Data from: Geolocators reveal variation and sex-specific differences in the migratory strategies of a long-distance migrant

Bell F, Bearhop S, Briedis M, El Harouchi M, Bell SC, Castello J, Burgess MD. 2021. Data from: Geolocators reveal variation and sex-specific differences in the migratory strategies of a long-distance migrant. Movebank Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.1732qn7j

Abstract

Songbird populations are in decline all over the world, and our understanding of the causal mechanisms remains surprisingly limited. It is important to identify the extent of individual variations in migratory behaviour to better understand species' ability to respond to environmental change. We describe the annual migratory behaviour of British breeding European Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca by using light-recording geolocators. During both autumn and spring migrations, individuals used previously unknown staging areas on the Iberian Peninsula and northern West Africa. Furthermore, partial sex-specific segregation in the location of non-breeding areas was observed within West Africa, with females located west of males. We also found sex-based phenological differences, with females staying longer in non-breeding areas and undertaking the spring Sahara Desert crossing later than males. Irrespective of sex, multiple use of the two predominant staging regions was identified during both migrations, with 63% of individuals stopping more than once in these regions. We also identified instances of migratory behaviours rarely documented in individually tracked songbirds. These include making daytime landfall during the Sahara crossing, and a case of a temporary retreat migration, with an individual aborting a spring Sahara crossing before making a second successful crossing 14 days later. Together, our results show variability in migratory behaviour both between sexes and between individuals. For Pied Flycatchers, such flexible migratory behaviour may increase their resilience to environmental change.

Keywords

Ficedula hypoleuca,animal movement,animal behavior,avian migration,European pied flycatcher,Ficedula hypoleuca,geolocator,light-level logger,retreat migration,stopover behavior

Taxa

Taxon

Ficedula hypoleuca

European Pied Flycatcher

Sensors

Sensor

Solar Geolocator

DOIs of related Publications

https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.13017

URI

https://datarepository.movebank.org/handle/10255/move.1371

BibTex

@misc{001/1_1732qn7j,
  title = {Data from: Geolocators reveal variation and sex-specific differences in the migratory strategies of a long-distance migrant},
  author = {Bell, F and Bearhop, S and Briedis, M and El, Harouchi, M and Bell, SC and Castello, J and Burgess, MD},
  year = {2021},
  URL = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.1732qn7j},
  doi = {doi:10.5441/001/1.1732qn7j},
  publisher = {Movebank data repository}
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
ID  - doi:10.5441/001/1.1732qn7j
T1  - Data from: Geolocators reveal variation and sex-specific differences in the migratory strategies of a long-distance migrant
AU  - Bell, Fraser
AU  - Bearhop, Stuart
AU  - Briedis, Martins
AU  - El Harouchi, Myriam
AU  - Bell, Sophie C.
AU  - Castello, Joan
AU  - Burgess, Malcolm D.
Y1  - 2021/12/29
KW  - Ficedula hypoleuca
KW  - Afro-Palearctic Flyway
KW  - animal movement
KW  - animal behavior
KW  - avian migration
KW  - European pied flycatcher
KW  - Ficedula hypoleuca
KW  - geolocator
KW  - light-level logger
KW  - retreat migration
KW  - stopover behavior
KW  - Ficedula hypoleuca
PB  - Movebank data repository
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.1732qn7j
DO  - doi:10.5441/001/1.1732qn7j
ER  -

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