Response to Comment on "Rapid Advance of Spring Arrival Dates in Long-Distance Migratory Birds"

Jonzén, Niclas; Lindén, Andreas; Ergon, Torbjørn; Knudsen, Eirunn; Vik, Jon Olav; Rubolini, Diego; Piacentini, Dario; Brinch, Christian; Spina, Fernando; Karlsson, Lennart; Stervander, Martin; Andersson, Arne; Waldenström, Jonas; Lehikoinen, Aleksi; Edvardsen, Erik; Solvang, Rune; Stenseth, Nils Chr.

doi:10.1126/science.1136920

Cited by 17 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Median migration date was anticipated when TA in the Sahel and RA in North Africa were high. The long-term trend towards earlier migration across the Mediterranean (see also Jonzén et al 2006aJonzén et al , 2007 was further confirmed by our analyses accounting for meteorological conditions during wintering or en route. These associations between meteorological variables and migration date were observed while controlling statistically for temporal trends of variation in median migration date, since the effect of year was partialled out in multiple regression and analysis of covariance models of the effect of meteorological conditions.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

“…These effects were independent of longterm temporal trends in migration phenology, and were consistent among species. Present results therefore suggest that annual variation in migration phenology partly results from phenotypic adjustment of migration schedules driven by meteorological conditions in Africa during the wintering period, although this does not preclude that microevolutionary changes in migration phenology are occurring in trans-Saharan migrants (Jonzén et al 2006a(Jonzén et al , 2007. In our opinion, these findings have obvious relevance to conservation of declining populations of trans-Saharan European migratory birds (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

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Temperature and rainfall anomalies in Africa predict timing of spring migration in trans-Saharan migratory birds

Saino

Rubolini²,

Jonzén³

et al. 2007

Clim. Res.

106

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The long-term advance in the timing of bird spring migration in the Northern Hemisphere is associated with global climate change. The extent to which changes in bird phenology reflect responses to weather conditions in the wintering or breeding areas, or during migration, however, remains to be elucidated. We analyse the relationships between the timing of spring migration of 9 species of trans-Saharan migratory birds across the Mediterranean, and thermal and precipitation anomalies in the main wintering areas south of the Sahara Desert and in North African stopover areas. Median migration dates were collected on the island of Capri (southern Italy) by standardized mist-netting during 1981 to 2004. High temperatures in sub-Saharan Africa (Sahel and Gulf of Guinea) prior to northward migration (February and March) were associated with advanced migration. Moreover, birds migrated earlier when winter rainfall in North Africa was more abundant. The relationships between relevant meteorological variables and timing of migration were remarkably consistent among species, suggesting a coherent response to the same extrinsic stimuli. All these results were obtained while statistically controlling for the long-term trend towards the earlier timing of spring migration across the Mediterranean that has been documented in previous analyses of the same dataset, a trend that was confirmed by the present analyses. In conclusion, our results suggest that thermal conditions in the wintering quarters, as well as rainfall in North African stopover areas, can influence interannual variation in migration phenology of trans-Saharan migratory birds, although the ecological mechanisms that causally link meteorological conditions to the timing of migration remain a matter of speculation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Temperature and rainfall anomalies in Africa predict timing of spring migration in trans-Saharan migratory birds

Saino

Rubolini²,

Jonzén³

et al. 2007

Clim. Res.

106

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We suggest that both phenotypical plasticity and microevolutionary changes have occurred, and that they are not necessarily mutually exclusive (Gienapp et al 2007, this issue, but cf. Jonzén et al 2007). We do not provide genetic evidence that is crucial to prove microevolutionary response to climate change (Møller & Merilä 2004, Bradshaw & Holzapfel 2006.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Are we able to distinguish between changes resulting merely from phenological plasticity, individual learning and genetically controlled evolution? Two recent papers (Bradshaw & Holzapfel 2006, Jonzén et al 2006) make claims of evolutionary change, but, unless the identity and family history of individual animals is known, we suggest that this would be difficult to prove conclusively (see also Both 2007, Jonzén et al 2007). For migratory animals, detection is further complicated by environmental influences, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of spring arrival dates differ in two hirundines

Sparks¹,

Tryjanowski²

2007

Clim. Res.

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We examined the first arrival dates in the UK over a 56 yr period of 2 hirundines, sand martin Riparia riparia and barn swallow Hirundo rustica, in relation to temperatures along migration routes and at destination. Changes in arrival dates have been much greater for sand martin than for barn swallow, and the arrival order of the 2 species now appears to have reversed. There appear to be 2 reasons for this: a greater response to temperatures in SW Europe and a different response to temperature in recent years, leading to earlier arrival at the same temperature than formerly. We argue that this may involve evolutionary change, but conclude that it is difficult to be definite about this without information on individual animals.

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“…Most importantly, researchers have started to move beyond the mere description of phenology patterns. Recent publications have addressed fundamental questions of how to interpret the observed shifts in phenologies (Visser & Both 2005, Jonzén et al 2007a, and to what extent the advanced arrival of birds migrating from Africa to Europe is the result of phenotypic plasticity or micro-evolution (Jonzén et al 2006, 2007b, Both 2007. Also the heritable tendencies for phenotypic plasticity may be under selection (Nussey et al 2005).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%