Stopover refuelling, movement and departure decisions in the white‐throated sparrow: The influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors during spring migration

Beauchamp, Andrew T.; Guglielmo, Christopher G.; Morbey, Yolanda E.

doi:10.1111/1365-2656.13315

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 90 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Radio transmitters were set to emit bursts of four pulses at an interval of 12.7 s on the Motus frequency (166.380 MHz). Similar methods were used to study white‐throated sparrows Zonotrichia albicollis in spring 2017 (Beauchamp et al 2020) with some modifications to tower configuration. Compared to 2014 and 2015, the Motus tower in 2017 was higher and had 4 versus 3 nine‐element Yagi antennas oriented in different directions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evening locomotor activity during stopover differs on pre‐departure and departure days in free‐living songbirds

Morbey

Beauchamp

Bonner

et al. 2020

Journal of Avian Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The length of time songbirds remain at a migratory stopover site is likely regulated by a daily stay/go decision informed by fat stores and weather conditions, but the finerscale timing of this decision and associated pre-departure behaviours are still poorly understood. Using automated radiotelemetry of free-living songbirds captured at a migratory stopover site in spring, we tested whether individuals change their locomotor activity near sunset on their migratory departure day compared to their non-departure days. To do so, we extracted precise transition times between diurnal activity and nocturnal inactivity, which always precedes departure, using changepoint analysis of radio transmission signal strength. Among four warbler species, individuals extended diurnal activity by 8-19 min towards sunset on their departure day. In three species, this extension was significant. In contrast, white-throated sparrows significantly shortened diurnal activity on their departure day by 13 min, also towards sunset. This is the first study to detect and quantify a change in locomotor activity schedule on departure versus non-departure days in free-living songbirds, and is consistent with the hypothesis that birds engage in pre-departure preparatory behaviours near sunset.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evening locomotor activity during stopover differs on pre‐departure and departure days in free‐living songbirds

Morbey

Beauchamp

Bonner

et al. 2020

Journal of Avian Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…se, Swedish Species Information Centre), collected between 2005 and 2020 in the two regions in which the studied populations breed (Torne Lappmark and Öland, for the NBP and SBP, respectively). We assumed that the earliest arriving individuals in each breeding region will also breed there (Conklin et al 2010;Beauchamp et al 2020), and so we used the average date of the three first observations in each region as a measure of yearly variation in arrival date. We included only observations after May 10 in Torne Lappmark and February 15 on Öland, respectively, in order to avoid inclusion of potentially overwintering birds (Öland) or unusually early individuals.…”

Section: Field Work and Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population specific annual cycles and migration strategies in a leap-frog migrant

Hedh

Dänhardt

Hedenström

2021

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A common migratory pattern in birds is that northerly breeding populations migrate to more southerly non-breeding sites compared to southerly breeding populations (leap-frog migration). Not only do populations experience differences in migration distances, but also different environmental conditions, which may vary spatiotemporally within their annual cycles, creating distinctive selective pressures and migratory strategies. Information about such adaptations is important to understand migratory drivers and evolution of migration patterns. We use light-level geolocators and citizen science data on regional spring arrivals to compare two populations of common ringed plover Charadrius hiaticula breeding at different latitudes. We (1) describe and characterize the annual cycles and (2) test predictions regarding speed and timing of migration. The northern breeding population (NBP) wintered in Africa and the southern (SBP) mainly in Europe. The annual cycles were shifted temporally so that the NBP was always later in all stages. The SBP spent more than twice as long time in the breeding area, but there was no difference in winter. The NBP spent more time on migration in general. Spring migration speed was lower in the SBP compared to autumn speed of both populations, and there was no difference in autumn and spring speed in the NBP. We also found a larger variation in spring arrival times across years in the SBP. This suggests that a complex interaction of population specific timing and variation of breeding onset, length of breeding season, and proximity to the breeding area shape the annual cycle and migratory strategies. Significance statement Migration distance, climate, and the resulting composition of the annual cycle are expected to influence migration strategies and timing in birds. Testing theories regarding migration behaviours are challenging, and intraspecific comparisons over the full annual cycle are still rare. Here we compare the spatiotemporal distributions of two latitudinally separated populations of common ringed plovers using light-level geolocators. We found that there was a larger long-term variation in first arrival dates and that migration speed was slower only in spring in a temperate, short-distance migratory population, compared to an Arctic, long-distance migratory population. This suggests that a complex interaction of population specific timing and variation of breeding onset, length of breeding season and proximity to the breeding area shape the annual cycle and migratory behaviours.

