1
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Sassi Y, Nouzières B, Scacco M, Tremblay Y, Duriez O, Robira B. The use of social information in vulture flight decisions. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20231729. [PMID: 38471548 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Animals rely on a balance of personal and social information to decide when and where to move next in order to access a desired resource. The benefits from cueing on conspecifics to reduce uncertainty about resource availability can be rapidly overcome by the risks of within-group competition, often exacerbated toward low-ranked individuals. Being obligate soarers, relying on thermal updraughts to search for carcasses around which competition can be fierce, vultures represent ideal models to investigate the balance between personal and social information during foraging movements. Linking dominance hierarchy, social affinities and meteorological conditions to movement decisions of eight captive vultures, Gyps spp., released for free flights in natural soaring conditions, we found that they relied on social information (i.e. other vultures using/having used the thermals) to find the next thermal updraught, especially in unfavourable flight conditions. Low-ranked individuals were more likely to disregard social cues when deciding where to go next, possibly to minimize the competitive risk of social aggregation. These results exemplify the architecture of decision-making during flight in social birds. It suggests that the environmental context, the context of risk and the social system as a whole calibrate the balance between personal and social information use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yohan Sassi
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Martina Scacco
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Yann Tremblay
- Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), University of Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Sète, France
| | - Olivier Duriez
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Benjamin Robira
- Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all'Adige, Italy
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2
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Sage E, Bouten W, van Dijk W, Camphuysen KCJ, Shamoun-Baranes J. Built up areas in a wet landscape are stepping stones for soaring flight in a seabird. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 852:157879. [PMID: 35944643 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The energy exchange between the Earth's surface and atmosphere results in a highly dynamic habitat through which birds move. Thermal uplift is an atmospheric feature which many birds are able to exploit in order to save energy in flight, but which is governed by complex surface-atmosphere interactions. In mosaic landscapes consisting of multiple land uses, the spatial distribution of thermal uplift is expected to be heterogenous and birds may use the landscape selectively to maximise flight over areas where thermal soaring opportunities are best. Flight generalists such as the lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus, are expected to be less reliant on thermal uplift than obligate soaring birds. Nevertheless, gulls may select flight behaviours and routes in response to or in anticipation of thermal uplift in order to reduce their transport costs, even in landscapes where thermal uplift isn't prevalent. We explore thermal soaring over land in lesser black-backed gulls by using high-resolution GPS tracking to characterise individual instances of thermal soaring and detailed energy exchange modelling to map the thermal landscape which gulls experience. We determine that lesser black-backed gulls are regularly able to undertake thermal soaring, even in a wet temperate landscape below sea level. By examining the relationship between lesser black-backed gull flight, thermal uplift and land use, we determine that built up areas, particularly towns and cities, provide thermal uplift hotspots which lesser black-backed gulls preferentially make use of, resulting in more opportunities for energy saving flight through thermal soaring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elspeth Sage
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, 1090GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Willem Bouten
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, 1090GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Walter van Dijk
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, 1090GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Kees C J Camphuysen
- Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), P.O. Box 59, 1790AB Den Burg, Texel, the Netherlands
| | - Judy Shamoun-Baranes
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, 1090GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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3
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Mohamed A, Taylor GK, Watkins S, Windsor SP. Opportunistic soaring by birds suggests new opportunities for atmospheric energy harvesting by flying robots. J R Soc Interface 2022; 19:20220671. [PMID: 36415974 PMCID: PMC9682310 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2022.0671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of flying robots (drones) is increasing rapidly, but their utility is limited by high power demand, low specific energy storage and poor gust tolerance. By contrast, birds demonstrate long endurance, harvesting atmospheric energy in environments ranging from cluttered cityscapes to open landscapes, coasts and oceans. Here, we identify new opportunities for flying robots, drawing upon the soaring flight of birds. We evaluate mechanical energy transfer in soaring from first principles and review soaring strategies encompassing the use of updrafts (thermal or orographic) and wind gradients (spatial or temporal). We examine the extent to which state-of-the-art flying robots currently use each strategy and identify several untapped opportunities including slope soaring over built environments, thermal soaring over oceans and opportunistic gust soaring. In principle, the energetic benefits of soaring are accessible to flying robots of all kinds, given atmospherically aware sensor systems, guidance strategies and gust tolerance. Hence, while there is clear scope for specialist robots that soar like albatrosses, or which use persistent thermals like vultures, the greatest untapped potential may lie in non-specialist vehicles that make flexible use of atmospheric energy through path planning and flight control, as demonstrated by generalist flyers such as gulls, kites and crows.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Mohamed
- RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia
| | - G. K. Taylor
- Department of Biology, Oxford University, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - S. Watkins
- RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia
| | - S. P. Windsor
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TH, UK
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4
