1
|
Gulson-Castillo ER, Van Doren BM, Bui MX, Horton KG, Li J, Moldwin MB, Shedden K, Welling DT, Winger BM. Space weather disrupts nocturnal bird migration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2306317120. [PMID: 37812699 PMCID: PMC10589677 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2306317120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Space weather, including solar storms, can impact Earth by disturbing the geomagnetic field. Despite the known dependence of birds and other animals on geomagnetic cues for successful seasonal migrations, the potential effects of space weather on organisms that use Earth's magnetic field for navigation have received little study. We tested whether space weather geomagnetic disturbances are associated with disruptions to bird migration at a macroecological scale. We leveraged long-term radar data to characterize the nightly migration dynamics of the nocturnally migrating North American avifauna over 22 y. We then used concurrent magnetometer data to develop a local magnetic disturbance index associated with each radar station (ΔBmax), facilitating spatiotemporally explicit analyses of the relationship between migration and geomagnetic disturbance. After controlling for effects of atmospheric weather and spatiotemporal patterns, we found a 9 to 17% decrease in migration intensity in both spring and fall during severe space weather events. During fall migration, we also found evidence for decreases in effort flying against the wind, which may represent a depression of active navigation such that birds drift more with the wind during geomagnetic disturbances. Effort flying against the wind in the fall was most reduced under both overcast conditions and high geomagnetic disturbance, suggesting that a combination of obscured celestial cues and magnetic disturbance may disrupt navigation. Collectively, our results provide evidence for community-wide avifaunal responses to geomagnetic disturbances driven by space weather during nocturnal migration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eric R. Gulson-Castillo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI48109
- Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI48109
| | | | - Michelle X. Bui
- Department of Physics, University of Texas, Arlington, TX76019
| | - Kyle G. Horton
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO80523
| | - Jing Li
- Department of Statistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI48109
| | - Mark B. Moldwin
- Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI48109
| | - Kerby Shedden
- Department of Statistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI48109
| | - Daniel T. Welling
- Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI48109
| | - Benjamin M. Winger
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI48109
- Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI48109
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Haas EK, La Sorte FA, McCaslin HM, Belotti MCTD, Horton KG. The correlation between eBird community science and weather surveillance radar-based estimates of migration phenology. GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY : A JOURNAL OF MACROECOLOGY 2022; 31:2219-2230. [PMID: 36590324 PMCID: PMC9795923 DOI: 10.1111/geb.13567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
AIM Measuring avian migration can prove challenging given the spatial scope and the diversity of species involved. No one monitoring technique provides all the pertinent measures needed to capture this macroscale phenomenon - emphasizing the need for data integration. Migration phenology is a key metric characterizing large-scale migration dynamics and has been successfully quantified using weather surveillance radar (WSR) data and community science observations. Separately, both platforms have their limitations and measure different aspects of bird migration. We sought to make a formal comparison of the migration phenology estimates derived from WSR and eBird data - of which we predict a positive correlation. LOCATION Contiguous United States. TIME PERIOD 2002-2018. MAJOR TAXA STUDIED Migratory birds. METHODS We estimated spring and autumn migration phenology at 143 WSR stations aggregated over a 17-year period (2002-2018), which we contrast with eBird-based estimates of spring and autumn migration phenology for 293 nocturnally migrating bird species at the 143 WSR stations. We compared phenology metrics derived from all species and WSR stations combined, for species in three taxonomic orders (Anseriformes, Charadriiformes and Passeriformes), and for WSR stations in three North American migration flyways (western, central and eastern). RESULTS We found positive correlations between WSR and eBird-based estimates of migration phenology and differences in the strength of correlations among taxonomic orders and migration flyways. The correlations were stronger during spring migration, for Passeriformes, and generally for WSR stations in the eastern flyway. Autumn migration showed weaker correlation, and in Anseriformes correlations were weakest overall. Lastly, eBird-based estimates slightly preceded those derived from WSR in the spring, but trailed WSR in the autumn, suggesting that the two data sources measure different components of migration phenology. MAIN CONCLUSIONS We highlight the complementarity of these two approaches, but also reveal strong taxonomic and geographic differences in the relationships between the platforms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elaina K. Haas
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | | | - Hanna M. McCaslin
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Maria C. T. D. Belotti
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Kyle G. Horton
