Migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site
Background: Departure decisions and behaviors of migratory birds at stopover sites are expected to maximize fitness by trade-offs among avoiding predators, optimizing refueling (energy) capacity, and matching other life-history events. We predict that species with different body sizes and migratory...
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2018
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Online Access: | https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:8449939 |
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ftunivqespace:oai:espace.library.uq.edu.au:UQ:8449939 2023-05-15T16:08:32+02:00 Migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site Tan, Kun Choi, Chi-Yeung Peng, Hebo Melville, David S. Ma, Zhijun 2018-05-18 https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:8449939 eng eng BioMed Central doi:10.1186/s40657-018-0108-7 issn:2053-7166 orcid:0000-0001-9829-7460 31772467 %7C 31572280 %7C 31071939 Departure behavior Departure decision East Asian-Australasian Flyway Migration Shorebird Stopover Wader 1103 Animal Science and Zoology 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Journal Article 2018 ftunivqespace https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-018-0108-7 2020-12-08T06:59:20Z Background: Departure decisions and behaviors of migratory birds at stopover sites are expected to maximize fitness by trade-offs among avoiding predators, optimizing refueling (energy) capacity, and matching other life-history events. We predict that species with different body sizes and migratory destinations will exhibit different behaviors when departing from the same stopover site. We also predict that with strong time constraint at the final pre-breeding stopover site, departure decisions may be less sensitive to exogenous factors, such as wind condition, compared to other stopover or nonbreeding sites. Methods: We recorded migratory departures of four shorebird species, i.e. Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata), Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), and Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), at Yalujiang Estuary Wetlands in China, a final pre-breeding stopover site in the northern Yellow Sea, from 2011 to 2014. We compared flock sizes, departure time and departure directions between species, and investigated the effects of tide and weather conditions (rain and ground wind speed and direction) on the departure decision of shorebirds. Results: We found that larger species departed in smaller flocks and were more variable in daily departure time. Departure trajectory of all four species appeared to be influenced by coastal topography. With the east-west coastline and intertidal mudflat on the south, birds exhibited westward or eastward deflection from the shortest migratory routes. Bar-tailed Godwit was the only species that deviated to the southeast and did not climb over the land. Birds avoided departure during precipitation, while their departure was not related to ground wind benefit or tidal condition. Conclusions: Body size among species, which influences their vulnerability to predators, might be important in shaping shorebird departure strategies. Diverse departure directions could be the result of different wind use tactics in climbing stage. Narrow optimal time window of breeding might lead to reduced flexibility in departure date at a final pre-breeding site. Both endogenous and exogenous are important in shaping departure behaviors and decisions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace Avian Research 9 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace |
op_collection_id |
ftunivqespace |
language |
English |
topic |
Departure behavior Departure decision East Asian-Australasian Flyway Migration Shorebird Stopover Wader 1103 Animal Science and Zoology 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Departure behavior Departure decision East Asian-Australasian Flyway Migration Shorebird Stopover Wader 1103 Animal Science and Zoology 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Tan, Kun Choi, Chi-Yeung Peng, Hebo Melville, David S. Ma, Zhijun Migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site |
topic_facet |
Departure behavior Departure decision East Asian-Australasian Flyway Migration Shorebird Stopover Wader 1103 Animal Science and Zoology 1105 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Background: Departure decisions and behaviors of migratory birds at stopover sites are expected to maximize fitness by trade-offs among avoiding predators, optimizing refueling (energy) capacity, and matching other life-history events. We predict that species with different body sizes and migratory destinations will exhibit different behaviors when departing from the same stopover site. We also predict that with strong time constraint at the final pre-breeding stopover site, departure decisions may be less sensitive to exogenous factors, such as wind condition, compared to other stopover or nonbreeding sites. Methods: We recorded migratory departures of four shorebird species, i.e. Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata), Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), and Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), at Yalujiang Estuary Wetlands in China, a final pre-breeding stopover site in the northern Yellow Sea, from 2011 to 2014. We compared flock sizes, departure time and departure directions between species, and investigated the effects of tide and weather conditions (rain and ground wind speed and direction) on the departure decision of shorebirds. Results: We found that larger species departed in smaller flocks and were more variable in daily departure time. Departure trajectory of all four species appeared to be influenced by coastal topography. With the east-west coastline and intertidal mudflat on the south, birds exhibited westward or eastward deflection from the shortest migratory routes. Bar-tailed Godwit was the only species that deviated to the southeast and did not climb over the land. Birds avoided departure during precipitation, while their departure was not related to ground wind benefit or tidal condition. Conclusions: Body size among species, which influences their vulnerability to predators, might be important in shaping shorebird departure strategies. Diverse departure directions could be the result of different wind use tactics in climbing stage. Narrow optimal time window of breeding might lead to reduced flexibility in departure date at a final pre-breeding site. Both endogenous and exogenous are important in shaping departure behaviors and decisions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tan, Kun Choi, Chi-Yeung Peng, Hebo Melville, David S. Ma, Zhijun |
author_facet |
Tan, Kun Choi, Chi-Yeung Peng, Hebo Melville, David S. Ma, Zhijun |
author_sort |
Tan, Kun |
title |
Migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site |
title_short |
Migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site |
title_full |
Migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site |
title_fullStr |
Migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site |
title_full_unstemmed |
Migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site |
title_sort |
migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site |
publisher |
BioMed Central |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:8449939 |
genre |
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata |
genre_facet |
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata |
op_relation |
doi:10.1186/s40657-018-0108-7 issn:2053-7166 orcid:0000-0001-9829-7460 31772467 %7C 31572280 %7C 31071939 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-018-0108-7 |
container_title |
Avian Research |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766404576223690752 |