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Flack A, Aikens EO, Kölzsch A, Nourani E, Snell KR, Fiedler W, Linek N, Bauer HG, Thorup K, Partecke J, Wikelski M, Williams HJ. New frontiers in bird migration research. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R1187-R1199. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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5
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DURMUS SEYHUN, KESKIN GÖKSEL. Soaring strategy investigation of cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) by sailplane. THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.56093/ijans.v90i10.111311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Soaring has great importance to large and heavy terrestrial birds because they can gain altitude without using power in this way. The cinereous vultures were near threatened species in the world, so it was hard to observe them while circling in thermals or slope soaring. Although there were enough works on conservation and breeding biology of those birds, there was not any study on the soaring technique. In this work, cinereous vulture observed and tracked in thermal columns using a glider to figure out whether the turn performance of the cinereous vulture matched well with other vulture species. Finding the pros and cons of tracking and observation of the cinereous vulture's turn performance in a thermal by a glider was another objective of the study. The results indicated that the cinereous vulture can complete the thermal circling with a narrower radius which provides advantages to stay in the strongest part of the thermal.
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6
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Clay TA, Joo R, Weimerskirch H, Phillips RA, den Ouden O, Basille M, Clusella-Trullas S, Assink JD, Patrick SC. Sex-specific effects of wind on the flight decisions of a sexually dimorphic soaring bird. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:1811-1823. [PMID: 32557603 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2019] [Accepted: 04/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In a highly dynamic airspace, flying animals are predicted to adjust foraging behaviour to variable wind conditions to minimize movement costs. Sexual size dimorphism is widespread in wild animal populations, and for large soaring birds which rely on favourable winds for energy-efficient flight, differences in morphology, wing loading and associated flight capabilities may lead males and females to respond differently to wind. However, the interaction between wind and sex has not been comprehensively tested. We investigated, in a large sexually dimorphic seabird which predominantly uses dynamic soaring flight, whether flight decisions are modulated to variation in winds over extended foraging trips, and whether males and females differ. Using GPS loggers we tracked 385 incubation foraging trips of wandering albatrosses Diomedea exulans, for which males are c. 20% larger than females, from two major populations (Crozet and South Georgia). Hidden Markov models were used to characterize behavioural states-directed flight, area-restricted search (ARS) and resting-and model the probability of transitioning between states in response to wind speed and relative direction, and sex. Wind speed and relative direction were important predictors of state transitioning. Birds were much more likely to take off (i.e. switch from rest to flight) in stronger headwinds, and as wind speeds increased, to be in directed flight rather than ARS. Males from Crozet but not South Georgia experienced stronger winds than females, and males from both populations were more likely to take-off in windier conditions. Albatrosses appear to deploy an energy-saving strategy by modulating taking-off, their most energetically expensive behaviour, to favourable wind conditions. The behaviour of males, which have higher wing loading requiring faster speeds for gliding flight, was influenced to a greater degree by wind than females. As such, our results indicate that variation in flight performance drives sex differences in time-activity budgets and may lead the sexes to exploit regions with different wind regimes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas A Clay
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Rocío Joo
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, FL, USA
| | - Henri Weimerskirch
- Centre d'Étude Biologique de Chizé, CNRS UMR 7273, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Richard A Phillips
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, UK
| | - Olivier den Ouden
- R&D Seismology and Acoustics, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, The Netherlands.,Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Department of Geoscience and Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Mathieu Basille
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, FL, USA
| | - Susana Clusella-Trullas
- Department of Botany and Zoology and Centre for Invasion Biology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Jelle D Assink
- R&D Seismology and Acoustics, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, The Netherlands
| | - Samantha C Patrick
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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7
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Broom M, Erovenko IV, Rowell JT, Rychtář J. Models and measures of animal aggregation and dispersal. J Theor Biol 2020; 484:110002. [PMID: 31513801 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2019.110002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2019] [Revised: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The dispersal of individuals within an animal population will depend upon local properties intrinsic to the environment that differentiate superior from inferior regions as well as properties of the population. Competing concerns can either draw conspecifics together in aggregation, such as collective defence against predators, or promote dispersal that minimizes local densities, for instance to reduce competition for food. In this paper we consider a range of models of non-independent movement. We include established models, such as the ideal free distribution, but also develop novel models, such as the wheel. We also develop several ways to combine different models to create a flexible model of addressing a variety of dispersal mechanisms. We further devise novel measures of movement coordination and show how to generate a population movement that achieves appropriate values of the measure specified. We find the value of these measures for each of the core models described, as well as discuss their use, and potential limitations, in discerning the underlying movement mechanisms. The movement framework that we develop is both of interest as a stand-alone process to explore movement, but also able to generate a variety of movement patterns that can be embedded into wider evolutionary models where movement is not the only consideration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Broom
- Department of Mathematics, City, University of London, Northampton Square, London, EC1V 0HB, UK
| | - Igor V Erovenko
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA
| | - Jonathan T Rowell
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA
| | - Jan Rychtář
- Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284-2014, USA.
