Evolution of chain migration in an aerial insectivorous bird, the common swift
            <i>Apus apus</i>

Åkesson, Susanne; Atkinson, Philip W.; Bermejo, Ana; Puente, Javier de la; Ferri, Massimo; Hewson, Chris; Holmgren, Jan; Kaiser, Erich; Kearsley, Lyndon; Klaassen, Raymond H. G.; Kolunen, Heikki; Matsson, Gittan; Minelli, Fausto; Norevik, Gabriel; Pietiäinen, Hannu; Singh, Navinder J.; Spina, Fernando; Viktora, Lukas; Hedenström, Anders

doi:10.1111/evo.14093

Cited by 28 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Red‐backed shrikes are among the latest arriving migratory bird species in Europe during spring and thus, one could argue that the general late arrival may be responsible for the mismatch with local vegetation greenness. However, a recent study on swifts (another late arriving species in Europe) have shown a clear difference in timing of arrival with southern populations arriving earlier than northern populations (Åkesson et al 2020). Another possibility is that there is no, or only insignificant penalties on fitness of late breeding attempts across red‐backed shrike populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remarkably similar migration patterns between different red‐backed shrike populations suggest that migration rather than breeding area phenology determines the annual cycle

Pedersen

Onrubia

Vardanis

et al. 2020

Journal of Avian Biology

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The regular fluctuation of resources across the Globe guides movements of migratory animals. To ensure sufficient reproductive output and maintain viable population sizes, migratory animals should match arrival at breeding areas with local peaks in resource availability. It is generally assumed that breeding phenology dictates the timing of the annual cycle, but this is poorly studied. Here, we use light-level geolocator tracking data to compare the annual spatiotemporal migration patterns of a longdistance migratory songbird, the red-backed shrike, Lanius collurio, breeding at widely different latitudes within Europe. We find that populations use remarkably similar migration routes and are highly synchronized in time. Additional tracks from populations breeding at the edges of the European range support these similar migration patterns. When comparing timing of breeding and vegetation phenology, as a measure of resource availability across populations, we find that arrival and timing of breeding corresponds to the peak in vegetation greenness at northern latitudes. At lower latitudes birds arrive simultaneously with the more northerly breeding populations, but after the local greenness peak, suggesting that breeding area phenology does not determine the migratory schedule. Rather, timing of migration in red-backed shrikes may be constrained by events in other parts of the annual cycle.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remarkably similar migration patterns between different red‐backed shrike populations suggest that migration rather than breeding area phenology determines the annual cycle

Pedersen

Onrubia

Vardanis

et al. 2020

Journal of Avian Biology

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“…More importantly, it allows comparisons of results generated with other packages in similar principals [ 19 , 21 , 37 ]. We set the threshold to 2 for log-transformed light-level data to identify the twilight events (dawn-sunrise and sunset-dusk) minimizing the latitude variation around the equinox [ 19 , 20 , 22 ]. In the pre-analysis, we found that the swifts stayed in the breeding site for a very short and variable period before and after breeding.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This may well be the case for the Common Swift. A recent study revealed that the northern population of nominate apus winters in west and central sub-Saharan Africa, whereas the southern European apus swifts spend winters in contiguous regions of central and southeastern Africa [ 22 ]. It suggests that, even within the European breeding populations of the nominate apus , there are substantial spatiotemporal separation in wintering grounds, as well as migratory phenology [ 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent study revealed that the northern population of nominate apus winters in west and central sub-Saharan Africa, whereas the southern European apus swifts spend winters in contiguous regions of central and southeastern Africa [ 22 ]. It suggests that, even within the European breeding populations of the nominate apus , there are substantial spatiotemporal separation in wintering grounds, as well as migratory phenology [ 22 ]. Therefore, uncovering the approximate wintering ground and detailed migratory route of pekinensis can help us understand the migration patterns of the East Asian population of the Common Swift, which is the prerequisite to allow comparisons of migration phenotypes and to make inferences of divergence between the nominate apus and pekinensis .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A 30,000-km journey by Apus apus pekinensis tracks arid lands between northern China and south-western Africa