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Rhodes MW, Bennie JJ, Spalding A, Ffrench-Constant RH, Maclean IMD. Recent advances in the remote sensing of insects. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 97:343-360. [PMID: 34609062 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Remote sensing has revolutionised many aspects of ecological research, enabling spatiotemporal data to be collected in an efficient and highly automated manner. The last two decades have seen phenomenal growth in capabilities for high-resolution remote sensing that increasingly offers opportunities to study small, but ecologically important organisms, such as insects. Here we review current applications for using remote sensing within entomological research, highlighting the emerging opportunities that now arise through advances in spatial, temporal and spectral resolution. Remote sensing can be used to map environmental variables, such as habitat, microclimate and light pollution, capturing data on topography, vegetation structure and composition, and luminosity at spatial scales appropriate to insects. Such data can also be used to detect insects indirectly from the influences that they have on the environment, such as feeding damage or nest structures, whilst opportunities for directly detecting insects are also increasingly available. Entomological radar and light detection and ranging (LiDAR), for example, are transforming our understanding of aerial insect abundance and movement ecology, whilst ultra-high spatial resolution drone imagery presents tantalising new opportunities for direct observation. Remote sensing is rapidly developing into a powerful toolkit for entomologists, that we envisage will soon become an integral part of insect science.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marcus W Rhodes
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, U.K
| | - Jonathan J Bennie
- Centre for Geography and Environmental Science, University of Exeter Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, U.K
| | - Adrian Spalding
- Spalding Associates (Environmental) Ltd, 10 Walsingham Place, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 2RP, U.K
| | - Richard H Ffrench-Constant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, U.K
| | - Ilya M D Maclean
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, U.K
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Cabrera-Cruz SA, Larkin RP, Gimpel ME, Gruber JG, Zenzal TJ, Buler JJ. Potential effect of low-rise, downcast artificial lights on nocturnally migrating land birds. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 61:1216-1236. [PMID: 34240165 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Artificial light at night (ALAN) affects the flight behavior of night-migrating birds at tall or upward-pointed lighting installations. We hypothesized that common low-rise lights pointing downwards also affect the movement of nocturnal migrants. We predicted that birds in flight will react close to low-rise lights, and be attracted and grounded near light sources, with a stronger effect on juveniles during their autumn migration. We conducted a controlled longitudinal experiment with LED floodlights and considered nearby structures that turn on lights at night. We analyzed 1501 high-resolution 3D nocturnal flight paths of free-flying migrants and diurnally captured 758-2009 birds around experimental lights during spring and autumn 2016, and spring 2017. We identified change points along flight paths where birds turned horizontally or vertically, and we considered these indicatives of reactions. Flight paths with and without reactions were generally closer to our experimental site in spring than in autumn when the lights were on. Reactions were up to 40% more likely in autumn than spring depending on threshold magnitude of turning angle. Reactions in spring were up to ∼60% more likely to occur at ∼35m from the lights than at >1.5km. In autumn, some vertical reactions were ∼40% more likely ∼50m from the lights than at >2.2km. Interactions between distance to lights and visibility or cloud cover were consistent with known effects of ALAN on nocturnal migrants. Under poor visibility, reactions were up to 50% more likely farthest from structures in spring, but up to 60% more likely closest to lights in autumn. Thus, the effects of ALAN on night-migrating land birds are not limited to bright lights pointing upwards or lights on tall structures in urban areas. Diurnal capture rates of birds were not different when lights were on or off for either season. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that low-rise lights pointing downwards affect night-migrating birds. Although the interpreted reactions constitute subtle modifications in the linearity of flight paths, we discuss future work that could verify whether the protection of nocturnal migrants with lights-out programs would have greater impact if implemented beyond urban areas and include management of low-rise lights.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sergio A Cabrera-Cruz
- Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Delaware, USA
| | - Ronald P Larkin
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Maren E Gimpel
- Foreman's Branch Bird Observatory, Washington College, Chestertown, MD, USA
| | - James G Gruber
- Foreman's Branch Bird Observatory, Washington College, Chestertown, MD, USA
| | - Theodore J Zenzal
- U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Lafayette, LA, USA.,School of Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA
| | - Jeffrey J Buler
- Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Delaware, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
Millions of nocturnally migrating birds die each year from collisions with built structures, especially brightly illuminated buildings and communication towers. Reducing this source of mortality requires knowledge of important behavioral, meteorological, and anthropogenic factors, yet we lack an understanding of the interacting roles of migration, artificial lighting, and weather conditions in causing fatal bird collisions. Using two decades of collision surveys and concurrent weather and migration measures, we model numbers of collisions occurring at a large urban building in Chicago. We find that the magnitude of nocturnal bird migration, building light output, and wind conditions are the most important predictors of fatal collisions. The greatest mortality occurred when the building was brightly lit during large nocturnal migration events and when winds concentrated birds along the Chicago lakeshore. We estimate that halving lighted window area decreases collision counts by 11× in spring and 6× in fall. Bird mortality could be reduced by ∼60% at this site by decreasing lighted window area to minimum levels historically recorded. Our study provides strong support for a relationship between nocturnal migration magnitude and urban bird mortality, mediated by light pollution and local atmospheric conditions. Although our research focuses on a single site, our findings have global implications for reducing or eliminating a critically important cause of bird mortality.
