Where did the finch go? Insights from radio telemetry of the medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis)
(2022) In Ecology and Evolution 12(4).- Abstract
Movement patterns and habitat selection of animals have important implications for ecology and evolution. Darwin's finches are a classic model system for ecological and evolutionary studies, yet their spatial ecology remains poorly studied. We tagged and radio-tracked five (three females, two males) medium ground finches (Geospiza fortis) to examine the feasibility of telemetry for understanding their movement and habitat use. Based on 143 locations collected during a 3-week period, we analyzed for the first time home-range size and habitat selection patterns of finches at El Garrapatero, an arid coastal ecosystem on Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos). The average 95% home range and 50% core area for G. fortis in the breeding season was... (More)
Movement patterns and habitat selection of animals have important implications for ecology and evolution. Darwin's finches are a classic model system for ecological and evolutionary studies, yet their spatial ecology remains poorly studied. We tagged and radio-tracked five (three females, two males) medium ground finches (Geospiza fortis) to examine the feasibility of telemetry for understanding their movement and habitat use. Based on 143 locations collected during a 3-week period, we analyzed for the first time home-range size and habitat selection patterns of finches at El Garrapatero, an arid coastal ecosystem on Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos). The average 95% home range and 50% core area for G. fortis in the breeding season was 20.54 ha ± 4.04 ha SE and 4.03 ha ± 1.11 ha SE, respectively. For most of the finches, their home range covered a diverse set of habitats. Three finches positively selected the dry-forest habitat, while the other habitats seemed to be either negatively selected or simply neglected by the finches. In addition, we noted a communal roosting behavior in an area close to the ocean, where the vegetation is greener and denser than the more inland dry-forest vegetation. We show that telemetry on Darwin's finches provides valuable data to understand the movement ecology of the species. Based on our results, we propose a series of questions about the ecology and evolution of Darwin's finches that can be addressed using telemetry.
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- author
- Beausoleil, Marc Olivier ; Camacho, Carlos LU ; Rabadán-González, Julio ; Lalla, Kristen ; Richard, Roxanne ; Carrion-Avilés, Paola ; Hendry, Andrew P. and Barrett, Rowan D.H.
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-04
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- behavior, communal roosting, Geospiza fortis, habitat selection, home range, spatial ecology
- in
- Ecology and Evolution
- volume
- 12
- issue
- 4
- article number
- e8768
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85129173440
- pmid:35494501
- ISSN
- 2045-7758
- DOI
- 10.1002/ece3.8768
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- cee5f44c-8ecb-489a-a6f0-25a17e40a767
- date added to LUP
- 2022-08-15 11:06:08
- date last changed
- 2024-05-30 17:20:56
@article{cee5f44c-8ecb-489a-a6f0-25a17e40a767,
abstract = {{<p>Movement patterns and habitat selection of animals have important implications for ecology and evolution. Darwin's finches are a classic model system for ecological and evolutionary studies, yet their spatial ecology remains poorly studied. We tagged and radio-tracked five (three females, two males) medium ground finches (Geospiza fortis) to examine the feasibility of telemetry for understanding their movement and habitat use. Based on 143 locations collected during a 3-week period, we analyzed for the first time home-range size and habitat selection patterns of finches at El Garrapatero, an arid coastal ecosystem on Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos). The average 95% home range and 50% core area for G. fortis in the breeding season was 20.54 ha ± 4.04 ha SE and 4.03 ha ± 1.11 ha SE, respectively. For most of the finches, their home range covered a diverse set of habitats. Three finches positively selected the dry-forest habitat, while the other habitats seemed to be either negatively selected or simply neglected by the finches. In addition, we noted a communal roosting behavior in an area close to the ocean, where the vegetation is greener and denser than the more inland dry-forest vegetation. We show that telemetry on Darwin's finches provides valuable data to understand the movement ecology of the species. Based on our results, we propose a series of questions about the ecology and evolution of Darwin's finches that can be addressed using telemetry.</p>}},
author = {{Beausoleil, Marc Olivier and Camacho, Carlos and Rabadán-González, Julio and Lalla, Kristen and Richard, Roxanne and Carrion-Avilés, Paola and Hendry, Andrew P. and Barrett, Rowan D.H.}},
issn = {{2045-7758}},
keywords = {{behavior; communal roosting; Geospiza fortis; habitat selection; home range; spatial ecology}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{4}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Ecology and Evolution}},
title = {{Where did the finch go? Insights from radio telemetry of the medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis)}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8768}},
doi = {{10.1002/ece3.8768}},
volume = {{12}},
year = {{2022}},
}