Zhao

Wu³

et al. 2022

Mov Ecol

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Background As a widely distributed and aerial migratory bird, the Common Swift (Apus apus) flies over a wide geographic range in Eurasia and Africa during migration. Although some studies have revealed the migration routes and phenology of European populations, A. a. apus (from hereon the nominate apus), the route used by its East Asian counterpart A. a. pekinensis (from hereon pekinensis) remained a mystery. Methods Using light level geolocators, we studied the migration of adult pekinensis breeding in Beijing from 2014 to 2018, and analysed full annual tracks obtained from 25 individuals. In addition, we used the mean monthly precipitation to assess the seasonal variations in humidity for the distribution ranges of the nominate apus and pekinensis. This environmental variable is considered to be critically relevant to their migratory phenology and food resource abundance. Results Our results show that the swifts perform a round-trip journey of ca 30,000 km each year, representing a detour of 26% in autumn and 15% in spring compared to the shortest route between the breeding site in Beijing and wintering areas in semi-arid south-western Africa. Compared to the nominate apus, pekinensis experiences drier conditions for longer periods of time. Remarkably, individuals from our study population tracked arid habitat along the entire migration corridor leading from a breeding site in Beijing to at least central Africa. In Africa, they explored more arid habitats during non-breeding than the nominate apus. Conclusions The migration route followed by pekinensis breeding in Beijing might suggest an adaptation to semi-arid habitat and dry climatic zones during non-breeding periods, and provides a piece of correlative evidence indicating the historical range expansion of the subspecies. This study highlights that the Common Swift may prove invaluable as a model species for studies of migration route formation and population divergence.

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“…The common swift Apus apus often faces cold periods at their breeding sites, which span across Europe and beyond the Arctic Circle [24][25][26]. Anecdotally, it was reported that free-living breeding common swifts enter a nocturnal torpid state during harsh weather conditions which lower the activity of airborne insects for several days ( personal observation by J.R., [27,28]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cool birds: first evidence of energy-saving nocturnal torpor in free-living common swifts Apus apus resting in their nests

et al. 2022

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Daily torpor is a means of saving energy by controlled lowering of the metabolic rate (MR) during resting, usually coupled with a decrease in body temperature. We studied nocturnal daily torpor under natural conditions in free-living common swifts Apus apus resting in their nests as a family using two non-invasive approaches. First, we monitored nest temperature ( T nest ) in up to 50 occupied nests per breeding season in 2010–2015. Drops in T nest were the first indication of torpor. Among 16 673 observations, we detected 423 events of substantial drops in T nest of on average 8.6°C. Second, we measured MR of the families inside nest-boxes prepared for calorimetric measurements during cold periods in the breeding seasons of 2017 and 2018. We measured oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production using a mobile indirect respirometer and calculated the percentage reduction in MR. During six torpor events observed, MR was gradually reduced by on average 56% from the reference value followed by a decrease in T nest of on average 7.6°C. By contrast, MR only decreased by about 33% on nights without torpor. Our field data gave an indication of daily torpor, which is used as a strategy for energy saving in free-living common swifts.

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Evolution of chain migration in an aerial insectivorous bird, the common swift Apus apus

Cited by 28 publications

References 52 publications

Remarkably similar migration patterns between different red‐backed shrike populations suggest that migration rather than breeding area phenology determines the annual cycle

Remarkably similar migration patterns between different red‐backed shrike populations suggest that migration rather than breeding area phenology determines the annual cycle

A 30,000-km journey by Apus apus pekinensis tracks arid lands between northern China and south-western Africa

Cool birds: first evidence of energy-saving nocturnal torpor in free-living common swifts Apus apus resting in their nests

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