Migration distance affects how closely Eurasian wigeons follow spring phenology during migration.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The timing of migration for herbivorous migratory birds is thought to coincide with spring phenology as emerging vegetation supplies them with the resources to fuel migration, and, in species with a capital breeding strategy also provides individuals with energy for use on the breeding grounds. Individuals with very long migration distances might however have to trade off between utilising optimal conditions en route and reaching the breeding grounds early, potentially leading to them overtaking spring on the way. Here, we investigate whether migration distance affects how closely individually tracked Eurasian wigeons follow spring phenology during spring migration.

Methods

We captured wigeons in the Netherlands and Lithuania and tracked them throughout spring mig

SUBMITTER: van Toor ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8665524 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature