Prospecting of breeding adult Common terns in an unstable environment

Martinović, Miloš; Galov, Ana; Svetličić, Ida; Tome, Davorin; Jurinović, Luka; Ječmenica, Biljana; Basle, Tilen; Božič, Luka; Kralj, Jelena

doi:10.1080/03949370.2019.1625952

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Nonbreeding birds frequently exhibit foray behaviors and alternative space use strategies (e.g., Rohner 1997, Reed et al 1999, Campioni et al 2017, Wolfson et al 2020), but relatively few studies have documented forays in breeding females. The ultimate driver of foray behavior can be challenging to identify, but breeding females may make forays to prospect for breeding locations in future seasons (Blakey et al 2019, Cooper and Marra 2020) or in the event of nest failure (Ward 2005, Ponchon et al 2015, Martinović et al 2019). Prospecting flights by female songbirds and colonial seabirds peak in the nestling and fledgling periods, when information reflecting breeding success (e.g., adult or fledgling density) and therefore habitat quality, is most available (Boulinier et al 1996, Doligez et al 2004, Cooper and Marra 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-resolution GPS Tracking of American Kestrels Reveals Breeding and Post-Breeding Ranging Behavior in Northern Virginia, USA

Kolowski,

Wolfer,

McDaniels

et al. 2023

Journal of Raptor Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Long-term monitoring data indicate a persistent decline in American Kestrel populations across North America. Loss or alteration of habitat have been listed as potential causal factors, but basic information on kestrel space use, including breeding home range size, is lacking. No study has provided robust estimates of the ranging behavior of breeding kestrels based on tracking data of any resolution. We fitted 19 adult female kestrels with solar-powered GPS transmitters during the incubation period in northern Virginia. High-resolution tracking began during the early nestling stage for 17 birds. We collected an average of 1710 locations per bird through the end of the breeding season (31 August), with 13 birds tracked through the fledging of their young. Autocorrelated kernel density home range estimation showed that female kestrels used breeding home ranges that were smaller (average: 0.32 km2) than most previously published range sizes. Home ranges did not vary significantly in size across breeding stages and demonstrated little overlap with the ranges of neighboring kestrels. Five females shifted their territories in the post-breeding stage (i.e., after disappearance or dispersal of fledglings) between 1.5 and 12.3 km from their nest box; they maintained these new ranges at least to the migration period. We also documented home range excursion forays (n = 128) by all 12 consistently tracked females. Mean (4.0 km) and maximum (127.7 km) foray distances were some of the largest reported among birds and mammals relative to home range size. Weekly foray rates were highest during the nestling stage, and for birds that ultimately shifted from their breeding home range. The existence of long-distance foray behavior and the use of multiple summer home ranges, both shown here for the first time for this species, has a direct impact on interpretation of kestrel nest-site and habitat selection data, and on the assessment of potential threats to this species in the breeding season.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-resolution GPS Tracking of American Kestrels Reveals Breeding and Post-Breeding Ranging Behavior in Northern Virginia, USA

Kolowski,

Wolfer,

McDaniels

et al. 2023

Journal of Raptor Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For social species becoming highly faithful to their breeding territory once they have settled, young individuals tend to prospect more than adults (Sánchez-Tójar et al, 2017;Campioni et al, 2017;Wolfson et al, 2020;Kelly et al, 2020;Poessel et al, 2022). On the contrary, when breeding adults reassess their site fidelity regularly, prospecting becomes more frequent, especially in birds willing to renest within the same breeding season after an early breeding failure (Ward, 2005;Pakanen et al, 2014;Martinović et al, 2019).…”

Section: Study Of Prospecting Movements Over the Last Two Decadesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospecting for informed dispersal: reappraisal of a widespread but overlooked ecological process

Ponchon

2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Prospecting for a future breeding site is an essential component of informed dispersal. It allows individuals to reduce the uncertainty of their environment by gathering personal and social information about the local quality of alternative breeding areas, and to make informed emigration and settlement decisions. Although this process has been studied in territorial and social animal species for decades, it is still not well-understood and spatial patterns of prospecting movements are hard to generalize over taxa or even species due to substantial intra and inter-specific variability. Using 124 empirical studies which have explicitly described prospecting in a context of breeding habitat selection in birds, mammals, fish and invertebrates, I review why, how, when and which individuals prospect depending on their life history traits and sociality. From this synthesis, I identify persisting knowledge gaps which explain why prospecting is still understudied and sometimes overlooked. I finally propose key objectives and research directions, to shed light on prospecting movements and their consequences on informed dispersal strategies, individual fitness and population dynamics, both empirically and theoretically. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying prospecting, their causes and their consequences will fully reveal how prospecting could constitute a powerful adaptive response to environmental changes for many social and territorial species which will help them persist on the long-term. It will also significantly enhance our ability to predict species responses to environmental changes and thus, inform more effective management plans for threatened species

show abstract

“…Riverine breeding sites are often less stable than coastal ones because of interannual water level changes and predation (Scharf 1981;Bogliani et al 1982). In Croatia, recoveries of adult birds showed frequent changes of breeding colonies between years, and in 2018 even within the breeding season (Martinović et al 2019). Between 2016 and 2018 Common Terns bred on seven different islands in the study area: two sites were occupied in 2016, three sites in 2017 when low water level created additional islands and four in 2018 when water level was exceptionally high and the main island at Rakitje gravel pit was submerged and was unsuitable for breeding until mid-June.…”

Section: Table 2 Summary Of Hungarian-and Croatian-related Recoveriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geolocator study reveals east African migration route of Central European Common Terns

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The majority of European Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) migrate south along the western coast of Europe and Africa, while birds from eastern regions are known to cross the Mediterranean Sea from east to west or migrate along the eastern African coast. The migration route of north European terns wintering along the coast of western Africa was already described using geolocator data, while knowledge about movements of the European inland populations is based only on relatively scarce recoveries of ringed birds. Methods: We used light-level geolocators in inland Common Tern colonies in Hungary and Croatia to study their migration route and to identify wintering areas along with stopover sites. Results revealed by geolocators were compared with recoveries of ringed birds. Results: All tracked birds used the east African migration route with autumn stopovers at Lower Nile and in the southern part of the Red Sea, and short spring stopover in Israel. Terns wintered along Kenyan coasts and in the southern Mozambique Channel. Autumn migration lasted four times longer than spring migration. Conclusions: This is the first geolocator study that describes the east African migration route of the Common Tern. Important stopover sites were identified. More studies of inland populations are needed to better elucidate tern winter movements.

show abstract

Prospecting of breeding adult Common terns in an unstable environment

Cited by 9 publications

References 31 publications

High-resolution GPS Tracking of American Kestrels Reveals Breeding and Post-Breeding Ranging Behavior in Northern Virginia, USA

High-resolution GPS Tracking of American Kestrels Reveals Breeding and Post-Breeding Ranging Behavior in Northern Virginia, USA

Prospecting for informed dispersal: reappraisal of a widespread but overlooked ecological process

Geolocator study reveals east African migration route of Central European Common Terns

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About