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8
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Janmaat KRL. What animals do not do or fail to find: A novel observational approach for studying cognition in the wild. Evol Anthropol 2019; 28:303-320. [PMID: 31418959 PMCID: PMC6916178 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2017] [Revised: 06/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
To understand how our brain evolved and what it is for, we are in urgent need of knowledge about the cognitive skills of a large variety of animal species and individuals, and their relationships to rapidly disappearing social and ecological conditions. But how do we obtain this knowledge? Studying cognition in the wild is a challenge. Field researchers (and their study subjects) face many factors that can easily interfere with their variables of interest. Although field studies of cognition present unique challenges, they are still invaluable for understanding the evolutionary drivers of cognition. In this review, I discuss the advantages and urgency of field-based studies on animal cognition and introduce a novel observational approach for field research that is guided by three questions: (a) what do animals fail to find?, (b) what do they not do?, and (c) what do they only do when certain conditions are met? My goal is to provide guidance to future field researchers examining primate cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karline R. L. Janmaat
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem DynamicsUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
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9
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Nagy M, Couzin ID, Fiedler W, Wikelski M, Flack A. Synchronization, coordination and collective sensing during thermalling flight of freely migrating white storks. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 373:rstb.2017.0011. [PMID: 29581396 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Exploring how flocks of soaring migrants manage to achieve and maintain coordination while exploiting thermal updrafts is important for understanding how collective movements can enhance the sensing of the surrounding environment. Here we examined the structural organization of a group of circling white storks (Ciconia ciconia) throughout their migratory journey from Germany to Spain. We analysed individual high-resolution GPS trajectories of storks during circling events, and evaluated each bird's flight behaviour in relation to its flock members. Within the flock, we identified subgroups that synchronize their movements and coordinate switches in their circling direction within thermals. These switches in direction can be initiated by any individual of the subgroup, irrespective of how advanced its relative vertical position is, and occur at specific horizontal locations within the thermal allowing the storks to remain within the thermal. Using the motion of all flock members, we were able to examine the dynamic variation of airflow within the thermals and to determine the specific environmental conditions surrounding the flock. With an increasing amount of high-resolution GPS tracking, we may soon be able to use these animals as distributed sensors providing us with a new means to obtain a detailed knowledge of our environment.This article is part of the theme issue 'Collective movement ecology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Máté Nagy
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Konstanz, Germany .,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.,MTA-ELTE Statistical and Biological Physics Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Iain D Couzin
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Fiedler
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Andrea Flack
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany .,Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
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10
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Williams HJ, King AJ, Duriez O, Börger L, Shepard ELC. Social eavesdropping allows for a more risky gliding strategy by thermal-soaring birds. J R Soc Interface 2018; 15:rsif.2018.0578. [PMID: 30404907 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2018.0578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2018] [Accepted: 10/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Vultures are thought to form networks in the sky, with individuals monitoring the movements of others to gain up-to-date information on resource availability. While it is recognized that social information facilitates the search for carrion, how this facilitates the search for updrafts, another critical resource, remains unknown. In theory, birds could use information on updraft availability to modulate their flight speed, increasing their airspeed when informed on updraft location. In addition, the stylized circling behaviour associated with thermal soaring is likely to provide social cues on updraft availability for any bird operating in the surrounding area. We equipped five Gyps vultures with GPS and airspeed loggers to quantify the movements of birds flying in the same airspace. Birds that were socially informed on updraft availability immediately adopted higher airspeeds on entering the inter-thermal glide; a strategy that would be risky if birds were relying on personal information alone. This was embedded within a broader pattern of a reduction in airspeed (approx. 3 m s-1) through the glide, likely reflecting the need for low speed to sense and turn into the next thermal. Overall, this demonstrates (i) the complexity of factors affecting speed selection over fine temporal scales and (ii) that Gyps vultures respond to social information on the occurrence of energy in the aerial environment, which may reduce uncertainty in their movement decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah J Williams
