Extreme migratory connectivity and apparent mirroring of non-breeding grounds conditions in a severely declining breeding population of an Afro-Palearctic migratory bird.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the distribution of breeding populations of migratory animals in the non-breeding period (migratory connectivity) is important for understanding their response to environmental change. High connectivity (low non-breeding population dispersion) may lower resilience to climate change and increase vulnerability to habitat loss within their range. Very high levels of connectivity are reportedly rare, but this conclusion may be limited by methodology. Using multiple tracking methods, we demonstrate extremely high connectivity in a strongly declining, peripheral breeding population of a long-distance migrant, the Common Nightingale in the UK. Non-breeding population dispersion is lower than for previously tracked populations of this and other species and likely lower than can usual

SUBMITTER: Kirkland M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11770125 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature