Tracking Animal Migration with Stable Isotopes (eBook)

Front Cover 1
The Migration Ecology of Birds 4
Copyright Page 5
Contents 6
Preface 8
Chapter 1 Introduction 10
TYPES OF BIRD MOVEMENTS 11
ADAPTATIONS FOR MIGRATION 14
THE DIVERSITY OF MIGRATION 16
SEDENTARY POPULATIONS 25
HIBERNATION 26
SUMMARY 26
Chapter 2 Methodology 28
OBSERVATIONS OF BIRDS ON MIGRATION 29
RADAR AND OTHER DEVICES 31
DISTRIBUTION STUDIES 34
RINGING 34
RADIO-TRACKING 39
ISOTOPES AND OTHER MARKERS 41
CONNECTIVITY 44
STOPOVER ECOLOGY 44
LABORATORY RESEARCH ON PHYSIOLOGY, MIGRATORY RESTLESSNESS AND DIRECTIONAL PREFERENCES 45
BREEDING PROGRAMMES 47
MATHEMATICAL MODELS 48
CONCLUDING REMARKS 49
SUMMARY 50
PART ONE: THE MIGRATORY PROCESS 52
Chapter 3 Migratory flight 54
BODY WEIGHT, SPEED AND FLIGHT MODE 55
FLAPPING AND SOARING FLIGHT 65
THE CONCEPT OF ENERGY HEIGHT 70
CONCLUSIONS ON THE ROLE OF BODY SIZE IN BIRD MIGRATION 70
THE NEED FOR REST 71
MIGRATION BY WALKING OR SWIMMING 73
CONCLUDING REMARKS 74
SUMMARY 74
Chapter 4 Weather effects and other aspects 76
MIGRATION AND WEATHER 77
ALTITUDE OF MIGRATION 87
DIURNAL AND NOCTURNAL FLIGHT 94
SOCIAL FACTORS 98
REVERSE MIGRATION 101
SUMMARY 102
Chapter 5 Fuelling the flights 104
ENERGY NEEDS AND BODY COMPOSITION 105
MIGRATION MODE 114
MECHANISMS OF FUEL DEPOSITION 121
DAILY RATES OF WEIGHT GAIN 126
EXAMPLES OF CHANGES IN BODY COMPOSITION 127
FAT CHICKS 139
CONCLUDING REMARKS 141
SUMMARY 142
APPENDIX 5.1 CALCULATION OF FLIGHT RANGES 143
Chapter 6 Incredible journeys 148
SEA-CROSSINGS 149
DESERT CROSSINGS 154
HIGH MOUNTAINS 165
OTHER BARRIERS 168
CONCLUDING REMARKS 168
SUMMARY 169
POSTSCRIPT 170
Chapter 7 Raptors and other soaring birds 172
USE OF THERMALS AND OTHER UPDRAFTS 184
EXTENSION OF MIGRATION AS A CONSEQUENCE OF SOARING 191
SOCIAL FACTORS 191
COUNTS IN ISRAEL 192
NUMBERS ENTERING AFRICA 196
MIGRATION AT OTHER SITES 197
ENERGY RESERVES 198
SUMMARY 200
Chapter 8 Speed and duration of journeys 202
THEORETICAL BASIS 204
EMPIRICAL ESTIMATES 208
PROPORTION OF MIGRATION SPENT IN FLIGHT 231
APPARENT NON-STOP SEA-CROSSINGS 236
PENGUINS 237
MIGRATION WITHIN THE ANNUAL CYCLE 237
CONCLUDING REMARKS 238
SUMMARY 239
Chapter 9 Finding the way 240
COMPASS ORIENTATION AND BI-COORDINATE NAVIGATION 242
CUES USED IN DIRECTION FINDING 250
SOCIAL FACTORS 266
LOXODROMES AND ORTHODROMES 268
CONCLUDING REMARKS 272
SUMMARY 273
Chapter 10 Vagrancy 276
PROBABILITY OF ARRIVAL 280
LONG-DISTANCE DISPERSAL 282
EFFECT OF POPULATION SIZE 283
DRIFT BY WIND 284
OVERSHOOTING 290
DEVIANT DIRECTIONAL TENDENCIES 293
MIRROR-IMAGE MIGRATION 294
REVERSED-DIRECTION MIGRATION 295
NEW ROUTES AND RANGE EXPANSION 299
HUMAN-ASSISTED VAGRANCY 303
EVIDENCE FROM RINGING 304
CONCLUDING REMARKS 304
SUMMARY 307
