TY - JOUR

T1 - Remarkably similar migration patterns between different red-backed shrike populations suggest that migration rather than breeding area phenology determines the annual cycle

AU - Pedersen, Lykke

AU - Onrubia, Alejandro

AU - Vardanis, Yannis

AU - Barboutis, Christos

AU - Waasdorp, Stef

AU - van Helvert, Monique

AU - Geertsma, Marten

AU - Ekberg, Per

AU - Willemoes, Mikkel

AU - Strandberg, Roine

AU - Matsyna, Ekaterina

AU - Matsyna, Alexander

AU - Klaassen, Raymond H.G.

AU - Alerstam, Thomas

AU - Thorup, Kasper

AU - Tøttrup, Anders P.

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - The regular fluctuation of resources across the Globe guides movements of migratory animals. To ensure sufficient reproductive output and maintain viable population sizes, migratory animals should match arrival at breeding areas with local peaks in resource availability. It is generally assumed that breeding phenology dictates the timing of the annual cycle, but this is poorly studied. Here, we use light-level geolocator tracking data to compare the annual spatiotemporal migration patterns of a long-distance migratory songbird, the red-backed shrike, Lanius collurio, breeding at widely different latitudes within Europe. We find that populations use remarkably similar migration routes and are highly synchronized in time. Additional tracks from populations breeding at the edges of the European range support these similar migration patterns. When comparing timing of breeding and vegetation phenology, as a measure of resource availability across populations, we find that arrival and timing of breeding corresponds to the peak in vegetation greenness at northern latitudes. At lower latitudes birds arrive simultaneously with the more northerly breeding populations, but after the local greenness peak, suggesting that breeding area phenology does not determine the migratory schedule. Rather, timing of migration in red-backed shrikes may be constrained by events in other parts of the annual cycle.

AB - The regular fluctuation of resources across the Globe guides movements of migratory animals. To ensure sufficient reproductive output and maintain viable population sizes, migratory animals should match arrival at breeding areas with local peaks in resource availability. It is generally assumed that breeding phenology dictates the timing of the annual cycle, but this is poorly studied. Here, we use light-level geolocator tracking data to compare the annual spatiotemporal migration patterns of a long-distance migratory songbird, the red-backed shrike, Lanius collurio, breeding at widely different latitudes within Europe. We find that populations use remarkably similar migration routes and are highly synchronized in time. Additional tracks from populations breeding at the edges of the European range support these similar migration patterns. When comparing timing of breeding and vegetation phenology, as a measure of resource availability across populations, we find that arrival and timing of breeding corresponds to the peak in vegetation greenness at northern latitudes. At lower latitudes birds arrive simultaneously with the more northerly breeding populations, but after the local greenness peak, suggesting that breeding area phenology does not determine the migratory schedule. Rather, timing of migration in red-backed shrikes may be constrained by events in other parts of the annual cycle.

KW - geolocator

KW - migration

KW - population

KW - resources

KW - songbird

KW - timing

U2 - 10.1111/jav.02475

DO - 10.1111/jav.02475

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85094156830

VL - 51

JO - Journal of Avian Biology

JF - Journal of Avian Biology

SN - 0908-8857

IS - 10

M1 - JAV12719

ER -