Young Birds Switch but Old Birds Lead: How Barnacle Geese Adjust Migratory Habits to Environmental Change
Long-distance migratory animals must contend with global climate change, but they differ greatly in whether and how they adjust. Species that socially learn their migration routes may have an advantage in this process compared to other species, as learned changes that are passed on to the next gener...
Published in: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00502 https://doaj.org/article/548af3d956b3474c90d920de0bf42db7 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:548af3d956b3474c90d920de0bf42db7 2023-05-15T15:46:27+02:00 Young Birds Switch but Old Birds Lead: How Barnacle Geese Adjust Migratory Habits to Environmental Change Thomas Oudman Kevin Laland Graeme Ruxton Ingunn Tombre Paul Shimmings Jouke Prop 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00502 https://doaj.org/article/548af3d956b3474c90d920de0bf42db7 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2019.00502/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-701X 2296-701X doi:10.3389/fevo.2019.00502 https://doaj.org/article/548af3d956b3474c90d920de0bf42db7 Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 7 (2020) Branta leucopsis climate change decision-making explorative behavior group decision memory Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00502 2022-12-31T09:48:48Z Long-distance migratory animals must contend with global climate change, but they differ greatly in whether and how they adjust. Species that socially learn their migration routes may have an advantage in this process compared to other species, as learned changes that are passed on to the next generation can speed up adjustment. However, evidence from the wild that social learning helps migrants adjust to environmental change is absent. Here, we study the behavioral processes by which barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) adjust spring-staging site choice along the Norwegian coast, which appears to be a response to climate change and population growth. We compared individual-based models to an empirical description of geese colonizing a new staging site in the 1990s. The data included 43 years of estimated annual food conditions and goose numbers at both staging sites (1975–2017), as well as annual age-dependent switching events between the two staging sites from one year to the next (2000–2017). Using Approximate Bayesian Computation, we assessed the relative likelihood of models with different “decision rules”, which define how individuals choose a staging site. In the best performing model, individuals traveled in groups and staging site choice was made by the oldest group member. Groups normally returned to the same staging site each year, but exhibited a higher probability of switching staging site in years with larger numbers of geese at the staging site. The decision did not depend on food availability in the current year. Switching rates between staging sites decreased with age, which was best explained by a higher probability of switching between groups by younger geese, and not by young geese being more responsive to current conditions. We found no evidence that the experienced foraging conditions in previous years affected staging site choice. Our findings demonstrate that copying behavior and density-dependent group decisions explain how geese adjust their migratory habits rapidly in response to changes ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Branta leucopsis Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 7 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Branta leucopsis climate change decision-making explorative behavior group decision memory Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Branta leucopsis climate change decision-making explorative behavior group decision memory Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 Thomas Oudman Kevin Laland Graeme Ruxton Ingunn Tombre Paul Shimmings Jouke Prop Young Birds Switch but Old Birds Lead: How Barnacle Geese Adjust Migratory Habits to Environmental Change |
topic_facet |
Branta leucopsis climate change decision-making explorative behavior group decision memory Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Long-distance migratory animals must contend with global climate change, but they differ greatly in whether and how they adjust. Species that socially learn their migration routes may have an advantage in this process compared to other species, as learned changes that are passed on to the next generation can speed up adjustment. However, evidence from the wild that social learning helps migrants adjust to environmental change is absent. Here, we study the behavioral processes by which barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) adjust spring-staging site choice along the Norwegian coast, which appears to be a response to climate change and population growth. We compared individual-based models to an empirical description of geese colonizing a new staging site in the 1990s. The data included 43 years of estimated annual food conditions and goose numbers at both staging sites (1975–2017), as well as annual age-dependent switching events between the two staging sites from one year to the next (2000–2017). Using Approximate Bayesian Computation, we assessed the relative likelihood of models with different “decision rules”, which define how individuals choose a staging site. In the best performing model, individuals traveled in groups and staging site choice was made by the oldest group member. Groups normally returned to the same staging site each year, but exhibited a higher probability of switching staging site in years with larger numbers of geese at the staging site. The decision did not depend on food availability in the current year. Switching rates between staging sites decreased with age, which was best explained by a higher probability of switching between groups by younger geese, and not by young geese being more responsive to current conditions. We found no evidence that the experienced foraging conditions in previous years affected staging site choice. Our findings demonstrate that copying behavior and density-dependent group decisions explain how geese adjust their migratory habits rapidly in response to changes ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thomas Oudman Kevin Laland Graeme Ruxton Ingunn Tombre Paul Shimmings Jouke Prop |
author_facet |
Thomas Oudman Kevin Laland Graeme Ruxton Ingunn Tombre Paul Shimmings Jouke Prop |
author_sort |
Thomas Oudman |
title |
Young Birds Switch but Old Birds Lead: How Barnacle Geese Adjust Migratory Habits to Environmental Change |
title_short |
Young Birds Switch but Old Birds Lead: How Barnacle Geese Adjust Migratory Habits to Environmental Change |
title_full |
Young Birds Switch but Old Birds Lead: How Barnacle Geese Adjust Migratory Habits to Environmental Change |
title_fullStr |
Young Birds Switch but Old Birds Lead: How Barnacle Geese Adjust Migratory Habits to Environmental Change |
title_full_unstemmed |
Young Birds Switch but Old Birds Lead: How Barnacle Geese Adjust Migratory Habits to Environmental Change |
title_sort |
young birds switch but old birds lead: how barnacle geese adjust migratory habits to environmental change |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00502 https://doaj.org/article/548af3d956b3474c90d920de0bf42db7 |
genre |
Branta leucopsis |
genre_facet |
Branta leucopsis |
op_source |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 7 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2019.00502/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-701X 2296-701X doi:10.3389/fevo.2019.00502 https://doaj.org/article/548af3d956b3474c90d920de0bf42db7 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00502 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
7 |
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1766381139669286912 |