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) reco...
Published in: | Biology Letters |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Royal Society Publishing
2010
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Online Access: | https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1524090 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 |
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ftulundlup:oai:lup.lub.lu.se:e14b9a35-ffdf-4335-8803-07b763aa7a9f 2023-05-15T18:50:56+02:00 How hazardous is the Sahara Desert crossing for migratory birds? Indications from satellite tracking of raptors. Strandberg, Roine Klaassen, Raymond Hake, Mikael Alerstam, Thomas 2010 https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1524090 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 eng eng Royal Society Publishing https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1524090 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 wos:000277559000004 scopus:77953339945 pmid:19955169 Biology letters; 6, pp 297-300 (2010) ISSN: 1744-9561 Biological Sciences contributiontojournal/article info:eu-repo/semantics/article text 2010 ftulundlup https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 2023-02-01T23:28:36Z 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 Lund University Publications (LUP) Biology Letters 6 3 297 300 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Lund University Publications (LUP) |
op_collection_id |
ftulundlup |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Biological Sciences Strandberg, Roine Klaassen, Raymond Hake, Mikael Alerstam, Thomas How hazardous is the Sahara Desert crossing for migratory birds? Indications from satellite tracking of raptors. |
topic_facet |
Biological Sciences |
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 Hake, Mikael Alerstam, Thomas |
author_facet |
Strandberg, Roine Klaassen, Raymond 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 |
Royal Society Publishing |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1524090 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 |
genre |
osprey Pandion haliaetus |
genre_facet |
osprey Pandion haliaetus |
op_source |
Biology letters; 6, pp 297-300 (2010) ISSN: 1744-9561 |
op_relation |
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1524090 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0785 wos:000277559000004 scopus:77953339945 pmid:19955169 |
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_ |
1766244707088728064 |