show abstract

“…Kelsey et al ( , 2021 used QMR to derive predictive equations of lean mass and fuel load of birds at stopover, and to test for differences in lean mass relative to size in bird species with different migration strategies (Kelsey et al, , 2021. We have used QMR in a variety of contexts to study fuel use in flight (Gerson and Guglielmo, 2011;Guglielmo et al, 2017;Dick and Guglielmo, 2019) and the influence of fat and lean mass on migration behavior (Brown et al, 2014;Kennedy et al, 2016;Morbey et al, 2018;Beauchamp et al, 2020). Other non-invasive methods include dual x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) (Korine et al, 2004;Wojciechowski et al, 2014), heavy water dilution (Ellis and Jehl, 1991;Karasov and Pinshow, 1998;McWilliams and Whitman, 2013), and total body electrical conductivity (TOBEC) (Karasov and Pinshow, 1998;McWilliams and Whitman, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Scaling Approach to Understand the Dynamics of Fat and Lean Mass in Refueling Migrant Songbirds Measured by Quantitative Magnetic Resonance

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fat contributes most of the energy for migratory flight of birds, whereas lean body tissues (muscles and organs) contribute amino acids and water to maintain metabolic and osmotic homeostasis. During refueling at stopover sites, both fat and lean mass are recovered, but the dynamics of this recovery are poorly understood. We used non-invasive quantitative magnetic resonance (QMR) analysis to measure fat and lean mass of > 3,500 individuals of 25 songbird species during six spring and three autumn migration seasons between 2009 and 2019 at Long Point, ON, Canada. We used allometric scaling analysis and linear mixed-effects modeling of body composition data at both the population level (single capture) and the individual level (recapture). In the population-level analysis, lean mass scaled hypoallometrically with body mass, such that for every 20% increase in body mass, lean mass was predicted to increase by 12.1% in spring and 12.8% in autumn. Fat scaled hyperallometrically with body mass, such that for every 20% increase in body mass, fat mass was predicted to increase by 144% in spring and 136% in autumn. At the individual level, these allometric relationships were more extreme. As a result of this differential allometry, at low body masses, lean and fat mass contributes nearly equally to changes in mass, but at high body mass fat deposition becomes progressively more dominant. Spring migrants deposited relatively more fat than autumn migrants, and in autumn juvenile birds tended to have greater lean mass than adults. Our findings show that lean mass deposition during refueling by songbirds is substantial, and in line with the losses of protein expected in flight. The process of fat and lean mass deposition is characterized by non-linear dynamics which are influenced by the current body composition, season, and, to a lesser extent, age. The patterns suggest that the need for dietary protein to rebuild lean mass will be greater when body mass is low, during autumn migration, and in juvenile birds.

show abstract

Stopover refuelling, movement and departure decisions in the white‐throated sparrow: The influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors during spring migration

Cited by 13 publications

References 90 publications

Evening locomotor activity during stopover differs on pre‐departure and departure days in free‐living songbirds

Evening locomotor activity during stopover differs on pre‐departure and departure days in free‐living songbirds

Population specific annual cycles and migration strategies in a leap-frog migrant

A Scaling Approach to Understand the Dynamics of Fat and Lean Mass in Refueling Migrant Songbirds Measured by Quantitative Magnetic Resonance

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About