Data from: Migration triggers in a large herbivore: Galápagos giant tortoises navigating resource gradients on volcanoes

Citation
Bastille-Rousseau G, Yackulic CB, Gibbs J, Frair JL, Cabrera F, Blake S. 2019. Data from: Migration triggers in a large herbivore: Galápagos giant tortoises navigating resource gradients on volcanoes. Movebank Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.6gr485fk
Abstract
To understand how migratory behavior evolved and to predict how migratory species will respond to global environmental change it is important to quantify the fitness consequences of intra- and inter-individual variation in migratory behavior. Intra-individual variation includes behavioral responses to changing environmental conditions and hence behavioral plasticity in the context of novel or variable conditions. Inter-individual variation determines the degree of variation on which selection can act and the rate of evolutionary responses to changes in average and extreme environmental conditions. Here we focus on variation in the partial migratory behavior of giant Galápagos tortoises (Chelonoidis spp.) and its energetic consequences. We evaluate the extent and mechanisms by which tortoises adjust migration timing in response to varying annual environmental conditions, and integrate movement data within a bioenergetic model of tortoise migration to quantify the fitness consequences of migration timing. We find strong inter-individual variation in the timing of migration, which was not affected by environmental conditions prevailing at the time of migration but rather by average expectations estimated from multi-annual averaged conditions. This variation is associated with an average annual loss in efficiency of ~15% relative to optimal timing based on year-specific conditions. These results point towards a limited ability of tortoises to adjust the timing of their migrations based on prevailing (and, by extension, future) conditions, suggesting that the adaptability of tortoise migratory behavior to changing conditions is predicated more by past “normal” conditions than responses to prevailing, changing conditions. Our work offers insights into the level of environmental-tuning in migratory behavior and a general framework for future research across taxa.
Keywords
Chelonoidis donfaustoi,Chelonoidis hoodensis,Chelonoidis porteri,animal movement,animal tracking,Chelonoidis donfaustoi,Chelonoidis hoodensis,Chelonoidis porteri,Chelonoidis vandenburghi,ectotherm,Galapagos,giant tortoise,plasticity
Taxa
Taxon
Chelonoidis donfaustoi
Eastern Santa Cruz Tortoise
Taxon
Chelonoidis hoodensis
Espanola Giant Tortoise, Hood Island Giant Tortoise
Taxon
Chelonoidis porteri
Indefatigable Island Giant Tortoise, Santa Cruz Giant Tortoise, Western Santa Cruz Tortoise
Sensors
Sensor
GPS
Related Workflows
DOIs of related Publications
BibTex
@misc{001/1_6gr485fk,
  title = {Data from: Migration triggers in a large herbivore: Galápagos giant tortoises navigating resource gradients on volcanoes},
  author = {Bastille-Rousseau, G and Yackulic, CB and Gibbs, J and Frair, JL and Cabrera, F and Blake, S},
  year = {2019},
  URL = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.6gr485fk},
  doi = {doi:10.5441/001/1.6gr485fk},
  publisher = {Movebank data repository}
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
ID  - doi:10.5441/001/1.6gr485fk
T1  - Data from: Migration triggers in a large herbivore: Galápagos giant tortoises navigating resource gradients on volcanoes
AU  - Bastille-Rousseau, Guillaume
AU  - Yackulic, Charles B.
AU  - Gibbs, James
AU  - Frair, Jacqueline L.
AU  - Cabrera, Freddy
AU  - Blake, Stephen
Y1  - 2019/03/08
KW  - Chelonoidis donfaustoi
KW  - adaptation
KW  - Chelonoidis hoodensis
KW  - Chelonoidis porteri
KW  - animal movement
KW  - animal tracking
KW  - Chelonoidis donfaustoi
KW  - Chelonoidis hoodensis
KW  - Chelonoidis porteri
KW  - Chelonoidis vandenburghi
KW  - ectotherm
KW  - Galapagos
KW  - giant tortoise
KW  - plasticity
KW  - Chelonoidis donfaustoi
KW  - Chelonoidis hoodensis
KW  - Chelonoidis porteri
PB  - Movebank data repository
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.6gr485fk
DO  - doi:10.5441/001/1.6gr485fk
ER  -
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