Collapse
|
6
|
A Gaussian Mixture Model to Separate Birds and Insects in Single-Polarization Weather Radar Data. REMOTE SENSING 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/rs13101989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Recent and archived data from weather radar networks are extensively used for the quantification of continent-wide bird migration patterns. While the process of discriminating birds from weather signals is well established, insect contamination is still a problem. We present a simple method combining two Doppler radar products within a Gaussian mixture model to estimate the proportions of birds and insects within a single measurement volume, as well as the density and speed of birds and insects. This method can be applied to any existing archives of vertical bird profiles, such as the European Network for the Radar surveillance of Animal Movement repository, with no need to recalculate the huge amount of original polar volume data, which often are not available.
Collapse
|
7
|
Robust sound event detection in bioacoustic sensor networks. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0214168. [PMID: 31647815 PMCID: PMC6812790 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Bioacoustic sensors, sometimes known as autonomous recording units (ARUs), can record sounds of wildlife over long periods of time in scalable and minimally invasive ways. Deriving per-species abundance estimates from these sensors requires detection, classification, and quantification of animal vocalizations as individual acoustic events. Yet, variability in ambient noise, both over time and across sensors, hinders the reliability of current automated systems for sound event detection (SED), such as convolutional neural networks (CNN) in the time-frequency domain. In this article, we develop, benchmark, and combine several machine listening techniques to improve the generalizability of SED models across heterogeneous acoustic environments. As a case study, we consider the problem of detecting avian flight calls from a ten-hour recording of nocturnal bird migration, recorded by a network of six ARUs in the presence of heterogeneous background noise. Starting from a CNN yielding state-of-the-art accuracy on this task, we introduce two noise adaptation techniques, respectively integrating short-term (60 ms) and long-term (30 min) context. First, we apply per-channel energy normalization (PCEN) in the time-frequency domain, which applies short-term automatic gain control to every subband in the mel-frequency spectrogram. Secondly, we replace the last dense layer in the network by a context-adaptive neural network (CA-NN) layer, i.e. an affine layer whose weights are dynamically adapted at prediction time by an auxiliary network taking long-term summary statistics of spectrotemporal features as input. We show that PCEN reduces temporal overfitting across dawn vs. dusk audio clips whereas context adaptation on PCEN-based summary statistics reduces spatial overfitting across sensor locations. Moreover, combining them yields state-of-the-art results that are unmatched by artificial data augmentation alone. We release a pre-trained version of our best performing system under the name of BirdVoxDetect, a ready-to-use detector of avian flight calls in field recordings.
