Highly dynamic wintering strategies in migratory geese: Coping with environmental change.

ABSTRACT: When and where to move is a fundamental decision to migratory birds, and the fitness-related costs and benefits of migratory choices make them subject to strong selective forces. Site use and migration routes are outcomes of opportunities in the surrounding landscape, and the optimal migration strategy may be conservative or explorative depending on the variability in the environment occupied by the species. This study applies 25 years of resighting data to examine development in winter migration strategy of pink-footed geese divided among Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium, and analyse potential drivers of strategy change as well as individuals' likelihood to break with migratory tradition. Contrary with the general notion that geese are highly traditional in their winter site use, our

SUBMITTER: Clausen KK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6032841 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature