Reconstructing bird trajectories from pressure and wind data using a highly optimized hidden Markov model

Nussbaumer, Raphaël; Gravey, Mathieu; Briedis, Martins; Liechti, Félix; Sheldon, Daniel

doi:10.1111/2041-210x.14082

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Taking advantage of the well‐defined pressure likelihood maps, we introduce in a separate paper (Nussbaumer, Gravey, Briedis, Liechti, & Daniel, 2022) a new modelling framework which can solve the movement model exactly (i.e. no MCMC) while integrating information of pressure, light, flight duration as well as wind support (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global positioning with animal‐borne pressure sensors

et al. 2023

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1. Over the past decades, tracking technologies have become more ubiquitous and helped uncover crucial spatio-temporal relationships in nature. To extend the tracking of small animals and reduce any potential adverse impact of devices, methodologies compatible with light-weight devices are sought after. Measured by light-weight geolocators, atmospheric pressure provides an untapped opportunity for global geopositioning, as its natural temporal variation is unique to each location.2. In this study, we estimate the position of birds by comparing pressure data recorded by the geolocator with reference data from a global weather reanalysis database. The method produces a likelihood map of the position based on (1) a mask of the locations for which the ground level elevation matches the pressure measured by the geolocator and (2) a likelihood of the mismatch between the temporal timeseries measured by the geolocator and the reanalysis dataset. This new method is introduced step by step and applied to 16 tracks from nine long-and short-distance migrant species.Global positioning with pressure sensors 2 3. Using known positions of double-tagged individuals (light and pressure data), we demonstrate that our method is almost three times more accurate than light-based positioning with an average error of 44 km in our trials. In contrast to the traditional light-based approach, pressure geolocation can provide useful information for short stationary periods (less than a day) and is not affected by the equinox-problem, nor any shading effects due to weather or animal behaviour. To facilitate the application of the method, we developed an R package (GeoPressureR), together with a user guide (GeoPressureManual) and starting code (GeoPressureTemplate).4. The use of pressure sensors to position animals has the potential to become widespread, thanks to affordable light-weight devices (<0.4 g) with a method to precisely and accurately estimate position, identify stopover locations, ultimately map a full migratory trajectory. This method broadens the reach of application of affordable light-weight tracking devices to short-distant migrants (>200km), forest-dwelling species, nocturnal animals and altitudinal migrants.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global positioning with animal‐borne pressure sensors

et al. 2023

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“…Movement behaviour was surprisingly variable in the Northern Wheatear, with almost no movement over more than five months at the non-breeding site, opposed to locally mobile behaviour at the breeding site and broader-scale movements during migration. This overview of the annual cycle calls for a wider use of pressure loggers to investigate the three-dimensional movements of songbirds at different spatial scales, especially using the method of positioning by correlating the atmospheric pressure measured on the bird with global atmospheric pressure data [ 57 , 66 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We modelled the trajectory of each track following the approach presented in Nussbaumer et al (2023, [ 66 ]) and using the R package GeoPressureR (version 2.7, [ 67 ]. All analyses were performed in R version 4.2.0 [ 68 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, we constructed the trajectories of each bird following the Hidden Markov Model presented in Nussbaumer et al (2023, [ 66 ]). The observation model consisted of the likelihood maps generated from pressure and light data.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using this model, we generated (1) the marginal probability map of the position of each stationary period, (2) the most likely migration trajectory of the birds, and (3) 100 random simulations of the trajectories. We refer readers to Nussbaumer et al (2023, [ 66 ]) for further details on the implementation of this method.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-sensor geolocators unveil global and local movements in an Alpine-breeding long-distance migrant

et al. 2023

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Background To understand the ecology of long-distance migrant bird species, it is necessary to study their full annual cycle, including migratory routes and stopovers. This is especially important for species in high-elevation habitats that are particularly vulnerable to environmental change. Here, we investigated both local and global movements during all parts of the annual cycle in a small trans-Saharan migratory bird breeding at high elevation. Methods Recently, multi-sensor geolocators have opened new research opportunities in small-sized migratory organisms. We tagged Northern Wheatears Oenanthe oenanthe from the central-European Alpine population with loggers recording atmospheric pressure and light intensity. We modelled migration routes and identified stopover and non-breeding sites by correlating the atmospheric pressure measured on the birds with global atmospheric pressure data. Furthermore, we compared barrier-crossing flights with other migratory flights and studied the movement behaviour throughout the annual cycle. Results All eight tracked individuals crossed the Mediterranean Sea, using islands for short stops, and made longer stopovers in the Atlas highlands. Single non-breeding sites were used during the entire boreal winter and were all located in the same region of the Sahel. Spring migration was recorded for four individuals with similar or slightly different routes compared to autumn. Migratory flights were typically nocturnal and characterized by fluctuating altitudes, frequently reaching 2000 to 4000 m a.s.l, with a maximum of up to 5150 m. Barrier-crossing flights, i.e., over the sea and the Sahara, were longer, higher, and faster compared to flights above favourable stopover habitat. In addition, we detected two types of altitudinal movements at the breeding site. Unexpected regular diel uphill movements were undertaken from the breeding territories towards nearby roosting sites at cliffs, while regional scale movements took place in response to local meteorological conditions during the pre-breeding period. Conclusion Our data inform on both local and global scale movements, providing new insights into migratory behaviour and local movements in small songbirds. This calls for a wider use of multi-sensor loggers in songbird migration research, especially for investigating both local and global movements in the same individuals.

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Non-breeding sites, loop migration and flight activity patterns over the annual cycle in the Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor from a north-western edge of its range

Adamík,

Wong,

Hahn

et al. 2023

J Ornithol

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The Lesser Grey Shrike is a typical Palaearctic songbird for which we have limited knowledge of its migration ecology. All that is known about its non-breeding movements is inferred from observational data of birds on passage. The few available ring recovery data do not link breeding and African non-breeding grounds. By deploying two types of loggers, light-level geolocators and multi-sensor loggers, on birds from a declining Slovak breeding population, we present the first direct evidence for non-breeding grounds, loop migration, stopover sites and the timing of annual cycle events. With barometric data, we provide details on flight altitudes during migration. The two tracked birds migrated in a clear anti-clockwise loop to S Africa. Autumn migration tracks went through the Balkan Peninsula, Mediterranean Sea towards Libya with unusually long stays around N Chad and Niger. The next stopovers were in Angola, and the main non-breeding sites were in Botswana. Spring migration commenced on March 29 and April 7 and the birds took routes along East African countries, with stopovers later in Somalia and Saudi Arabia, before crossing the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Nocturnal migration dominated, but for three days in August, while crossing the Sahara Desert, the bird extended flights into the day with a sudden increase in flight altitudes at dawn. Flight altitudes were higher during barrier crossing and during the last phase of spring migration compared to the remaining periods, with the most extreme event recorded at 4530 m asl.

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Reconstructing bird trajectories from pressure and wind data using a highly optimized hidden Markov model

Cited by 9 publications

References 66 publications

Global positioning with animal‐borne pressure sensors

Global positioning with animal‐borne pressure sensors

Multi-sensor geolocators unveil global and local movements in an Alpine-breeding long-distance migrant

Non-breeding sites, loop migration and flight activity patterns over the annual cycle in the Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor from a north-western edge of its range

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