Collapse
|
8
|
Newcombe PB, Nilsson C, Lin TY, Winner K, Bernstein G, Maji S, Sheldon D, Farnsworth A, Horton KG. Migratory flight on the Pacific Flyway: strategies and tendencies of wind drift compensation. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20190383. [PMID: 31530114 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Applications of remote sensing data to monitor bird migration usher a new understanding of magnitude and extent of movements across entire flyways. Millions of birds move through the western USA, yet this region is understudied as a migratory corridor. Characterizing movements in the Pacific Flyway offers a unique opportunity to study complementary patterns to those recently highlighted in the Atlantic and Central Flyways. We use weather surveillance radar data from spring and autumn (1995-2018) to examine migrants' behaviours in relation to winds in the Pacific Flyway. Overall, spring migrants tended to drift on winds, but less so at northern latitudes and farther inland from the Pacific coastline. Relationships between winds and autumn flight behaviours were less striking, with no latitudinal or coastal dependencies. Differences in the preferred direction of movement (PDM) and wind direction predicted drift patterns during spring and autumn, with increased drift when wind direction and PDM differences were high. We also observed greater total flight activity through the Pacific Flyway during the spring when compared with the autumn. Such complex relationships among birds' flight strategies, winds and seasonality highlight the variation within a migration system. Characterizations at these scales complement our understanding of strategies to clarify aerial animal movements.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Cecilia Nilsson
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Tsung-Yu Lin
- College of Information and Computer Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Kevin Winner
- College of Information and Computer Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Garrett Bernstein
- College of Information and Computer Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Subhransu Maji
- College of Information and Computer Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Daniel Sheldon
- College of Information and Computer Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA.,Department of Computer Science, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, USA
| | | | - Kyle G Horton
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.,Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Lin T, Winner K, Bernstein G, Mittal A, Dokter AM, Horton KG, Nilsson C, Van Doren BM, Farnsworth A, La Sorte FA, Maji S, Sheldon D. M
ist
N
et
: Measuring historical bird migration in the US using archived weather radar data and convolutional neural networks. Methods Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tsung‐Yu Lin
- College of Information and Computer Sciences University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA USA
| | - Kevin Winner
- College of Information and Computer Sciences University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA USA
| | - Garrett Bernstein
- College of Information and Computer Sciences University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA USA
| | - Abhay Mittal
- College of Information and Computer Sciences University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA USA
| | | | - Kyle G. Horton
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
- Department o f Fish Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Colorado State University Fort Collins CO USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Subhransu Maji
- College of Information and Computer Sciences University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA USA
| | - Daniel Sheldon
- College of Information and Computer Sciences University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst MA USA
- Department of Computer Science Mount Holyoke College South Hadley MA USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Winger BM, Weeks BC, Farnsworth A, Jones AW, Hennen M, Willard DE. Nocturnal flight-calling behaviour predicts vulnerability to artificial light in migratory birds. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20190364. [PMID: 30940055 PMCID: PMC6501673 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Accepted: 03/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding interactions between biota and the built environment is increasingly important as human modification of the landscape expands in extent and intensity. For migratory birds, collisions with lighted structures are a major cause of mortality, but the mechanisms behind these collisions are poorly understood. Using 40 years of collision records of passerine birds, we investigated the importance of species' behavioural ecologies in predicting rates of building collisions during nocturnal migration through Chicago, IL and Cleveland, OH, USA. We found that the use of nocturnal flight calls is an important predictor of collision risk in nocturnally migrating passerine birds. Species that produce flight calls during nocturnal migration tended to collide with buildings more than expected given their local abundance, whereas those that do not use such communication collided much less frequently. Our results suggest that a stronger attraction response to artificial light at night in species that produce flight calls may mediate these differences in collision rates. Nocturnal flight calls probably evolved to facilitate collective decision-making during navigation, but this same social behaviour may now exacerbate vulnerability to a widespread anthropogenic disturbance. Our results also suggest that social behaviour during migration may reflect poorly understood differences in navigational mechanisms across lineages of birds.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin M. Winger
- Museum of Zoology, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 1105 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Brian C. Weeks
- Museum of Zoology, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 1105 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Andrew Farnsworth
- Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Andrew W. Jones
- Department of Ornithology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval Drive, University Circle, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Mary Hennen
- Gantz Family Collections Center, The Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
| | - David E. Willard
