Backpack-mounted satellite transmitters do not affect reproductive performance in a migratory bustard

Burnside, Robert J.; Guilherme, João L.; Collar, Nigel; Dolman, Paul M.

doi:10.1007/s10344-019-1332-0

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Each was fitted with a backpack harness-mounted satellite transmitter (Microwave Telemetry Argos/global positioning system [GPS] Platform Transmitter Terminal [PTT]-100, either 30 [both sexes] or 45 g [males only] models) that recorded 5 to 12 GPS fixes per day. Transmitters weighed <3% of body mass (females = 1.25 kg ± 0.15 SD; males = 1.82 kg ± 0.31 SD weights at capture) and do not affect breeding performance (39), so they are assumed to have minimal or no effect on migration.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birds use individually consistent temperature cues to time their migration departure

Burnside

Salliss

Collar

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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A fundamental issue in migration biology is how birds decide when to start their journey, given that arriving too early or too late in a variable environment reduces individual fitness. Internal circannual regulation and predictable cues such as photoperiod prepare birds for migration, while variable external cues such as temperature and wind are thought to fine-tune departure times; however, this has not been demonstrated at the key point at which an individual animal decides to start migrating. In theory, environmental cues correlated between departure and arrival sites allow informed departure decisions. For 48 satellite-tracked Asian houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii, a medium-distance migrant with climatic connectivity between wintering and breeding areas, each tracked across multiple years, spring departure was under individually consistent temperature conditions, with greater individual repeatability than for photoperiod or wind. Individuals occupied a range of wintering sites latitudinally spanning 1,200 km but departed at lower temperatures from more northerly latitudes. These individual departure decisions produced earlier mean population-level departure and arrival dates in warmer springs. Phenological adjustments were fully compensatory, because individuals arrived on the breeding grounds under similar temperature conditions each year. Individuals’ autumn departure decisions were also repeatable for temperature but less distinct than for spring, likely because of relaxed time constraints on leaving breeding grounds and the use of wind as a supplementary departure cue. We show that individual-level departure decisions informed by local temperatures can preadapt a population to adjust its population-level phenology in response to annual variability in spring temperatures without requiring genetic change in reaction thresholds.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birds use individually consistent temperature cues to time their migration departure

Burnside

Salliss

Collar

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

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“…However, previous studies on birds show that the amount of discomfort and time spent preening may increase (Robert et al ). However, studies have also shown non‐significant effect on reproductive success or foraging behavior as long as the transmitter load was low in relation to body weight (Phillips and Croxall , Burnside et al ). To minimize the potential effects of the transmitters, we kept transmitter weights < 3% of crane body weights (Phillips and Croxall ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Central place foraging in a human‐dominated landscape: how do common cranes select feeding sites?

Nilsson

Persson

Månsson

2020

Journal of Avian Biology

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Human infrastructure and disturbance play an important role when animals select resources in human‐modified landscapes. Theory predicts that animals trade food intake against costs of movement or disturbance to optimize net energy gain and fitness, but other necessary resources may also constrain the decisions, e.g. when animals repeatedly need to return to a central location, such as a nest, waterhole or night roost. Central place foraging theory states that the probability of occurrence of an animal decreases with the distance to the central location while selectivity for food items or foraging sites providing high net energy gain should increase with distance. We studied foraging patterns of common cranes Grus grus feeding in an agricultural landscape adjacent to a wetland to which they return for night roost. We used availability of spilled grains on harvested fields and distance to human settlement as proxy for site quality (i.e. increased likelihood of increased net energy gain with increased food availability and less disturbance). As predicted by theory, our results clearly show that cranes were more likely (more than twice as high resource selection function scores) to select foraging sites close to roosts. However, contrary to predictions, the selection of high quality sites in terms of high food availability decreased with distance to roost sites. Nevertheless, our results indicate that cranes were more likely to select sites with low risk of human disturbance far from roost sites, and were more tolerant to disturbance close to roost sites. How different species respond to the local and environmental conditions will increase the understanding of the species’ resource requirement, and also where in the landscape to prioritize conservation or management actions (e.g. mitigation of human disturbance and crop damage prevention to sustain agricultural production).

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“…During the non-breeding season, transmitter attachment using this method has been shown to have little effect on behaviour, fat reserves, or hematological stress; the effects of attachment are generally absent or short-lived (primarily flight stability issues). 25–31 All bird-handling protocols (WSU Permit #163) were approved by an institutional research advisory board with expertise in animal care. Radiotracking was accomplished using a portable, scanning VHF receiver (Model R410, Advanced Telemetry Systems, Isanti, MN, USA) fitted with a three-element Yagi antenna.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiotracking refines the role of food supplementation on overwinter survival of the Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

Spellmeyer

Rogers

Schneegurt

2020

Avian Biology Research

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Resource availability, particularly food, can limit the size of bird populations during the nonbreeding season. Resident and short-distance migrant birds, wintering in colder environments, should show strong effects of food limitation on winter survival. Here, we introduce a novel experiment testing for the effect of supplemental feeding on the winter survival of the Dark-eyed Junco ( Junco hyemalis), a short- to medium-distance migrant in North America. Color-ringed juncos were monitored by resighting in the winters of 2011, 2012, and 2013. Winter supplemental feeding significantly increased junco survival within winters. However, it is possible that juncos not resighted underwent within-winter dispersal rather than died. Thus, in the winter of 2014, very high frequency radio transmitters were attached to 29 juncos from unsupplemented sites to ascertain the fate of birds not resighted. We found that movement beyond the study area was minimal and most juncos maintained a discrete home range. Of the radiotagged birds, 27.5% were not resighted during observation periods, but were located and confirmed alive via radiotracking. A correction factor for within-winter dispersal was applied to previous years’ data and the effect of food supplementation remained statistically significant for two of the three winters; the trend was the same, but not statistically significant during the warmest winter. The present results contribute to a developing conceptual model of migration-specific effects of winter food limitation. Dark-eyed Juncos are an iconic backyard birdfeeder species that have shown a steady population decline for decades. Supplemental feeding during the wintering period may regularly elevate population recruitment by increasing winter survival in avian species that winter in thermally challenging environments.

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Backpack-mounted satellite transmitters do not affect reproductive performance in a migratory bustard

Cited by 9 publications

References 47 publications

Birds use individually consistent temperature cues to time their migration departure

Birds use individually consistent temperature cues to time their migration departure

Central place foraging in a human‐dominated landscape: how do common cranes select feeding sites?

Radiotracking refines the role of food supplementation on overwinter survival of the Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

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