Detours in long-distance migration across the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: individual consistency and habitat associations.

ABSTRACT: Migratory birds often follow detours when confronted with ecological barriers, and understanding the extent and the underlying drivers of such detours can provide important insights into the associated cost to the annual energy budget and the migration strategies. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is the most daunting geographical barrier for migratory birds because the partial pressure of oxygen is dramatically reduced and flight costs greatly increase. We analyzed the repeated migration detours and habitat associations of four Pallas's Gulls Larus ichthyaetus across the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau over 22 migration seasons. Gulls exhibited notable detours, with the maximum distance being more than double that of the expected shortest route, that extended rather than reduced the passage across the

SUBMITTER: Liu D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5797451 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature