Predicting the response of a long-distance migrant to changing environmental conditions in winter.

ABSTRACT: Access to high-quality food is critical for long-distance migrants to provide energy for migration and arrival at breeding grounds in good condition. We studied effects of changing abundance and availability of a marine food, common eelgrass (Zostera marina L.), on an arctic-breeding, migratory goose, black brant (Brant bernicla nigricans Lawrence 1846), at a key non-breeding site, Bahía San Quintín, Mexico. Eelgrass, the primary food of brant, is consumed when exposed by the tide or within reach from the water's surface. Using an individual-based model, we predicted effects of observed changes (1991-2013) in parameters influencing food abundance and availability: eelgrass biomass (abundance), eelgrass shoot length (availability, as longer shoots more within reach), brant pop

SUBMITTER: Stillman RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11214018 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature