags (grant UTF 400.34.11 ). We thank M. Schulz and P. Tamm for field assistance and long-term monitoring. SOI-GDL3pam loggers were fitted under license LAU 43.17-22480-58/2015. Publisher Copyright: © 2018 Elsevier Ltd
- id
- 9f5df07b-b40c-4515-a061-29e3cbc1e493
- date added to LUP
- 2021-10-29 11:03:17
- date last changed
- 2024-09-22 05:12:35
@article{9f5df07b-b40c-4515-a061-29e3cbc1e493,
abstract = {{<p>Thousands of species migrate [1]. Though we have some understanding of where and when they travel, we still have very little insight into who migrates with whom and for how long. Group formation is pivotal in allowing individuals to interact, transfer information, and adapt to changing conditions [2]. Yet it is remarkably difficult to infer group membership in migrating animals without being able to directly observe them. Here, we use novel lightweight atmospheric pressure loggers to monitor group dynamics in a small migratory bird, the European bee-eater (Merops apiaster). We present the first evidence of a migratory bird flying together with non-kin of different ages and sexes at all stages of the life cycle. In fact, 49% stay together throughout the annual cycle, never separating longer than 5 days at a time despite the ∼14,000-km journey. Of those that separated for longer, 89% reunited within less than a month with individuals they had previously spent time with, having flown up to 5,000 km apart. These birds were not only using the same non-breeding sites, but also displayed coordinated foraging behaviors—these are unlikely to result from chance encounters in response to the same environmental conditions alone. Better understanding of migratory group dynamics, using the presented methods, could help improve our understanding of collective decision making during large-scale movements. Dhanjal-Adams et al. report on the spatiotemporal group dynamics of migrating bee-eaters using novel lightweight (1.4 g) multisensor loggers. Using synchronisation in pressure measurements, they show how some birds migrate ∼14,000 km together, while others repeatedly separate and come back together, despite separations of days or weeks.</p>}},
author = {{Dhanjal-Adams, Kiran L. and Bauer, Silke and Emmenegger, Tamara and Hahn, Steffen and Lisovski, Simeon and Liechti, Felix}},
issn = {{0960-9822}},
keywords = {{animal migration; European bee-eater; fission-fusion dynamics; group decision making; Merops; PAM logger; pressure sensor}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{09}},
number = {{17}},
pages = {{3--2830}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Current Biology}},
title = {{Spatiotemporal Group Dynamics in a Long-Distance Migratory Bird}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.054}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.054}},
volume = {{28}},
year = {{2018}},
}