How hazardous is the Sahara Desert crossing for migratory birds? Indications from satellite tracking of raptors
We investigated the risk associated with crossing the Sahara Desert for migrating birds by evaluating more than 90 journeys across this desert by four species of raptors (osprey Pandion haliaetus , honey buzzard Pernis apivorus , marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus and Eurasian hobby Falco subbuteo ) r...
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 2024-09-30T14:46:27+00:00 How hazardous is the Sahara Desert crossing for migratory birds? Indications from satellite tracking of raptors Strandberg, Roine Klaassen, Raymond H. G. Hake, Mikael Alerstam, Thomas 2009 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Biology Letters volume 6, issue 3, page 297-300 ISSN 1744-9561 1744-957X journal-article 2009 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 2024-09-09T06:01:21Z We investigated the risk associated with crossing the Sahara Desert for migrating birds by evaluating more than 90 journeys across this desert by four species of raptors (osprey Pandion haliaetus , honey buzzard Pernis apivorus , marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus and Eurasian hobby Falco subbuteo ) recorded by satellite telemetry. Forty per cent of the crossings included events of aberrant behaviours, such as abrupt course changes, slow travel speeds, interruptions, aborted crossings followed by retreats from the desert and failed crossings due to death, indicating difficulties for the migrants. The mortality during the Sahara crossing was 31 per cent per crossing attempt for juveniles (first autumn migration), compared with only 2 per cent for adults (autumn and spring combined). Mortality associated with the Sahara passage made up a substantial fraction (up to about half for juveniles) of the total annual mortality, demonstrating that this passage has a profound influence on survival and fitness of migrants. Aberrant behaviours resulted in late arrival at the breeding grounds and an increased probability of breeding failure (carry-over effects). This study also demonstrates that satellite tracking can be a powerful method to reveal when and where birds are exposed to enhanced risk and mortality during their annual cycles. Article in Journal/Newspaper osprey Pandion haliaetus The Royal Society Biology Letters 6 3 297 300 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
We investigated the risk associated with crossing the Sahara Desert for migrating birds by evaluating more than 90 journeys across this desert by four species of raptors (osprey Pandion haliaetus , honey buzzard Pernis apivorus , marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus and Eurasian hobby Falco subbuteo ) recorded by satellite telemetry. Forty per cent of the crossings included events of aberrant behaviours, such as abrupt course changes, slow travel speeds, interruptions, aborted crossings followed by retreats from the desert and failed crossings due to death, indicating difficulties for the migrants. The mortality during the Sahara crossing was 31 per cent per crossing attempt for juveniles (first autumn migration), compared with only 2 per cent for adults (autumn and spring combined). Mortality associated with the Sahara passage made up a substantial fraction (up to about half for juveniles) of the total annual mortality, demonstrating that this passage has a profound influence on survival and fitness of migrants. Aberrant behaviours resulted in late arrival at the breeding grounds and an increased probability of breeding failure (carry-over effects). This study also demonstrates that satellite tracking can be a powerful method to reveal when and where birds are exposed to enhanced risk and mortality during their annual cycles. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Strandberg, Roine Klaassen, Raymond H. G. Hake, Mikael Alerstam, Thomas |
spellingShingle |
Strandberg, Roine Klaassen, Raymond H. G. Hake, Mikael Alerstam, Thomas How hazardous is the Sahara Desert crossing for migratory birds? Indications from satellite tracking of raptors |
author_facet |
Strandberg, Roine Klaassen, Raymond H. G. Hake, Mikael Alerstam, Thomas |
author_sort |
Strandberg, Roine |
title |
How hazardous is the Sahara Desert crossing for migratory birds? Indications from satellite tracking of raptors |
title_short |
How hazardous is the Sahara Desert crossing for migratory birds? Indications from satellite tracking of raptors |
title_full |
How hazardous is the Sahara Desert crossing for migratory birds? Indications from satellite tracking of raptors |
title_fullStr |
How hazardous is the Sahara Desert crossing for migratory birds? Indications from satellite tracking of raptors |
title_full_unstemmed |
How hazardous is the Sahara Desert crossing for migratory birds? Indications from satellite tracking of raptors |
title_sort |
how hazardous is the sahara desert crossing for migratory birds? indications from satellite tracking of raptors |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 |
genre |
osprey Pandion haliaetus |
genre_facet |
osprey Pandion haliaetus |
op_source |
Biology Letters volume 6, issue 3, page 297-300 ISSN 1744-9561 1744-957X |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 |
container_title |
Biology Letters |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
297 |
op_container_end_page |
300 |
_version_ |
1811646440173207552 |