- Gantz Family Collections Center, The Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Horton KG, Van Doren BM, La Sorte FA, Cohen EB, Clipp HL, Buler JJ, Fink D, Kelly JF, Farnsworth A. Holding steady: Little change in intensity or timing of bird migration over the Gulf of Mexico. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:1106-1118. [PMID: 30623528 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2018] [Revised: 10/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Quantifying the timing and intensity of migratory movements is imperative for understanding impacts of changing landscapes and climates on migratory bird populations. Billions of birds migrate in the Western Hemisphere, but accurately estimating the population size of one migratory species, let alone hundreds, presents numerous obstacles. Here, we quantify the timing, intensity, and distribution of bird migration through one of the largest migration corridors in the Western Hemisphere, the Gulf of Mexico (the Gulf). We further assess whether there have been changes in migration timing or intensity through the Gulf. To achieve this, we integrate citizen science (eBird) observations with 21 years of weather surveillance radar data (1995-2015). We predicted no change in migration timing and a decline in migration intensity across the time series. We estimate that an average of 2.1 billion birds pass through this region each spring en route to Nearctic breeding grounds. Annually, half of these individuals pass through the region in just 18 days, between April 19 and May 7. The western region of the Gulf showed a mean rate of passage 5.4 times higher than the central and eastern regions. We did not detect an overall change in the annual numbers of migrants (2007-2015) or the annual timing of peak migration (1995-2015). However, we found that the earliest seasonal movements through the region occurred significantly earlier over time (1.6 days decade-1 ). Additionally, body mass and migration distance explained the magnitude of phenological changes, with the most rapid advances occurring with an assemblage of larger-bodied shorter-distance migrants. Our results provide baseline information that can be used to advance our understanding of the developing implications of climate change, urbanization, and energy development for migratory bird populations in North America.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kyle G Horton
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
| | | | - Frank A La Sorte
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
| | - Emily B Cohen
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Hannah L Clipp
- Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware
| | - Jeffrey J Buler
- Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware
| | - Daniel Fink
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
| | - Jeffrey F Kelly
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
- Corix Plains Institute, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
| | | |
Collapse
|
12
|
Dreelin RA, Shipley JR, Winkler DW. Flight Behavior of Individual Aerial Insectivores Revealed by Novel Altitudinal Dataloggers. Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
|
13
|
Van Doren BM, Horton KG. A continental system for forecasting bird migration. Science 2018; 361:1115-1118. [PMID: 30213913 DOI: 10.1126/science.aat7526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2018] [Accepted: 08/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Billions of animals cross the globe each year during seasonal migrations, but efforts to monitor them are hampered by the unpredictability of their movements. We developed a bird migration forecast system at a continental scale by leveraging 23 years of spring observations to identify associations between atmospheric conditions and bird migration intensity. Our models explained up to 81% of variation in migration intensity across the United States at altitudes of 0 to 3000 meters, and performance remained high in forecasting events 1 to 7 days in advance (62 to 76% of variation was explained). Avian migratory movements across the United States likely exceed 500 million individuals per night during peak passage. Bird migration forecasts will reduce collisions with buildings, airplanes, and wind turbines; inform a variety of monitoring efforts; and engage the public.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin M Van Doren
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK.
| | - Kyle G Horton
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Welch H, Hazen EL, Bograd SJ, Jacox MG, Brodie S, Robinson D, Scales KL, Dewitt L, Lewison R. Practical considerations for operationalizing dynamic management tools. J Appl Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Heather Welch
- Institute of Marine ScienceUniversity of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California
- NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center Monterey California
| | - Elliott L. Hazen
- Institute of Marine ScienceUniversity of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California
| | - Steven J. Bograd
- Institute of Marine ScienceUniversity of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California
| | - Michael G. Jacox
- Institute of Marine ScienceUniversity of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California
| | - Stephanie Brodie
- Institute of Marine ScienceUniversity of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California
- NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center Monterey California
| | - Dale Robinson
- Institute of Marine ScienceUniversity of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California
- NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center Monterey California
| | - Kylie L. Scales
- School of Science and EngineeringUniversity of the Sunshine Coast Maroochydore Qld Australia
| | - Lynn Dewitt
- NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center Monterey California
| | - Rebecca Lewison
- Biology DepartmentSan Diego State University San Diego California
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Horton KG, Van Doren BM, La Sorte FA, Fink D, Sheldon D, Farnsworth A, Kelly JF. Navigating north: how body mass and winds shape avian flight behaviours across a North American migratory flyway. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1055-1064. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.12971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kyle G. Horton
- Department of Biology University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA
- Oklahoma Biological Survey University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA
- Advanced Radar Research Center University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
| | | | | | - Daniel Fink
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
| | - Daniel Sheldon
- College of Information and Computer Sciences University of Massachusetts Amherst MA USA
