A polar system of intercontinental bird migration
Studies of birdmigration in the Beringia region of Alaska and eastern Siberia are of special interest for revealing the importance of bird migration between Eurasia and North America, for evaluating orientation principles used by the birds at polar latitudes and for understanding the evolutionary im...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Royal Society Publishing
2007
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Online Access: | https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/656956 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2007.0633 |
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ftulundlup:oai:lup.lub.lu.se:31a5a2e3-b81a-41df-9812-cf22535c0caf 2023-05-15T14:29:34+02:00 A polar system of intercontinental bird migration Alerstam, Thomas Bäckman, Johan Gudmundsson, Gudmundur A. Hedenström, Anders Henningsson, Sara Karlsson, Håkan Rosén, Mikael Strandberg, Roine 2007 https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/656956 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2007.0633 eng eng Royal Society Publishing https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/656956 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2007.0633 wos:000249421700003 scopus:34848927901 pmid:17686732 Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences; 274(1625), pp 2523-2530 (2007) ISSN: 1471-2954 Biological Sciences bird migration migratory connectivity Arctic Ocean Arctic birds great circle orientation contributiontojournal/article info:eu-repo/semantics/article text 2007 ftulundlup https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2007.0633 2023-02-01T23:27:43Z Studies of birdmigration in the Beringia region of Alaska and eastern Siberia are of special interest for revealing the importance of bird migration between Eurasia and North America, for evaluating orientation principles used by the birds at polar latitudes and for understanding the evolutionary implications of intercontinental migratory connectivity among birds as well as their parasites. We used tracking radar placed onboard the ice-breaker Oden to register bird migratory flights from 30 July to 19 August 2005 and we encountered extensive birdmigration in the whole Beringia range from latitude 64 degrees N in Bering Strait up to latitude 75 degrees N far north of Wrangel Island, with eastward flights making up 79% of all track directions. The results from Beringia were used in combination with radar studies from the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia and in the Beaufort Sea to make a reconstruction of a major Siberian-American birdmigration system in a wide Arctic sector between longitudes 1108 E and 130 degrees W, spanning one-third of the entire circumpolar circle. This system was estimated to involve more than 2 million birds, mainly shorebirds, terns and skuas, flying across the Arctic Ocean at mean altitudes exceeding 1 km (maximum altitudes 3-5 km). Great circle orientation provided a significantly better fit with observed flight directions at 20 different sites and areas than constant geographical compass orientation. The long flights over the sea spanned 40-80 degrees of longitude, corresponding to distances and durations of 1400-2600 km and 26-48 hours, respectively. The birds continued from this eastward migration system over the Arctic Ocean into several different flyway systems at the American continents and the Pacific Ocean. Minimization of distances between tundra breeding sectors and northerly stopover sites, in combination with the Beringia glacial refugium and colonization history, seemed to be important for the evolution of this major polar bird migration system. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic birds Arctic Arctic Ocean Beaufort Sea Bering Strait Tundra Wrangel Island Alaska Beringia Siberia Lund University Publications (LUP) Arctic Arctic Ocean Bering Strait Pacific Breaker ENVELOPE(-67.257,-67.257,-67.874,-67.874) Wrangel Island ENVELOPE(-179.385,-179.385,71.244,71.244) Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 274 1625 2523 2530 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Lund University Publications (LUP) |
op_collection_id |
ftulundlup |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Sciences bird migration migratory connectivity Arctic Ocean Arctic birds great circle orientation |
spellingShingle |
Biological Sciences bird migration migratory connectivity Arctic Ocean Arctic birds great circle orientation Alerstam, Thomas Bäckman, Johan Gudmundsson, Gudmundur A. Hedenström, Anders Henningsson, Sara Karlsson, Håkan Rosén, Mikael Strandberg, Roine A polar system of intercontinental bird migration |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences bird migration migratory connectivity Arctic Ocean Arctic birds great circle orientation |
description |
Studies of birdmigration in the Beringia region of Alaska and eastern Siberia are of special interest for revealing the importance of bird migration between Eurasia and North America, for evaluating orientation principles used by the birds at polar latitudes and for understanding the evolutionary implications of intercontinental migratory connectivity among birds as well as their parasites. We used tracking radar placed onboard the ice-breaker Oden to register bird migratory flights from 30 July to 19 August 2005 and we encountered extensive birdmigration in the whole Beringia range from latitude 64 degrees N in Bering Strait up to latitude 75 degrees N far north of Wrangel Island, with eastward flights making up 79% of all track directions. The results from Beringia were used in combination with radar studies from the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia and in the Beaufort Sea to make a reconstruction of a major Siberian-American birdmigration system in a wide Arctic sector between longitudes 1108 E and 130 degrees W, spanning one-third of the entire circumpolar circle. This system was estimated to involve more than 2 million birds, mainly shorebirds, terns and skuas, flying across the Arctic Ocean at mean altitudes exceeding 1 km (maximum altitudes 3-5 km). Great circle orientation provided a significantly better fit with observed flight directions at 20 different sites and areas than constant geographical compass orientation. The long flights over the sea spanned 40-80 degrees of longitude, corresponding to distances and durations of 1400-2600 km and 26-48 hours, respectively. The birds continued from this eastward migration system over the Arctic Ocean into several different flyway systems at the American continents and the Pacific Ocean. Minimization of distances between tundra breeding sectors and northerly stopover sites, in combination with the Beringia glacial refugium and colonization history, seemed to be important for the evolution of this major polar bird migration system. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Alerstam, Thomas Bäckman, Johan Gudmundsson, Gudmundur A. Hedenström, Anders Henningsson, Sara Karlsson, Håkan Rosén, Mikael Strandberg, Roine |
author_facet |
Alerstam, Thomas Bäckman, Johan Gudmundsson, Gudmundur A. Hedenström, Anders Henningsson, Sara Karlsson, Håkan Rosén, Mikael Strandberg, Roine |
author_sort |
Alerstam, Thomas |
title |
A polar system of intercontinental bird migration |
title_short |
A polar system of intercontinental bird migration |
title_full |
A polar system of intercontinental bird migration |
title_fullStr |
A polar system of intercontinental bird migration |
title_full_unstemmed |
A polar system of intercontinental bird migration |
title_sort |
polar system of intercontinental bird migration |
publisher |
Royal Society Publishing |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/656956 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2007.0633 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-67.257,-67.257,-67.874,-67.874) ENVELOPE(-179.385,-179.385,71.244,71.244) |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Bering Strait Pacific Breaker Wrangel Island |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Bering Strait Pacific Breaker Wrangel Island |
genre |
Arctic birds Arctic Arctic Ocean Beaufort Sea Bering Strait Tundra Wrangel Island Alaska Beringia Siberia |
genre_facet |
Arctic birds Arctic Arctic Ocean Beaufort Sea Bering Strait Tundra Wrangel Island Alaska Beringia Siberia |
op_source |
Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences; 274(1625), pp 2523-2530 (2007) ISSN: 1471-2954 |
op_relation |
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/656956 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2007.0633 wos:000249421700003 scopus:34848927901 pmid:17686732 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2007.0633 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
274 |
container_issue |
1625 |
container_start_page |
2523 |
op_container_end_page |
2530 |
_version_ |
1766303536493101056 |