PART TWO: THE TIMING AND CONTROL OF MIGRATION 310
Chapter 11 Annual cycles 312
VARIATIONS IN ANNUAL CYCLES 313
INTERNAL TIME KEEPING 324
FLEXIBLE CYCLES 336
CONCLUDING REMARKS 337
SUMMARY 339
Chapter 12 Control mechanisms 342
OBLIGATE AND FACULTATIVE MODES 343
MIGRATION TIMING, DISTANCES AND DIRECTIONS 346
AUTUMN MIGRATION 356
SPRING MIGRATION 361
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPRING ARRIVAL, BREEDING AND AUTUMN DEPARTURE 368
DEFERRED RETURN TO BREEDING AREAS 369
HORMONAL ISSUES 370
CONCLUDING REMARKS 372
SUMMARY 373
PART THREE: LARGE-SCALE MOVEMENT PATTERNS 376
Chapter 13 Geographical patterns 378
LATITUDINAL TRENDS 379
MIGRATION AND DIET 384
LATITUDINAL SHIFTS 386
ALTITUDINAL MIGRATION 388
COMPARISONS BETWEEN HEMISPHERES 389
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BREEDING AND WINTERING AREAS 391
MIGRATION WITHIN THE SOUTHERN CONTINENTS 398
CONCLUDING REMARKS 403
SUMMARY 405
Chapter 14 Seasonal occupation of breeding areas 408
LATITUDINAL TREND IN THE TIMING OF SPRING 411
RECOLONISATION PATTERNS 415
RE-OCCUPATION OF LOCAL BREEDING AREAS 421
POST-BREEDING RETREAT 429
CONCLUDING REMARKS 432
SUMMARY 432
Chapter 15 Sex and age differences in migration 434
MIGRATORY TIMING AND BREEDING ROLES 435
MIGRATORY DISTANCE, BODY SIZE AND DOMINANCE 447
MIGRATION AND DEFERRED BREEDING 454
SPECIES SUMMERING IN 'WINTERING' AREAS 455
LOCAL DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS 460
OTHER DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SEX AND AGE GROUPS 461
GENETIC CONTROL OF SEX AND AGE DIFFERENCES 463
CONCLUDING REMARKS 463
SUMMARY 464
Chapter 16 Variations on a migratory theme 466
MOULT MIGRATIONS 466
MOVEMENTS WITHIN THE BREEDING SEASON 472
MOVEMENTS WITHIN THE NON-BREEDING SEASON 475
NOMADISM 480
CONCLUDING REMARKS 486
SUMMARY 487
Chapter 17 Site-fidelity and dispersal 488
NATAL DISPERSAL 491
BREEDING DISPERSAL 498
LONG-DISTANCE DISPERSERS 509
NON-BREEDING DISPERSAL 510
FIDELITY TO STOPOVER SITES 517
POST-FLEDGING DISPERSAL 520
DISPERSIVE MIGRATION 522
SITE ATTACHMENT 527
OTHER ASPECTS OF DISPERSAL 529
SUMMARY 530
Chapter 18 Irruptive migrations: boreal seed-eaters 532
SEED CROPS 533
THE IRRUPTIVE SEED-EATERS AND FRUIT-EATERS 535
TWICE-YEARLY MIGRANTS 535
ONCE-YEARLY MIGRANTS 555
OVERVIEW OF SEED-EATERS 566
CONCLUDING REMARKS 568
SUMMARY 570
Chapter 19 Irruptive migrations: owls, raptors and waterfowl 572
OWLS AND OTHER PREDATORS 573
WATERFOWL AND OTHERS 590
CONCLUDING REMARKS 594
SUMMARY 595
PART FOUR: EVOLUTION OF MOVEMENT PATTERNS 596
Chapter 20 Evolutionary aspects 598
ADAPTATIONS FOR MIGRATION 600
ADAPTIVE TIMING 605
PARTIAL MIGRATION 606
THE GENETICAL CONTROL OF MIGRATION: EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE 608
CONCLUDING REMARKS 620
