Individual and seasonal variation in the movement behavior of two tropical nectarivorous birds.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Movement of animals directly affects individual fitness, yet fine spatial and temporal resolution movement behavior has been studied in relatively few small species, particularly in the tropics. Nectarivorous Hawaiian honeycreepers are believed to be highly mobile throughout the year, but their fine-scale movement patterns remain unknown. The movement behavior of these crucial pollinators has important implications for forest ecology, and for mortality from avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum), an introduced disease that does not occur in high-elevation forests where Hawaiian honeycreepers primarily breed.

Methods

We used an automated radio telemetry network to track the movement of two Hawaiian honeycreeper species, the 'apapane (Himatione sanguinea) and 'i'iwi (D

SUBMITTER: Smetzer JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8264974 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature