Daytime naps in night-migrating birds: behavioural adaptation to seasonal sleep deprivation in the Swainson's thrush, Catharus ustulatus

Fuchs, Thomas; Haney, Alan; Jechura, Tammy J.; Moore, Frank R.; Bingman, Verner P.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.03.008

Cited by 67 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Behavioural observations revealed that, in the migratory season, captive Swainson's thrushes spend substantially more time of the day in a state of drowsiness than daytime sleep or unilateral eye closure ( Fuchs et al 2006). drowsiness combines behavioural signs of wakefulness (open or partially closed eyes) with physiological characteristics of sleep and may therefore allow an animal to monitor its environment while benefiting from sleep-like brain activity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One possible explanation for the apparent resilience of migrants to sleep loss may be found in behavioural adaptations occurring during the migratory season. Such behaviour is difficult to observe in the field yet it would create opportunities to compensate for curtailed night-time sleep during the day (Schwilch et al 2002;Rattenborg et al 2004;Fuchs et al 2006). For instance, in the migratory Swainson's thrush (Catharus ustulatus), 'daytime rest' is composed of frequent, short 'micro-naps', i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…episodes of bilateral and unilateral eye closure, that typically last only several seconds and occur during longer periods of 'drowsiness', an intermediate sleep-like state. In captive Swainson's thrushes the frequency of daytime sleep-like behaviour is dramatically increased during the migratory season (Fuchs et al 2006). Unilateral eye closure is a behavioural indicator of unihemispheric sleep, an ability to selectively sleep with one brain hemisphere, while the other hemisphere remains essentially awake.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Daytime micro-naps in a nocturnal migrant: an EEG analysis

et al. 2008

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Many species of typically diurnal songbirds experience sleep loss during the migratory seasons owing to their nocturnal migrations. However, despite substantial loss of sleep, nocturnally migrating songbirds continue to function normally with no observable effect on their behaviour. It is unclear if and how avian migrants compensate for sleep loss. Recent behavioural evidence suggests that some species may compensate for lost night-time sleep with short, uni- and bilateral ‘micro-naps’ during the day. We provide electrophysiological evidence that short episodes of sleep-like daytime behaviour (approx. 12 s) are accompanied by sleep-like changes in brain activity in an avian migrant. Furthermore, we present evidence that part of this physiological brain response manifests itself as unihemispheric sleep, a state during which one brain hemisphere is asleep while the other hemisphere remains essentially awake. Episodes of daytime sleep may represent a potent adaptation to the challenges of avian migration and offer a plausible explanation for the resilience to sleep loss in nocturnal migrants.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Daytime micro-naps in a nocturnal migrant: an EEG analysis

et al. 2008

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“…Migration is associated with a set of ecological conditions under which social information should be favored when available. Migrating birds are under time and energetic constraints Lindström 1990, Alerstam andHedenström 1998), so any factor that causes a delay in refueling and departure from a stopover, including increased risk of predation Moore 1999, Cimprich et al 2005), inclement weather (Newton 2007), unfamiliar habitat (Németh and Moore 2007), and sleep loss (Fuchs et al 2006, 2009, Németh 2009) can be viewed as increasing the cost of information acquisition and should promote social information use in migrants.…”

Section: Hypothesis and Predictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observation of Daytime Sleep-like Behavior in a Migratory Songbird during Stopover

Németh¹

2009

The Wilson Journal of Ornithology

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“…Despite being adversely affected by sleep loss during the non-migratory season, nocturnal migrants can obviously reduce sleep for longer periods without associated deficits in cognitive abilities (Rattenborg et al 2004). Sleep-loss during nocturnal migration could be compensated through "micro-napping" during the day (Fuchs et al 2006, Fuchs et al 2009, Németh 2009, Jones et al 2010. However, whether the expression of Zugunruhe represents a disruption of the neural system controlling diurnal sleep-wake cycles is currently uncertain.…”

Section: The Physiological Machinerymentioning

confidence: 99%

Circadian control of nocturnal songbird migration

Coppack

Bairlein

2011

J Ornithol

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International audienceBird migration has evolved under the influence of annual and daily fluctuations in resource availability. Numerous passerine migrants migrate exclusively by night, maximizing the time available for foraging and feeding during the day. When held in captivity, and in total absence of environmental cues, nocturnal migrants typically show rhythms of night-time restlessness (Zugunruhe), which persist with a periodicity of about 24 h. Experimental evidence suggests that these circadian rhythms of Zugunruhe may either result from a "redefinition" of the diurnal clock or from changes in the phase relationship between independent endogenous oscillators. The role of melatonin in this control system remains ambiguous. Lowered levels of circulating melatonin found during migratory nights could either be the positive stimulus, a permissive factor or a side effect of nocturnal wakefulness. Although the nutritional state of a migrant is known to strongly influence the incidence of migratory activity, the physiological link between the circadian clock controlling Zugunruhe and the metabolic/hormonal path-ways that regulate the incidence of migration is uncertain. A functional genetic approach promises to bring behavioural and physiological knowledge together. Determining the mechanisms that are involved in the day-to-day scheduling of migration is crucial for understanding the overall control of migration, as the sum of migratory nights determines for how long, and how far, a migrant potentially travels

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Daytime naps in night-migrating birds: behavioural adaptation to seasonal sleep deprivation in the Swainson's thrush, Catharus ustulatus

Cited by 67 publications

References 16 publications

Daytime micro-naps in a nocturnal migrant: an EEG analysis

Daytime micro-naps in a nocturnal migrant: an EEG analysis

Observation of Daytime Sleep-like Behavior in a Migratory Songbird during Stopover

Circadian control of nocturnal songbird migration

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