SUMMARY 622
APPENDIX 20.1 PITFALLS IN MEASURES OF THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF MIGRATION 623
Chapter 21 Recent changes in bird migrations 626
MIGRATORY TO SEDENTARY 627
SEDENTARY TO MIGRATORY 633
SHORTENING OF MIGRATION ROUTES 633
LENGTHENING OF MIGRATION ROUTES 635
CHANGES IN MIGRATORY DIRECTIONS 635
MIGRATION TIMING 636
BREEDING IN WINTERING RANGE 642
DISCUSSION 642
SUMMARY 646
Chapter 22 Biogeographical legacies 648
INDIRECT ROUTES TO DISTANT WINTERING AREAS 649
EVOLUTION OF BARRIER CROSSING 658
LOOP MIGRATIONS 663
MIGRATORY DIVIDES 665
MIGRATION DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS HIGHER OR LOWER LATITUDES 669
DEVELOPMENT OF MIGRATION PATTERNS 678
CONCLUDING REMARKS 680
SUMMARY 682
Chapter 23 Distribution patterns 684
NON-BREEDING DISTRIBUTION IN CLOSELY RELATED SPECIES 685
NON-BREEDING DISTRIBUTION IN DIFFERENT POPULATIONS OF THE SAME SPECIES 688
EVOLUTION OF ALLOHEIMY 698
NON-BREEDING DISTRIBUTIONS IN AGE AND SEX GROUPS OF THE SAME POPULATION 701
ALTERNATIVE MODELS: TIME AND ENERGY CONSIDERATIONS 702
SUMMARY 705
PART FIVE: MIGRATION SYSTEMS AND POPULATION LIMITATION 706
Chapter 24 The Palaearctic–Afrotropical migration system 708
THE BIRDS INVOLVED 709
THE AFRICAN WINTERING AREAS 711
MOVEMENTS WITHIN AFRICA 716
ECOLOGY OF MIGRANTS IN AFRICA 720
EFFECTS OF DROUGHTS ON MIGRANT NUMBERS 725
OTHER POSSIBLE FACTORS IN POPULATION DECLINES 731
THE ASIAN–AUSTRALASIAN MIGRATION SYSTEM 734
SUMMARY 735
Chapter 25 The Nearctic–Neotropical migration system 738
THE BIRDS AND THEIR WINTERING AREAS 739
POPULATION DECLINES IN MIGRANTS 743
CONCLUDING REMARKS 756
SUMMARY 758
Chapter 26 Population limitation – breeding and wintering areas 760
SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES 763
EXAMPLES OF SPECIES AFFECTED BY EVENTS IN BREEDING OR WINTERING AREAS 768
CAUSES OF POPULATION DECLINES 781
OTHER ASPECTS 782
CONCLUDING REMARKS 783
SUMMARY 784
Chapter 27 Population limitation – conditions on stopover 786
CONCEPTUAL MODELS 787
FOOD LIMITATION AT STOPOVER SITES 789
BODY CONDITION AND SUBSEQUENT PERFORMANCE 796
INFLUENCE OF PREDATION, DISTURBANCE AND PARASITISM 800
EFFECTS OF STOPOVER EVENTS ON POPULATIONS 805
RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF MIGRATION-RELATED MORTALITY 806
CONCLUDING REMARKS 807
SUMMARY 810
APPENDIX 27.1 811
Chapter 28 Mass mortality of migrants 814
WEATHER AND IN-FLIGHT MORTALITY 815
UNSEASONABLE COLD SOON AFTER ARRIVAL IN BREEDING AREAS 821
UNSEASONABLE COLD BEFORE DEPARTURE FROM BREEDING AREAS 824
HUMAN-INDUCED LOSSES 825
DISCUSSION 826
SUMMARY 829
Glossary 832
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References 846
Index 958
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