What Is a Winter Floater? Causes, Consequences, and Implications for Habitat Selection

Brown, David R.; Long, Jennifer A.

doi:10.1650/8351.1

Cited by 33 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…In fact, declines in breeding population size could divert attention from critical problems in the floater pool. Conservation biology in the future should consider nonbreeding habitats that play a critical role in the larger-scale persistence of the species, as well as winter floaters and wintering areas (Brown & Long, 2007). In the absence of this focus there is a risk of underestimating threats to a species/population where the main problem is not in the breeding territory, but where the effects of floater mortality are sooner or later likely to impact on breeder numbers.…”

Section: Breeding Areas Versus Temporary Settlement Areas: a Lesson Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

Floater strategies and dynamics in birds, and their importance in conservation biology: towards an understanding of nonbreeders in avian populations

Penteriani

Ferrer

Delgado

2011

Animal Conservation

159

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Over the past 40 years, the study of animal populations has shifted from a relatively simple science that assumed the most crucial regulating mechanisms were the intrinsic properties of breeders, to a more complex and refined discipline that reflects a greater understanding of populations and their dynamics. Part of this shift has been the explicit recognition of the importance of a previously overlooked nonbreeding component of animal populations, the so-called floaters.Here we review and discuss the various effects that pools of floaters can have on the structure, dynamics and persistence of bird populations. Under some circumstances floaters can be both active intruders that can alter the breeding performance and behavioural traits of territory owners, as well as secretive presences reducing the extinction risk of populations. Floaters are crucial elements in conservation biology, and knowledge of their behaviour and dynamics in avian communities can be a key factor in the success of conservation strategies. Firstly, larger pools of floaters are associated with more stable breeding populations, even in cases where breeding output could be impacted through interference by floaters. Secondly, the effects of habitat loss and mortality rates are frequently ignored in areas where floaters settle, and consequently conservation measures tend to overlook these sites, potentially leading to increased risks of mortality among floaters. Thirdly, because an increase in the proportion of juveniles in the breeding component of a population may be because of increased pre-adult and/or adult mortality rates, a change in the age of breeders has the potential to function as a warning of an imminent decline in breeding populations. Most population studies have only considered the breeding components of animal populations, so it is time now to focus attention on the floater component, wherein the solution to many conservation issues may be found.

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Section: Breeding Areas Versus Temporary Settlement Areas: a Lesson Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

Floater strategies and dynamics in birds, and their importance in conservation biology: towards an understanding of nonbreeders in avian populations

Penteriani

Ferrer

Delgado

2011

Animal Conservation

159

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“…The ecological drivers of nonbreeding territorial behaviors are diverse, but food supply and diet feature prominently (Tye 1986, Greenberg and Salewski 2005, Brown and Long 2007. The American Redstart {Setophaga ruticilla) is among the best-studied parulids in a tropical winter range, and it strongly defends space in association with tbe abundance of insects for food.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in Aggression of Black-throated Blue Warblers Wintering in Jamaica

Smith

Johnson²,

Campos

et al. 2012

The Condor

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Variation in aggression among birds on different territories has been hypothesized to be influenced by intrinsic factors such as a bird's age, sex, or size and extrinsic factors such as density of neighbors, abundance of food, or territory size. However, little work has examined how and why aggression may vary within a bird's home range. We examined variation in aggressive behaviors of nonbreeding Black-throated Blue Warblers {Setophaga caerulescens) in Jamaican coffee farms by using experimentally simulated intrusions into home ranges. Our multivariate models confirmed that multiple variables associated with aggression included sex, home range size, proximity of intrusion to home range center, and the presence of another aggressive bird in the area. In addition, we found that birds responded more aggressively to intrusions in shade trees, where insects were more abundant, than in the understory of coffee or of small patches of remnant forest. These results suggest the birds responded to variation in habitat and/or food supply within their home ranges and varied aggressive responses accordingly, revealing a finer scale of behavioral resource matching than previously documented for bird territoriality. Variación en la Agresión de Individuos de Setophaga caerulescens que Invernan en JamaicaResumen. Se ha hipotetizado que la variación en la agresión entre las aves en territorios diferentes está influenciada por factores intrínsecos como la edad del ave, el sexo y el tamaño, y por factores extrínsecos como la densidad de vecinos, la abundancia de alimentos o el tamaño del territorio. Sin embargo, poco se ha examinado cómo y por qué la agresión puede variar dentro del área de acción de un ave. Examinamos la variación en los comportamientos de agresión de individuos no reproductivos de Setophaga caerulescens en granjas de café de Jamaica mediante el empleo de simulaciones experimentales de intrusión en las áreas de acción. Nuestros modelos multivariados confirmaron que las variables asociadas con la agresión incluyeron sexo, tamaño del área de acción, proximidad de la intrusión al centro del área de acción y presencia de otra ave agresiva en el área. Adicionalmente, encontramos que las aves respondieron de forma más agresiva a las intrusiones en las plantaciones de café con árboles de sombra, donde los insectos fueron más abundantes, que en las plantaciones sin árboles de sombra o en pequeños parches remanentes de bosque. Estos resultados sugieren que las aves respondieron a variaciones en el habitat o en la provisión de alimentos dentro de sus áreas de acción y que de acuerdo a esto cambiaron sus respuestas agresivas, revelando una escala de más detalle de ajuste del comportamiento a los recursos de lo que se habla documentado previamente para la territorialidad de las aves.

