Relationship between west African rainfall and the survival of central European Sand Martins Riparia riparia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Sahelian rainfall on the central European Sand Martin Riparia riparia population for the period 1986–1992. The studied population breeds along the River Tisza in Hungary and is one of the largest in central Europe. The changes in the population size did not show a significant relationship to Sahelian rainfall, but a large decrease in 1991 coincided with the drought in three Sahelian areas. The survival rates of adults had a significant relationship to the rainfall of the southern Sahel but not to the other two studied areas (northern Sahel, central Sudan). The model selection included this relationship and raised the possibility of predicting the adult survival rate in autumn for the following wintering season, using African rainfall data. The analysis showed a significant difference in the survival rates between the sexes, with that of the female being lower. Differences in the changes of the population size and adult survival rate showed the importance of the recruitment of adults, and this may depend mainly on the survival of juveniles.

Survival rates of hirundines in relation to British and African rainfall

“…Survival rates of migratory birds may be influenced by factors on the breeding or non-breeding grounds, during the journey between them, or (most probably) by a combination of these. It has been demonstrated previously that rainfall on both the breeding and non-breeding grounds affects the survival of Palaearctic hirundine species, particularly Sand Martins, and other species, such as warblers, probably through impacts on vegetation and the availability of insect prey (Peach et al 1991;Szép 1995;Cowley & Siriwardena 2005). Sand Martins spend the northern winter in generally arid areas, whereas House Martins winter in wetter areas farther east (although the core wintering areas for these species are imprecisely known).…”

“…This relationship is likely to be strong in arid areas, such as the Sahel, where many British migrants pass through on migration or spend the winter (Wernham et al 2002). Consequently, one might expect rainfall to have a significant effect on annual survival rates, as has already been demonstrated for Sand Martin (eg Cowley & Siriwardena 2005) and for a number of other migrant species, such as warblers (eg Peach et al 1991, Szép 1995, Sherry & Holmes 1996.…”

Linking fluctuations in rainfall to nonbreeding season performance in a long-distance migratory bird, Setophaga ruticilla

“…Rainfall and temperature on the nonbreeding quarters in Africa have been shown to influence abundance, first arrival dates, and annual survival at breeding areas in Europe (Møller 1989, Kanyamibwa et al 1990, Peach et al 1991, Szép 1995, Barbraud et al 1999, Gordo et al 2005. Indices of global climate cycles (e.g.…”

Spatial and temporal variation in population trends in a long‐distance migratory bird

“…While the causes of these declines are not yet fully understood, the impact appears to be greater in long-distance (particularly subSaharan) than short-distance migrants (Sanderson et al, 2006;Hewson & Noble, 2009). Consequently, attention has focussed on changes occurring on winter and passage sites or in timing of migration, including changing patterns of rainfall over the Sahel (Møller, 1989;Peach et al, 1991;Szep, 1995;Robinson et al, 2003) and the loss and degradation of key winter habitats through expansion of human populations 1 School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK, 2 British…”