1. Flexibility in otherwise consistent non-breeding movements of a long-distance migratory seabird, the long-tailed skua
- Author
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Rob van Bemmelen, Loïc Bollache, Jannik Hansen, Sveinn Are Hanssen, Raymond H. G. Klaassen, Børge Moe, Ingrid Tulp, Johannes Lang, Olivier Gilg, Niels Martin Schmidt, Benoît Sittler, Wageningen University and Research Centre [Wageningen] ( WUR ), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, 7485 Trondheim, Norway, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University [Aarhus], Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University [Aarhus]-Arctic Research Centre, Groupe de recherche en écologie arctique ( GREA ), Chair for Nature Protection and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Laboratoire Chrono-environnement ( LCE ), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté ( UBFC ) -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ) -Université de Franche-Comté ( UFC ), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté ( UBFC ), Dutch Montagu’s Harrier Foundation, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Biogéosciences [Dijon] ( BGS ), Université de Bourgogne ( UB ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR), Groupe de recherche en écologie arctique (GREA), Laboratoire Chrono-environnement - CNRS - UBFC (UMR 6249) (LCE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC), Biogéosciences [UMR 6282] [Dijon] (BGS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Bourgogne (UB)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, and Both group
- Subjects
ATLANTIC ,0106 biological sciences ,Environmental change ,Individual consistency · Repeatability · Stercorarius longicaudus · Seabirds · Tracking · Non-breeding movements · Flexibility ,Zoology and botany: 480 [VDP] ,CONSERVATION ,MODELS ,TRANS-EQUATORIAL MIGRATION ,Aquatic Science ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Skua ,Stercorarius longicaudus ,Onderzoeksformatie ,OCEAN ,ALBATROSSES ,individual consistency ,DISPERSAL ,biology.animal ,Repeatability ,Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 [VDP] ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Ecology ,biology ,[SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE] ,010604 marine biology & hydrobiology ,Flexibility (personality) ,tracking ,biology.organism_classification ,TERNS STERNA-PARADISAEA ,Seabirds ,Geolocation ,[ SDV.BID.EVO ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE] ,Geography ,Arctic ,Wildlife Ecology and Conservation ,NAVIGATION ,WIAS ,non-breeding movements ,Biological dispersal ,Seabird ,Flexibility ,BEHAVIOR - Abstract
Quantifying within- and between-individual variation in animal migration strategies is a first step towards our understanding of the ability of migrants to adjust to changes in the en - vironment. We studied consistency (or, conversely, flexibility) in movement patterns at large (>1000 km) to meso-scales (100−1000 km) during the non-breeding season of the long-tailed skua Stercorarius longicaudus, a long-distance migratory Arctic seabird, using light-based geolocation. We obtained 97 annual tracks of 38 individuals and quantified similarity between routes. Overall, tracks of the same individual were generally within about 200 to 300 km of their previous year’s route, and more similar than tracks of different individuals. Some flexibility was observed during migration, but individuals were faithful to their staging areas in the North Atlantic and in the Benguela Current off Namibia and South Africa. Over the course of the winter, an increasing number of individuals started to deviate—up to 5200 km—from the previous year’s route. Intriguingly, individuals could be highly consistent between 2 consecutive years and flexible between other years. Site-shifts in late winter seem to reflect responses to local conditions, but what promotes this larger flexibility remains unclear and requires further study. Our results show that individual long-tailed skuas are generally consistent in their itineraries, but can show considerable flexibility in some years. The flexibility in itineraries suggests that long-tailed skuas are able to adjust to environmental change, but the mechanisms leading to the observed within- and between-individual variation in movement patterns are still poorly understood. Individual consistency · Repeatability · Stercorarius longicaudus · Seabirds · Tracking · Non-breeding movements · Flexibility
- Published
- 2017
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