Data from: Towards a new understanding of migration timing: slower spring than autumn migration in geese reflects different decision rules for stopover use and departure ...

• Main Authors: Kölzsch, Andrea, Kruckenberg, Helmut, Glazov, Peter, Müskens, Gerhard J.D.M., Wikelski, Martin
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Movebank Data Repository 2016
• Subjects: animal movement; animal tracking; Anser albifrons; Argos; avian migration; Env-DATA; GSM telemetry; Movebank; satellite telemetry; white-fronted geese; Arctic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.31c2v92f; https://www.datarepository.movebank.org/handle/10255/move.519

Kölzsch A, Müskens GJDM, Kruckenberg H, Glazov P, Weinzierl R, Nolet BA, Wikelski M (2016) Towards a new understanding of migration timing: slower spring than autumn migration in geese reflects different decision rules for stopover use and departure. Oikos. doi:10.1111/oik.03121 ... : According to migration theory and several empirical studies, long-distance migrants are more time-limited during spring migration and should therefore migrate faster in spring than in autumn. Competition for the best breeding sites is supposed to be the main driver, but timing of migration is often also influenced by environmental factors such as food availability and wind conditions. Using GPS tags, we tracked 65 greater white-fronted geese Anser albifrons migrating between western Europe and the Russian Arctic during spring and autumn migration over six different years. Contrary to theory, our birds took considerably longer for spring migration (83 days) than autumn migration (42 days). This difference in duration was mainly determined by time spent at stopovers. Timing and space use during migration suggest that the birds were using different strategies in the two seasons: In spring they spread out in a wide front to acquire extra energy stores in many successive stopover sites (to fuel capital breeding), ...