Environmental conditions during winter predict age- and sex-specific differences in reproductive success of a trans-Saharan migratory bird

López‐Calderón, Cosme; Hobson, Keith A.; Marzal, Alfonso; Balbontı́n, Javier; Reviriego, Maribel; Magallanes, Sergio; García‐Longoria, Luz; Lope, Florentino de; Møller, Anders Pape

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-18497-2

Cited by 18 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 49 publications

(71 reference statements)

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“…The method has been successfully applied to many terrestrial species and regions world wide (Europe/Asia: [59], North America: [60], South America: [61] and is very efficient to track individuals or carry-over effects in large sample sizes allowing for robust conclusions (i.e. [62]). Based on our dataset of 32 barn swallows we could not ground-truth isotopic assignments in Africa with areas localised by direct tracking using geolocation by light.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Matching geographical assignment by stable isotopes with African non-breeding sites of barn swallows Hirundo rustica tracked by geolocation

Seifert¹,

Ambrosini

Bontempo

et al. 2018

PLoS ONE

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Knowledge on whereabouts within the annual cycle of migratory species is prerequisite for many aspects in ecology and biological conservation. Spatial assignments of stable isotopes archived in tissues allows for later inference on sites where the specific tissue had been grown. It has been rarely tested whether spatial assignments match directly tracked non-breeding residences, especially for migratory songbirds. We here compare assignments of stable isotopes from feathers of Palaearctic Barn swallows Hirundo rustica with their African non-breeding residence sites tracked by geolocation.Assignments based on δ2H, δ13C and δ15N isotope compositions delineate three main non-breeding regions: a main cluster in central Africa, a second in West Africa, and the third cluster in Northern Africa. Using δ13C, δ15N only, non-breeding sites ranged from clusters in West/Southwest Africa to South East Africa with a centre in Central Africa. The non-breeding areas (50% and 75% Kernel density estimates, KDE) of the birds tracked by geolocation stretched from West Africa via central Africa to southern Africa. We found little overlap of 0.3% (assuming a 1:1 odds ratio) to 1.4% (3:1 odds ratio) in the three element assignments and KDEs for only 2 and 13 individuals out of 32 birds. Assignment maps for two elements (δ13C, δ15N) and KDEs showed higher consistencies with an overlap of 3.6 and 8.5% for 12 and 18 birds. We argue that the low matching between stable isotope assignments and non-breeding sites in our study arise from insufficient baseline data for Africa (concerning both isoscapes and specific discrimination functions). However, other factors like aerial foraging habit of the species, and a potential mismatch of non-breeding site location and the spatial origin of aerial plankton might further hamper accurate assignments. Finally we call for concerted analyses of tissues i.e. feathers and claws of birds which are grown at known sites across the continent and from species with various ecological requirements (diverse habitats, foraging behaviours, and diet compositions) to establish isoscapes for general applicability.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Matching geographical assignment by stable isotopes with African non-breeding sites of barn swallows Hirundo rustica tracked by geolocation

Seifert¹,

Ambrosini

Bontempo

et al. 2018

PLoS ONE

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“…However, little is still known about the habitat used by wintering Snowfinches, as well as possible differences between seasons and variation among scales. As winter is a challenging period in which individuals need to cope with harsh conditions that can affect individual survival (Marra et al 2015), condition and fitness (Harrison et al 2011, López‐Calderón et al 2017), a deeper understanding of habitat use at different spatial and seasonal scales is needed. In the present study, we aimed to study circannual variations in habitat use patterns of Snowfinches at three different spatial scales (diameters of 100, 250 and 500 m).…”

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confidence: 99%

Circannual variation in habitat use of the White‐winged SnowfinchMontifringilla nivalis nivalis