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Andrew J King
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Olivier Duriez
- CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Emily L C Shepard
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
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11
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Predicting Migratory Corridors of White Storks, Ciconia ciconia, to Enhance Sustainable Wind Energy Planning: A Data-Driven Agent-Based Model. SUSTAINABILITY 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/su10051470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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12
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Gutierrez Illan J, Wang G, Cunningham FL, King DT. Seasonal effects of wind conditions on migration patterns of soaring American white pelican. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0186948. [PMID: 29065188 PMCID: PMC5655449 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 10/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Energy and time expenditures are determinants of bird migration strategies. Soaring birds have developed migration strategies to minimize these costs, optimizing the use of all the available resources to facilitate their displacement. We analysed the effects of different wind factors (tailwind, turbulence, vertical updrafts) on the migratory flying strategies adopted by 24 satellite-tracked American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) throughout spring and autumn in North America. We hypothesize that different wind conditions encountered along migration routes between spring and autumn induce pelicans to adopt different flying strategies and use of these wind resources. Using quantile regression and fine-scale atmospheric data, we found that the pelicans optimized the use of available wind resources, flying faster and more direct routes in spring than in autumn. They actively selected tailwinds in both spring and autumn displacements but relied on available updrafts predominantly in their spring migration, when they needed to arrive at the breeding regions. These effects varied depending on the flying speed of the pelicans. We found significant directional correlations between the pelican migration flights and wind direction. In light of our results, we suggest plasticity of migratory flight strategies by pelicans is likely to enhance their ability to cope with the effects of ongoing climate change and the alteration of wind regimes. Here, we also demonstrate the usefulness and applicability of quantile regression techniques to investigate complex ecological processes such as variable effects of atmospheric conditions on soaring migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Gutierrez Illan
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Starkville, United States of America
| | - Guiming Wang
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Starkville, United States of America
| | - Fred L. Cunningham
- Wildlife Services-National Wildlife Research Center, Mississippi Field Station, Mississippi State University, Starkville, United States of America
| | - D. Tommy King
- Wildlife Services-National Wildlife Research Center, Mississippi Field Station, Mississippi State University, Starkville, United States of America
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13
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Revell C, Somveille M. A Physics-Inspired Mechanistic Model of Migratory Movement Patterns in Birds. Sci Rep 2017; 7:9870. [PMID: 28851922 PMCID: PMC5574917 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-09270-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2017] [Accepted: 07/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In this paper, we introduce a mechanistic model of migratory movement patterns in birds, inspired by ideas and methods from physics. Previous studies have shed light on the factors influencing bird migration but have mainly relied on statistical correlative analysis of tracking data. Our novel method offers a bottom up explanation of population-level migratory movement patterns. It differs from previous mechanistic models of animal migration and enables predictions of pathways and destinations from a given starting location. We define an environmental potential landscape from environmental data and simulate bird movement within this landscape based on simple decision rules drawn from statistical mechanics. We explore the capacity of the model by qualitatively comparing simulation results to the non-breeding migration patterns of a seabird species, the Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophris). This minimal, two-parameter model was able to capture remarkably well the previously documented migration patterns of the Black-browed Albatross, with the best combination of parameter values conserved across multiple geographically separate populations. Our physics-inspired mechanistic model could be applied to other bird and highly-mobile species, improving our understanding of the relative importance of various factors driving migration and making predictions that could be useful for conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Revell
- Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
| | - Marius Somveille
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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14
