Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds
Migratory birds make decisions about how far to travel based on cost-benefit trade-offs. However, in many cases the net effect of these trade-offs is unclear. We sought to address this question by measuring feather corticosterone (CORT), leucocyte profile, avian malaria parasite prevalence and estim...
Published in: | Oecologia |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Online Access: | https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:713577 |
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ftunivqespace:oai:espace.library.uq.edu.au:UQ:713577 2023-05-15T15:12:58+02:00 Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds Aharon-Rotman, Yaara Buchanan, Katherine L. Clark, Nicholas J. Klaassen, Marcel Buttemer, William A. 2016-10-01 https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:713577 eng eng Springer doi:10.1007/s00442-016-3679-1 issn:0029-8549 issn:1432-1939 orcid:0000-0001-7131-3301 Avian malaria Intake-rates Migration Ruddy turnstone Trade-off Waders 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Journal Article 2016 ftunivqespace https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3679-1 2020-12-08T02:52:41Z Migratory birds make decisions about how far to travel based on cost-benefit trade-offs. However, in many cases the net effect of these trade-offs is unclear. We sought to address this question by measuring feather corticosterone (CORT), leucocyte profile, avian malaria parasite prevalence and estimating fueling rates in three spatially segregated wintering populations of the migratory shorebird ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres during their stay in the winter habitat. These birds fly from the high-Arctic breeding ground to Australia, but differ in that some decide to end their migration early (Broome, Western Australia), whereas others travel further to either South Australia or Tasmania. We hypothesized that the extra costs in birds migrating greater distances and overwintering in colder climates would be offset by benefits when reaching their destination. This would be evidenced by lower stress biomarkers in populations that travel further, owing to the expected benefits of greater resources and improved vitality. We show that avian malaria prevalence and physiological stress levels were lower in birds flying to South Australia and Tasmania than those overwintering in Broome. Furthermore, our modeling predicts that birds in the southernmost locations enjoy higher fueling rates. Our data are consistent with the interpretation that birds occupying more costly wintering locations in terms of higher migratory flight and thermoregulatory costs are compensated by better feeding conditions and lower blood parasite infections, which facilitates timely and speedy migration back to the breeding ground. These data contribute to our understanding of cost-benefit trade-offs in the decision making underlying migratory behaviour. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arenaria interpres Ruddy Turnstone The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace Arctic Broome ENVELOPE(-61.807,-61.807,-73.600,-73.600) Oecologia 182 2 385 395 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace |
op_collection_id |
ftunivqespace |
language |
English |
topic |
Avian malaria Intake-rates Migration Ruddy turnstone Trade-off Waders 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Avian malaria Intake-rates Migration Ruddy turnstone Trade-off Waders 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Aharon-Rotman, Yaara Buchanan, Katherine L. Clark, Nicholas J. Klaassen, Marcel Buttemer, William A. Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
topic_facet |
Avian malaria Intake-rates Migration Ruddy turnstone Trade-off Waders 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Migratory birds make decisions about how far to travel based on cost-benefit trade-offs. However, in many cases the net effect of these trade-offs is unclear. We sought to address this question by measuring feather corticosterone (CORT), leucocyte profile, avian malaria parasite prevalence and estimating fueling rates in three spatially segregated wintering populations of the migratory shorebird ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres during their stay in the winter habitat. These birds fly from the high-Arctic breeding ground to Australia, but differ in that some decide to end their migration early (Broome, Western Australia), whereas others travel further to either South Australia or Tasmania. We hypothesized that the extra costs in birds migrating greater distances and overwintering in colder climates would be offset by benefits when reaching their destination. This would be evidenced by lower stress biomarkers in populations that travel further, owing to the expected benefits of greater resources and improved vitality. We show that avian malaria prevalence and physiological stress levels were lower in birds flying to South Australia and Tasmania than those overwintering in Broome. Furthermore, our modeling predicts that birds in the southernmost locations enjoy higher fueling rates. Our data are consistent with the interpretation that birds occupying more costly wintering locations in terms of higher migratory flight and thermoregulatory costs are compensated by better feeding conditions and lower blood parasite infections, which facilitates timely and speedy migration back to the breeding ground. These data contribute to our understanding of cost-benefit trade-offs in the decision making underlying migratory behaviour. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Aharon-Rotman, Yaara Buchanan, Katherine L. Clark, Nicholas J. Klaassen, Marcel Buttemer, William A. |
author_facet |
Aharon-Rotman, Yaara Buchanan, Katherine L. Clark, Nicholas J. Klaassen, Marcel Buttemer, William A. |
author_sort |
Aharon-Rotman, Yaara |
title |
Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
title_short |
Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
title_full |
Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
title_fullStr |
Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
title_full_unstemmed |
Why fly the extra mile? Using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
title_sort |
why fly the extra mile? using stress biomarkers to assess wintering habitat quality in migratory shorebirds |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:713577 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-61.807,-61.807,-73.600,-73.600) |
geographic |
Arctic Broome |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Broome |
genre |
Arctic Arenaria interpres Ruddy Turnstone |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arenaria interpres Ruddy Turnstone |
op_relation |
doi:10.1007/s00442-016-3679-1 issn:0029-8549 issn:1432-1939 orcid:0000-0001-7131-3301 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3679-1 |
container_title |
Oecologia |
container_volume |
182 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
385 |
op_container_end_page |
395 |
_version_ |
1766343575106224128 |