Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds
Migratory birds make decisions about how far to travel based on cost-benefit trade-offs. However, in many cases the net effect of these trade-offs is unclear. We sought to address this question by measuring feather corticosterone (CORTf), leucocyte profile, avian malaria parasite prevalence and esti...
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ftdeakinunifig:oai:figshare.com:article/20878660 2024-06-23T07:50:52+00:00 Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds Y Aharon-Rotman Kate Buchanan NJ Clark Marcel Klaassen WA Buttemer 2016-10-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30084784 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Why_fly_the_extra_mile_Using_stress_biomarkers_to_assess_wintering_habitat_quality_in_migratory_shorebirds/20878660 unknown http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30084784 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Why_fly_the_extra_mile_Using_stress_biomarkers_to_assess_wintering_habitat_quality_in_migratory_shorebirds/20878660 All Rights Reserved Ecology not elsewhere classified migration waders trade-off avian malaria ruddy turnstone intake-rates 060299 Ecology not elsewhere classified 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences Centre for Integrative Ecology School of Life and Environmental Sciences 3103 Ecology 3109 Zoology Text Journal contribution 2016 ftdeakinunifig 2024-06-06T01:57:32Z Migratory birds make decisions about how far to travel based on cost-benefit trade-offs. However, in many cases the net effect of these trade-offs is unclear. We sought to address this question by measuring feather corticosterone (CORTf), leucocyte profile, avian malaria parasite prevalence and estimating fueling rates in three spatially segregated wintering populations of the migratory shorebird ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres during their stay in the winter habitat. These birds fly from the high-Arctic breeding ground to Australia, but differ in that some decide to end their migration early (Broome, Western Australia), whereas others travel further to either South Australia or Tasmania. We hypothesized that the extra costs in birds migrating greater distances and overwintering in colder climates would be offset by benefits when reaching their destination. This would be evidenced by lower stress biomarkers in populations that travel further, owing to the expected benefits of greater resources and improved vitality. We show that avian malaria prevalence and physiological stress levels were lower in birds flying to South Australia and Tasmania than those overwintering in Broome. Furthermore, our modeling predicts that birds in the southernmost locations enjoy higher fueling rates. Our data are consistent with the interpretation that birds occupying more costly wintering locations in terms of higher migratory flight and thermoregulatory costs are compensated by better feeding conditions and lower blood parasite infections, which facilitates timely and speedy migration back to the breeding ground. These data contribute to our understanding of cost-benefit trade-offs in the decision making underlying migratory behaviour. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arenaria interpres Ruddy Turnstone DRO - Deakin Research Online Arctic Broome ENVELOPE(-61.807,-61.807,-73.600,-73.600) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DRO - Deakin Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftdeakinunifig |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Ecology not elsewhere classified migration waders trade-off avian malaria ruddy turnstone intake-rates 060299 Ecology not elsewhere classified 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences Centre for Integrative Ecology School of Life and Environmental Sciences 3103 Ecology 3109 Zoology |
spellingShingle |
Ecology not elsewhere classified migration waders trade-off avian malaria ruddy turnstone intake-rates 060299 Ecology not elsewhere classified 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences Centre for Integrative Ecology School of Life and Environmental Sciences 3103 Ecology 3109 Zoology Y Aharon-Rotman Kate Buchanan NJ Clark Marcel Klaassen WA Buttemer Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
topic_facet |
Ecology not elsewhere classified migration waders trade-off avian malaria ruddy turnstone intake-rates 060299 Ecology not elsewhere classified 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences Centre for Integrative Ecology School of Life and Environmental Sciences 3103 Ecology 3109 Zoology |
description |
Migratory birds make decisions about how far to travel based on cost-benefit trade-offs. However, in many cases the net effect of these trade-offs is unclear. We sought to address this question by measuring feather corticosterone (CORTf), leucocyte profile, avian malaria parasite prevalence and estimating fueling rates in three spatially segregated wintering populations of the migratory shorebird ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres during their stay in the winter habitat. These birds fly from the high-Arctic breeding ground to Australia, but differ in that some decide to end their migration early (Broome, Western Australia), whereas others travel further to either South Australia or Tasmania. We hypothesized that the extra costs in birds migrating greater distances and overwintering in colder climates would be offset by benefits when reaching their destination. This would be evidenced by lower stress biomarkers in populations that travel further, owing to the expected benefits of greater resources and improved vitality. We show that avian malaria prevalence and physiological stress levels were lower in birds flying to South Australia and Tasmania than those overwintering in Broome. Furthermore, our modeling predicts that birds in the southernmost locations enjoy higher fueling rates. Our data are consistent with the interpretation that birds occupying more costly wintering locations in terms of higher migratory flight and thermoregulatory costs are compensated by better feeding conditions and lower blood parasite infections, which facilitates timely and speedy migration back to the breeding ground. These data contribute to our understanding of cost-benefit trade-offs in the decision making underlying migratory behaviour. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Y Aharon-Rotman Kate Buchanan NJ Clark Marcel Klaassen WA Buttemer |
author_facet |
Y Aharon-Rotman Kate Buchanan NJ Clark Marcel Klaassen WA Buttemer |
author_sort |
Y Aharon-Rotman |
title |
Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
title_short |
Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
title_full |
Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
title_fullStr |
Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
title_full_unstemmed |
Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
title_sort |
why fly the extra mile? using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30084784 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Why_fly_the_extra_mile_Using_stress_biomarkers_to_assess_wintering_habitat_quality_in_migratory_shorebirds/20878660 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-61.807,-61.807,-73.600,-73.600) |
geographic |
Arctic Broome |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Broome |
genre |
Arctic Arenaria interpres Ruddy Turnstone |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arenaria interpres Ruddy Turnstone |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30084784 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Why_fly_the_extra_mile_Using_stress_biomarkers_to_assess_wintering_habitat_quality_in_migratory_shorebirds/20878660 |
op_rights |
All Rights Reserved |
_version_ |
1802641814992191488 |