Favorable winds speed up bird migration in spring but not in autumn.

ABSTRACT: Wind has a significant yet complex effect on bird migration speed. With prevailing south wind, overall migration is generally faster in spring than in autumn. However, studies on the difference in airspeed between seasons have shown contrasting results so far, in part due to their limited geographical or temporal coverage. Using the first full-year weather radar data set of nocturnal bird migration across western Europe together with wind speed from reanalysis data, we investigate variation of airspeed across season. We additionally expand our analysis of ground speed, airspeed, wind speed, and wind profit variation across time (seasonal and daily) and space (geographical and altitudinal). Our result confirms that wind plays a major role in explaining both temporal and spatial variabilitie

SUBMITTER: Nussbaumer R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9339755 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature