Evolution of long distance migration in birds

• Main Author: Dufour, Paul
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA ), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), Université Grenoble Alpes 2020-., Sébastien Lavergne
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: French
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: Birds; Migration; Biogeography; Macroevolution; Phylogeny; Oiseaux; Biogéographie; Macroévolution; Phylogénie; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDE.IE]Environmental Sciences/Environmental Engineering; Arctic
• Online Access: https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-03267855; https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-03267855/document; https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-03267855/file/DUFOUR_2021_archivage.pdf

Many animals make seasonal migrations, but bird migration remains one of the most spectacular in the animal kingdom and it is mainly because it fascinates humans that this migration has been the most studied historically. However, despite this early interest of the scientific community, important issues have remained unresolved. Among these, the biogeographical scenarios that shape the distribution of migratory species or that have led species or entire lineages to evolve towards long-distance migration behaviour are still poorly understood.The aim of my thesis was to address these questions at different taxonomic levels, in order to study the ecological and evolutionary implications of long-distance migration in birds. More precisely, (1) I first focused on biogeographic theories of migration evolution at a global scale, coupled with the study of the tracking of ecological niches during the annual cycle. (2) Narrowing the taxonomic framework to the Charadriiformes, I pursued my research on the biogeography of migration by also addressing the question of the role of migration in diversification processes and in the establishment of latitudinal diversity gradients. To better understand these mechanisms, I also studied (3) the selective pressures encountered during the annual cycle of a migratory bird family and (4) the influence of these long-distance movements on other events of the annual cycle in an Arctic seabird species. (5) Finally, at the intraspecific level, I investigated the establishment of new migration routes in two passerines of Siberian origin to explore the issue of rapid changes in distribution.Taken together, the results of these studies highlight how tightly the different facets of invasion ecology and evolution are interrelated in understanding the evolution of long-distance migration behaviour. They also highlight the importance of comparing several taxonomic levels and several factors, particularly temporal factors, to assess the evolutionary history of this complex behaviour. Finally, they ...