Bettega

Fernández‐González²,

Obeso

et al. 2020

Ibis

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High mountain areas are subject to strong seasonal fluctuations, and species inhabiting these particular environments show a high degree of habitat specialization to cope with extreme abiotic conditions. Estimates of habitat use are influenced by the spatial and seasonal scales at which they are evaluated, so studies at multiple scales are important in order to explore adaptive responses to seasonal environments. In the present study, we assessed habitat use of the White‐winged Snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis subsp. nivalis (henceforth Snowfinch) during breeding and non‐breeding seasons at three different spatial scales (diameters of 100, 250 and 500 m). Although Snowfinches clearly used high‐elevation habitats in both seasons, there was evidence that they are less specific during the non‐breeding period: the variance explained by habitat and topographical factors was lower in winter than in the breeding season. Moreover, our results suggest that the use of habitat is scale‐dependent. This pattern was especially relevant in the breeding season, perhaps because habitat use might be more related to nest‐site selection and specific foraging sites to provide food for nestlings. Snowfinches use high mountain habitats throughout the year, probably as a consequence of physiological and morphological specializations typical of high‐elevation species, but in winter they show a certain flexibility in habitat use. Snowfinches might thus adopt a flexible specialist strategy. This could represent a trade‐off to overcome possible effects on survival, condition and fitness, which can be particularly strong in harsh, unpredictable environments.

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“…There is increasing evidence showing that environmental conditions experienced during winter are related to subsequent spring migration, breeding phenology or reproductive success of migratory birds 5,7,9,11,12,17,18,20,38 . Such carry-over effects need to be fully understood because they have important consequences for population dynamics and evolutionary processes 18 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The carry-over effects we found in this study should have been mediated by the effects of different winter conditions on migratory behavior such as departure date from winter areas, flight speed on route, number and duration of stopovers and arrival date to breeding areas. Most previous studies investigating migratory behavior and carry-over effects 5,7,9,11,20 have discriminated between two age classes (i.e. juveniles vs adults) and consequently age-related migratory behavior based on actual known age marked-individuals has been reported less frequently (but see Sergio and colaborators 10 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…one for each dependent variable). The structure of the path analyses was designed based on previous knowledge of migratory ecology 17,20 . The first linear model in both path analyses, tested the effects of NDVI from winter areas, age and their interaction term on breeding date, while controlling for the confounding effect of tail length 23,24 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Age-dependent carry-over effects in a long-distance migratory bird

López‐Calderón¹,

Arenas²,

Hobson

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Migratory birds usually respond to climate change by modifying breeding and/or wintering areas, as well as by reproducing earlier. In addition, changes in winter habitat use or breeding phenology could have important carry-over effects on subsequent breeding success. Here, we studied age- and sex-dependent carry-over effects from wintering to the breeding stage of a small aerial insectivorous long-distance migratory bird, the barn swallows ( Hirundo rustica ) breeding in Denmark during 1984–2013. First, we used stable isotope analyses combined with ringing recoveries to identify wintering areas. Second, we found that environmental conditions as inferred by Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) have deteriorated at the wintering grounds. Third, we used confirmatory path analysis to quantify the indirect effect of winter conditions on subsequent breeding success. Females advanced onset of breeding, laid more eggs and raised more fledglings in the first brood when ecological conditions during the previous winter improved. This response was age dependent, since yearlings did not respond to this environmental cue but the response was increasingly stronger as females aged. Males showed a similar response to winter conditions, although not statistically significant. These results highlight the importance of studying carry-over effects within the context of climate change, especially in relation to age of individuals.

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Environmental conditions during winter predict age- and sex-specific differences in reproductive success of a trans-Saharan migratory bird

Cited by 18 publications

References 49 publications

Matching geographical assignment by stable isotopes with African non-breeding sites of barn swallows Hirundo rustica tracked by geolocation

Matching geographical assignment by stable isotopes with African non-breeding sites of barn swallows Hirundo rustica tracked by geolocation

Circannual variation in habitat use of the White‐winged SnowfinchMontifringilla nivalis nivalis

Age-dependent carry-over effects in a long-distance migratory bird

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