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Flack A, Fiedler W, Blas J, Pokrovsky I, Kaatz M, Mitropolsky M, Aghababyan K, Fakriadis I, Makrigianni E, Jerzak L, Azafzaf H, Feltrup-Azafzaf C, Rotics S, Mokotjomela TM, Nathan R, Wikelski M. Costs of migratory decisions: A comparison across eight white stork populations. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2016; 2:e1500931. [PMID: 26844294 PMCID: PMC4737271 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2015] [Accepted: 11/24/2015] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Annual migratory movements can range from a few tens to thousands of kilometers, creating unique energetic requirements for each specific species and journey. Even within the same species, migration costs can vary largely because of flexible, opportunistic life history strategies. We uncover the large extent of variation in the lifetime migratory decisions of young white storks originating from eight populations. Not only did juvenile storks differ in their geographically distinct wintering locations, their diverse migration patterns also affected the amount of energy individuals invested for locomotion during the first months of their life. Overwintering in areas with higher human population reduced the stork's overall energy expenditure because of shorter daily foraging trips, closer wintering grounds, or a complete suppression of migration. Because migrants can change ecological processes in several distinct communities simultaneously, understanding their life history decisions helps not only to protect migratory species but also to conserve stable ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Flack
- Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
- Corresponding author. E-mail:
| | - Wolfgang Fiedler
- Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Julio Blas
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 41092 Seville, Spain
| | - Ivan Pokrovsky
- Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Michael Kaatz
- Vogelschutzwarte Storchenhof Loburg e.V., 39279 Loburg, Germany
| | | | - Karen Aghababyan
- Acopian Center for the Environment, American University of Armenia, Yerevan 0019, Armenia
| | | | | | - Leszek Jerzak
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Zielona Góra, Institute of Biotechnology and Environment Protection, 65-516 Zielona Góra, Poland
| | - Hichem Azafzaf
- Association Les Amis des Oiseaux–BirdLife Tunisia, Aryanah 2080, Tunisia
| | | | - Shay Rotics
- Movement Ecology Laboratory, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Thabiso M. Mokotjomela
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Ran Nathan
- Movement Ecology Laboratory, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
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Modeling autumn migration of a rare soaring raptor identifies new movement corridors in central Appalachia. Ecol Modell 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Bauer S, Klaassen M. Mechanistic models of animal migration behaviour--their diversity, structure and use. J Anim Ecol 2013; 82:498-508. [PMID: 23373515 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2012] [Accepted: 12/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
1. Migration is a widespread phenomenon in the animal kingdom, including many taxonomic groups and modes of locomotion. Developing an understanding of the proximate and ultimate causes for this behaviour not only addresses fundamental ecological questions but has relevance to many other fields, for example in relation to the spread of emerging zoonotic diseases, the proliferation of invasive species, aeronautical safety as well as the conservation of migrants. 2. Theoretical methods can make important contributions to our understanding of migration, by allowing us to integrate findings on this complex behaviour, identify caveats in our understanding and to guide future empirical research efforts. Various mechanistic models exist to date, but their applications seem to be scattered and far from evenly distributed across taxonomic units. 3. Therefore, we provide an overview of the major mechanistic modelling approaches used in the study of migration behaviour and characterize their fundamental features, assumptions and limitations and discuss their typical data requirements both for model parameterization and for scrutinizing model predictions. 4. Furthermore, we review 155 studies that have used mechanistic models to study animal migration and analyse them with regard to the approaches used and the focal species, and also explore their contribution to advancing current knowledge within six broad migration ecology research themes. 5. This identifies important gaps in our present knowledge, which should be tackled in future research using existing and to-be developed theoretical approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silke Bauer
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), P.O. Box 50, 6700 AB, Wageningen, The Netherlands; Department of Bird Migration, Swiss Ornithological Institute, 6204, Sempach, Switzerland
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Safi K, Kranstauber B, Weinzierl R, Griffin L, Rees EC, Cabot D, Cruz S, Proaño C, Takekawa JY, Newman SH, Waldenström J, Bengtsson D, Kays R, Wikelski M, Bohrer G. Flying with the wind: scale dependency of speed and direction measurements in modelling wind support in avian flight. