High-resolution GPS tracking reveals sex differences in migratory behaviour and stopover habitat use in the lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus
Sex-, size-or age-dependent variation in migration strategies in birds is generally expected to reflect differences in competitive abilities. Theoretical and empirical studies thereby focus on differences in wintering areas, by which individuals may benefit from avoiding food competition during wint...
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ftunivgent:oai:archive.ugent.be:8557786 2023-06-11T04:13:50+02:00 High-resolution GPS tracking reveals sex differences in migratory behaviour and stopover habitat use in the lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus Baert, Jan Stienen, Eric WM Heylen, Brigitte Kavelaars, Marwa Buijs, Roland-Jan Shamoun-Baranes, Judy Lens, Luc Müller, Wendt 2018 application/pdf https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8557786 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8557786 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23605-x https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8557786/file/8561505 eng eng https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8557786 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8557786 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23605-x https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8557786/file/8561505 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0) info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess SCIENTIFIC REPORTS ISSN: 2045-2322 Biology and Life Sciences LONG-DISTANCE MIGRATION ANNUAL CYCLE SATELLITE TRACKING NONBREEDING SEASON SPRING MIGRATION BIRD MIGRATION BODY-MASS PERFORMANCE FLIGHT MORTALITY journalArticle info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2018 ftunivgent https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23605-x 2023-05-10T22:27:31Z Sex-, size-or age-dependent variation in migration strategies in birds is generally expected to reflect differences in competitive abilities. Theoretical and empirical studies thereby focus on differences in wintering areas, by which individuals may benefit from avoiding food competition during winter or ensuring an early return and access to prime nesting sites in spring. Here, we use GPS tracking to assess sex-and size-related variation in the spatial behaviour of adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus) throughout their annual cycle. We did not find sex-or size-dependent differences in wintering area or the timing of spring migration. Instead, sexual differences occurred prior to, and during, autumn migration, when females strongly focussed on agricultural areas. Females exhibited a more protracted autumn migration strategy, hence spent more time on stopover sites and arrived 15 days later at their wintering areas, than males. This shift in habitat use and protracted autumn migration coincided with the timing of moult, which overlaps with chick rearing and migration. Our results suggest that this overlap between energy-demanding activities may lead females to perform a more prolonged autumn migration, which results in spatiotemporal differences in foraging habitat use between the sexes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Lesser black-backed gull Ghent University Academic Bibliography Scientific Reports 8 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Ghent University Academic Bibliography |
op_collection_id |
ftunivgent |
language |
English |
topic |
Biology and Life Sciences LONG-DISTANCE MIGRATION ANNUAL CYCLE SATELLITE TRACKING NONBREEDING SEASON SPRING MIGRATION BIRD MIGRATION BODY-MASS PERFORMANCE FLIGHT MORTALITY |
spellingShingle |
Biology and Life Sciences LONG-DISTANCE MIGRATION ANNUAL CYCLE SATELLITE TRACKING NONBREEDING SEASON SPRING MIGRATION BIRD MIGRATION BODY-MASS PERFORMANCE FLIGHT MORTALITY Baert, Jan Stienen, Eric WM Heylen, Brigitte Kavelaars, Marwa Buijs, Roland-Jan Shamoun-Baranes, Judy Lens, Luc Müller, Wendt High-resolution GPS tracking reveals sex differences in migratory behaviour and stopover habitat use in the lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus |
topic_facet |
Biology and Life Sciences LONG-DISTANCE MIGRATION ANNUAL CYCLE SATELLITE TRACKING NONBREEDING SEASON SPRING MIGRATION BIRD MIGRATION BODY-MASS PERFORMANCE FLIGHT MORTALITY |
description |
Sex-, size-or age-dependent variation in migration strategies in birds is generally expected to reflect differences in competitive abilities. Theoretical and empirical studies thereby focus on differences in wintering areas, by which individuals may benefit from avoiding food competition during winter or ensuring an early return and access to prime nesting sites in spring. Here, we use GPS tracking to assess sex-and size-related variation in the spatial behaviour of adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus) throughout their annual cycle. We did not find sex-or size-dependent differences in wintering area or the timing of spring migration. Instead, sexual differences occurred prior to, and during, autumn migration, when females strongly focussed on agricultural areas. Females exhibited a more protracted autumn migration strategy, hence spent more time on stopover sites and arrived 15 days later at their wintering areas, than males. This shift in habitat use and protracted autumn migration coincided with the timing of moult, which overlaps with chick rearing and migration. Our results suggest that this overlap between energy-demanding activities may lead females to perform a more prolonged autumn migration, which results in spatiotemporal differences in foraging habitat use between the sexes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Baert, Jan Stienen, Eric WM Heylen, Brigitte Kavelaars, Marwa Buijs, Roland-Jan Shamoun-Baranes, Judy Lens, Luc Müller, Wendt |
author_facet |
Baert, Jan Stienen, Eric WM Heylen, Brigitte Kavelaars, Marwa Buijs, Roland-Jan Shamoun-Baranes, Judy Lens, Luc Müller, Wendt |
author_sort |
Baert, Jan |
title |
High-resolution GPS tracking reveals sex differences in migratory behaviour and stopover habitat use in the lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus |
title_short |
High-resolution GPS tracking reveals sex differences in migratory behaviour and stopover habitat use in the lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus |
title_full |
High-resolution GPS tracking reveals sex differences in migratory behaviour and stopover habitat use in the lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus |
title_fullStr |
High-resolution GPS tracking reveals sex differences in migratory behaviour and stopover habitat use in the lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus |
title_full_unstemmed |
High-resolution GPS tracking reveals sex differences in migratory behaviour and stopover habitat use in the lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus |
title_sort |
high-resolution gps tracking reveals sex differences in migratory behaviour and stopover habitat use in the lesser black-backed gull larus fuscus |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8557786 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8557786 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23605-x https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8557786/file/8561505 |
genre |
Lesser black-backed gull |
genre_facet |
Lesser black-backed gull |
op_source |
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS ISSN: 2045-2322 |
op_relation |
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8557786 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8557786 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23605-x https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8557786/file/8561505 |
op_rights |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0) info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-23605-x |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1768391221741355008 |