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“…In one of the most frequently reported behaviors in nonflocking species, the majority of individuals remain sitepersistent in a single contiguous home range throughout the winter while a subset of individuals exhibit "floating" or "wandering" behavior (Brown and Long 2007). The latter appear to be less siteattached and often move over a wide area that encompasses stable home ranges of conspecifics (Winker 1998).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Moisture and Food Supply on the Movement Dynamics of a Nonbreeding Migratory Bird (Parkesia noveboracensis) in a Seasonal Landscape

Smith

Reitsma

Marra

2011

The Auk

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We radiotracked Northern Waterthrushes (Parkesia noveboracensis) in four habitats in Puerto Rico during two winters (i.e., January-April) in 2003 and 2004 to determine the ecological determinants of diurnal space use and overwinter sitepersistence in this species. The majority of birds (69%) were sedentary and used a contiguous area within a single habitat over the winter period. A smaller percentage (31%) initially used a contiguous area within a single habitat but then permanently moved from that area to another disjunct location (mean = 418 m). Most of these movements were out ofthe two habitats (dry forest and Black Mangrove) that became the driest from January to mid-March and into wetter mangrove areas. The primary determinants of movement probability were moisture and food availability on each bird's home range. Foraging areas of birds that eventually moved were drier and had lower food availability than areas used by site-persistent individuals. The sites that these itinerant birds moved to were wetter and had higher food availability, which suggests that individuals moved in response to changing resources. Our results (1) indicate that habitats used by this species differ in suitability and (2) support previous findings that turnover rates within a habitat could serve as an indicator of habitat quality. The ability to predict behavioral responses of individuals to habitat conditions that vary across space and time is essential for understanding individual and population responses to habitat loss and the effects ofa changing climate in the New World tropics. Influencia de la Humedad y del Suministro de Alimentos sobre las Dinámicas de Movimiento de un Ave Migratoria No Reproductiva {Parkesia noveboracensis) en un Paisaje EstacionalRESUMEN.-Seguimos mediante transmisores de radio a individuos de Parkesia noveboracensis en cuatro ambientes en Puerto Rico durante dos inviernos (i.e., enero-abril) en 2003 y 2004 para establecer los determinantes ecológicos del uso del espacio diurno y la persistencia en sitios de invernada en esta especie. La mayoría de las aves (69%) fueron sedentarias y usaron un área contigua dentro de un único ambiente a lo largo del período invernal. Un porcentaje más pequeño (31%) usó inicialmente un área contigua dentro de un único ambiente pero luego se movió de modo permanente desde esta área a otro sitio disyunto (media = 418 m). La mayoría de estos movimientos fueron hacia afuera de los dos ambientes (bosque seco y manglar negro) que se tornaron los más secos desde enero hasta mediados de marzo y hacia áreas de manglar más húmedas. Los determinantes primarios de la probabilidad de movimiento fueron la humedad y la disponibilidad de alimento en el ámbito de hogar de cada ave. Las áreas de forrajeo de las aves que eventualmente se movieron fueron más secas y tuvieron menor disponibilidad de alimentos que las áreas usadas por individuos que persistieron en los sitios. Los sitios a los que estas aves itinerantes se movieron fueron más húmedos y tuvieron mayor disponibilidad de alimento...

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What Is a Winter Floater? Causes, Consequences, and Implications for Habitat Selection

Cited by 33 publications

References 83 publications

Floater strategies and dynamics in birds, and their importance in conservation biology: towards an understanding of nonbreeders in avian populations

Floater strategies and dynamics in birds, and their importance in conservation biology: towards an understanding of nonbreeders in avian populations

Variation in Aggression of Black-throated Blue Warblers Wintering in Jamaica

Influence of Moisture and Food Supply on the Movement Dynamics of a Nonbreeding Migratory Bird (Parkesia noveboracensis) in a Seasonal Landscape

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