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2013; 1:4. [PMID: 25709818 PMCID: PMC4337751 DOI: 10.1186/2051-3933-1-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2013] [Accepted: 05/22/2013] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Understanding how environmental conditions, especially wind, influence birds' flight speeds is a prerequisite for understanding many important aspects of bird flight, including optimal migration strategies, navigation, and compensation for wind drift. Recent developments in tracking technology and the increased availability of data on large-scale weather patterns have made it possible to use path annotation to link the location of animals to environmental conditions such as wind speed and direction. However, there are various measures available for describing not only wind conditions but also the bird's flight direction and ground speed, and it is unclear which is best for determining the amount of wind support (the length of the wind vector in a bird's flight direction) and the influence of cross-winds (the length of the wind vector perpendicular to a bird's direction) throughout a bird's journey. RESULTS We compared relationships between cross-wind, wind support and bird movements, using path annotation derived from two different global weather reanalysis datasets and three different measures of direction and speed calculation for 288 individuals of nine bird species. Wind was a strong predictor of bird ground speed, explaining 10-66% of the variance, depending on species. Models using data from different weather sources gave qualitatively similar results; however, determining flight direction and speed from successive locations, even at short (15 min intervals), was inferior to using instantaneous GPS-based measures of speed and direction. Use of successive location data significantly underestimated the birds' ground and airspeed, and also resulted in mistaken associations between cross-winds, wind support, and their interactive effects, in relation to the birds' onward flight. CONCLUSIONS Wind has strong effects on bird flight, and combining GPS technology with path annotation of weather variables allows us to quantify these effects for understanding flight behaviour. The potentially strong influence of scaling effects must be considered and implemented in developing sampling regimes and data analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamran Safi
- />Department for Migration and Immuno-ecology, Max Plank Institute for Ornithology, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- />Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464 Germany
| | - Bart Kranstauber
- />Department for Migration and Immuno-ecology, Max Plank Institute for Ornithology, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- />Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464 Germany
| | | | - Larry Griffin
- />Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, GL2 7BT UK
| | - Eileen C Rees
- />Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, GL2 7BT UK
| | - David Cabot
- />Environmental Consultancy Services, White Strand, Killadoon, Louisburgh, Westport, Co. Mayo Ireland
| | - Sebastian Cruz
- />Department for Migration and Immuno-ecology, Max Plank Institute for Ornithology, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- />Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464 Germany
| | - Carolina Proaño
- />Department for Migration and Immuno-ecology, Max Plank Institute for Ornithology, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- />Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464 Germany
| | - John Y Takekawa
- />U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, 505 Azuar Drive, Vallejo, CA 94592 USA
| | - Scott H Newman
- />Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases, Animal Production and Health Division, Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 00153 Italy
| | - Jonas Waldenström
- />Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems (EEMiS), Linnaeus University, Kalmar, SE-391 82 Sweden
| | - Daniel Bengtsson
- />Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems (EEMiS), Linnaeus University, Kalmar, SE-391 82 Sweden
| | - Roland Kays
- />School of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University, 3118 Jordan Hall, Raleigh, NC 27695 USA
- />North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 West Jones St, Raleigh, NC 27601 USA
| | - Martin Wikelski
- />Department for Migration and Immuno-ecology, Max Plank Institute for Ornithology, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- />Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464 Germany
| | - Gil Bohrer
- />Department of Civil, Environmental & Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 USA
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Bohrer G, Brandes D, Mandel JT, Bildstein KL, Miller TA, Lanzone M, Katzner T, Maisonneuve C, Tremblay JA. Estimating updraft velocity components over large spatial scales: contrasting migration strategies of golden eagles and turkey vultures. Ecol Lett 2011; 15:96-103. [PMID: 22077120 DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01713.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 147] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Soaring birds migrate in massive numbers worldwide. These migrations are complex and dynamic phenomena, strongly influenced by meteorological conditions that produce thermal and orographic uplift as the birds traverse the landscape. Herein we report on how methods were developed to estimate the strength of thermal and orographic uplift using publicly available digital weather and topography datasets at continental scale. We apply these methods to contrast flight strategies of two morphologically similar but behaviourally different species: golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos, and turkey vulture, Cathartes aura, during autumn migration across eastern North America tracked using GPS tags. We show that turkey vultures nearly exclusively used thermal lift, whereas golden eagles primarily use orographic lift during migration. It has not been shown previously that migration tracks are affected by species-specific specialisation to a particular uplift mode. The methods introduced herein to estimate uplift components and test for differences in weather use can be applied to study movement of any soaring species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gil Bohrer
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, OH, USA.
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