Repeatability in Spring Arrival Dates in Pied Flycatchers Varies Among Years and Sexes

Both, Christiaan; Bijlsma, Rob G.; Ouwehand, Janne

doi:10.5253/arde.v104i1.a1

Cited by 67 publications

(144 citation statements)

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“…Female arrival date was determined when she was spotted near a male and nest building activity was taking place inside the nest box. These arrival dates were accurate compared to arrival of the same individuals with geolocator loggers (±1·5 days), and repeatable among years in both males and females (Both, Bijlsma & Ouwehand ). Pied flycatchers have protandrous arrival timing: males in our population arrive on average 1 week earlier than females (Both, Bijlsma & Ouwehand ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 92%

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Competitor phenology as a social cue in breeding site selection

Samplonius

Both

2017

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Summary 1.Predicting habitat quality is a major challenge for animals selecting a breeding patch, because it affects reproductive success. Breeding site selection may be based on previous experience, or on social information from the density and success of competitors with an earlier phenology. 2. Variation in animal breeding phenology is often correlated with variation in habitat quality. Generally, animals breed earlier in high-quality habitats that allow them to reach a nutritional threshold required for breeding earlier or avoid nest predation. In addition, habitat quality may affect phenological overlap between species and thereby interspecific competition. Therefore, we hypothesized that competitor breeding phenology can be used as social cue by settling migrants to locate high-quality breeding sites. 3. To test this hypothesis, we experimentally advanced and delayed hatching phenology of two resident tit species on the level of study plots and studied male and female settlement patterns of migratory pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca. The manipulations were assigned at random in two consecutive years, and treatments were swapped between years in sites that were used in both years. 4. In both years, males settled in equal numbers across treatments, but later arriving females avoided pairing with males in delayed phenology plots. Moreover, male pairing probability declined strongly with arrival date on the breeding grounds. 5. Our results demonstrate that competitor phenology may be used to assess habitat quality by settling migrants, but we cannot pinpoint the exact mechanism (e.g. resource quality, predation pressure or competition) that has given rise to this pattern. 6. In addition, we show that opposing selection pressures for arrival timing may give rise to different social information availabilities between sexes. We discuss our findings in the context of climate warming, social information use and the evolution of protandry in migratory animals.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…), crossing the Sahara desert in one non‐stop flight (Ouwehand & Both ). Female pied flycatchers arrive on the breeding grounds 1 week after males (Both, Bijlsma & Ouwehand ). All species are secondary cavity nesters that readily breed in nest boxes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Competitor phenology as a social cue in breeding site selection

Samplonius

Both

2017

Journal of Animal Ecology

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“…In terms of temporal aspects of migration, it has generally been reported significant repeatability of timing of migration in a wide variety of bird species (Lourenco et al , Stanley et al , Conklin et al , Thorup et al , Gill et al , Lopez‐Lopez et al ). These patterns have been interpreted as reflecting strong endogenous control of timing of migration in long‐distance migrants (in particular for spring migration; Berthold , Stanley et al , Both et al ). In contrast, we found relatively low (non‐significant) repeatability in timing of migration for all the investigated temporal parameters in great reed warblers, suggesting that local annual conditions (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual consistency of long‐distance migration in a songbird: significant repeatability of autumn route, stopovers and wintering sites but not in timing of migration

Hasselquist

Janer

Tarka

et al. 2017

Journal of Avian Biology

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Through new tracking techniques, data on timing and routes of migration in long‐distance migrant birds are accumulating. However, studies of the consistency of migration of the same individuals between years are still rare in small‐sized passerine birds. This type of information is important to understand decisions and migration abilities at the individual level, but also for life history theory, for understanding carry over effects between different annual cycle stages and for conservation. We analysed individual repeatability of migration between years in great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus; a medium‐sized European songbird migrating to sub‐Saharan Africa. In seven males, with geolocator data from 2–4 yr per bird, we found low to moderate (non significant) repeatability in timing of migration parameters (R ≤ 0.41), but high (and significant) repeatability for most spatial parameters, i.e. autumn route (R = 0.64) and stopover sites (R = 0.59–0.87) in Europe, and wintering sites (R = 0.77–0.99) in sub‐Saharan Africa. This pattern of high spatial but low temporal within‐individual repeatability of migration between years contrasts other tracking studies of migrating birds that generally have found consistency in timing but flexibility in routes. High spatial consistency of migration in the great reed warbler may be due to it being a specialist in wetlands, an unevenly distributed habitat, favouring a strategy of recurrence at previously visited sites. Low temporal repeatability may be caused by large between‐year variation in carry‐over effects from the breeding season, high flexibility in decision rules during migration or high sensitivity to environmental factors (weather, wind) during migration.

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“…For larger birds, it is sometimes possible to equip a control group with lightweight (< 1 g) geolocators on the colour rings, which can be used to measure migration variables such as moment of departure and arrival, and migration speed ( [22], Lameris et al unpublished). Yet, ring resightings and recoveries can also give useful estimates for comparison of some migration variables [39], such as the moment of arrival [8]. Observing birds after release can reveal differences in behaviour and short-term survival between the tagged group and the control group.…”

Section: Towards Reduction In Adverse Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduction in adverse effects of tracking devices on waterfowl requires better measuring and reporting

Lameris

Kleyheeg

2017

Anim Biotelemetry

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Since the first studies in the mid-twentieth century, lightweight electronic tracking devices have been increasingly used to study waterfowl movements. With half a century of experience and growing sample sizes, it has become clear that the attachment of a tracking device can affect a bird's behaviour and fitness. This becomes problematic when it introduces uncertainty about whether the recorded data represent natural behaviour. Waterfowl may be particularly prone to tag effects, since many species are migratory and tracking devices can disrupt their waterproof plumage. The primary aim of this paper is to identify how tracking devices may affect waterfowl survival, migration and reproduction, and how better measuring and reporting of such effects can improve our understanding of the risks, providing a first step towards reducing their impact in future studies. We reviewed literature on electronic tracking of waterfowl to create an overview of currently recognized effects of harness-attached backpacks, implants, subcutaneous attachments and neck collars. Additionally, we analysed developments in the use of attachment methods, the weight of tracking devices relative to bird body mass, and the reporting rate of effects of tracking devices in 202 original tracking studies. We found that although the number of waterfowl tracking studies described in peer-reviewed literature has steeply increased over the past decades, reporting rates of potential effects have decreased from 65.0 to 26.5%. Meanwhile, the mean weight of the tracking devices relative to the bird's body mass remained stable around 2.0%. Major negative effects were reported in 17% of all studies and were found for all attachment methods. Overall, large differences exist in the occurrence and type of negative effects between species and studies, even if the same tracking methods were used. Inconsistent reporting of effects, lack of control groups to measure effects and incomplete descriptions of the methodology hamper the identification of factors contributing to these effects. To accomplish a reduction in adverse effects of tracking, it is necessary to improve the measuring and reporting of effects. We propose a framework for standardized reporting of methods in primary tracking studies and standardized protocols to measure effects of tracking devices on waterfowl.

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Repeatability in Spring Arrival Dates in Pied Flycatchers Varies Among Years and Sexes

Cited by 67 publications

References 68 publications

Competitor phenology as a social cue in breeding site selection

Competitor phenology as a social cue in breeding site selection

Individual consistency of long‐distance migration in a songbird: significant repeatability of autumn route, stopovers and wintering sites but not in timing of migration

Reduction in adverse effects of tracking devices on waterfowl requires better measuring and reporting

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