- Department of Computer Science Mount Holyoke College South Hadley MA USA
| | | | - Jeffrey F. Kelly
- Department of Biology University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA
- Oklahoma Biological Survey University of Oklahoma Norman OK USA
- Corix Plains Institute University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma USA
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
McLaren JD, Buler JJ, Schreckengost T, Smolinsky JA, Boone M, Emiel van Loon E, Dawson DK, Walters EL. Artificial light at night confounds broad-scale habitat use by migrating birds. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:356-364. [PMID: 29316091 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2017] [Revised: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
With many of the world's migratory bird populations in alarming decline, broad-scale assessments of responses to migratory hazards may prove crucial to successful conservation efforts. Most birds migrate at night through increasingly light-polluted skies. Bright light sources can attract airborne migrants and lead to collisions with structures, but might also influence selection of migratory stopover habitat and thereby acquisition of food resources. We demonstrate, using multi-year weather radar measurements of nocturnal migrants across the northeastern U.S., that autumnal migrant stopover density increased at regional scales with proximity to the brightest areas, but decreased within a few kilometers of brightly-lit sources. This finding implies broad-scale attraction to artificial light while airborne, impeding selection for extensive forest habitat. Given that high-quality stopover habitat is critical to successful migration, and hindrances during migration can decrease fitness, artificial lights present a potentially heightened conservation concern for migratory bird populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- James D McLaren
- Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA.,National Wildlife Research Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0H3, Canada
| | - Jeffrey J Buler
- Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Tim Schreckengost
- Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Jaclyn A Smolinsky
- Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Matthew Boone
- Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - E Emiel van Loon
- Theoretical and Computational Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, NL-1090 GE, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Deanna K Dawson
- U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, 20708, USA
| | - Eric L Walters
- Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Van Doren BM, Horton KG, Dokter AM, Klinck H, Elbin SB, Farnsworth A. High-intensity urban light installation dramatically alters nocturnal bird migration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:11175-11180. [PMID: 28973942 PMCID: PMC5651764 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1708574114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Billions of nocturnally migrating birds move through increasingly photopolluted skies, relying on cues for navigation and orientation that artificial light at night (ALAN) can impair. However, no studies have quantified avian responses to powerful ground-based light sources in urban areas. We studied effects of ALAN on migrating birds by monitoring the beams of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum's "Tribute in Light" in New York, quantifying behavioral responses with radar and acoustic sensors and modeling disorientation and attraction with simulations. This single light source induced significant behavioral alterations in birds, even in good visibility conditions, in this heavily photopolluted environment, and to altitudes up to 4 km. We estimate that the installation influenced ≈1.1 million birds during our study period of 7 d over 7 y. When the installation was illuminated, birds aggregated in high densities, decreased flight speeds, followed circular flight paths, and vocalized frequently. Simulations revealed a high probability of disorientation and subsequent attraction for nearby birds, and bird densities near the installation exceeded magnitudes 20 times greater than surrounding baseline densities during each year's observations. However, behavioral disruptions disappeared when lights were extinguished, suggesting that selective removal of light during nights with substantial bird migration is a viable strategy for minimizing potentially fatal interactions among ALAN, structures, and birds. Our results also highlight the value of additional studies describing behavioral patterns of nocturnally migrating birds in powerful lights in urban areas as well as conservation implications for such lighting installations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin M Van Doren
- Information Science Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY 14850
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, United Kingdom
| | - Kyle G Horton
- Information Science Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY 14850
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019
- Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019
| | - Adriaan M Dokter
- Information Science Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY 14850
| | - Holger Klinck
- Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY 14850
| | | | - Andrew Farnsworth
- Information Science Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY 14850;
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Vertical Sampling Scales for Atmospheric Boundary Layer Measurements from Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS). ATMOSPHERE 2017. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos8090176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
|
19
|
Shamoun-Baranes J, Liechti F, Vansteelant WMG. Atmospheric conditions create freeways, detours and tailbacks for migrating birds. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2017; 203:509-529. [PMID: 28508130 PMCID: PMC5522504 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-017-1181-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2016] [Revised: 05/04/2017] [Accepted: 05/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The extraordinary adaptations of birds to contend with atmospheric conditions during their migratory flights have captivated ecologists for decades. During the 21st century technological advances have sparked a revival of research into the influence of weather on migrating birds. Using biologging technology, flight behaviour is measured across entire flyways, weather radar networks quantify large-scale migratory fluxes, citizen scientists gather observations of migrant birds and mechanistic models are used to simulate migration in dynamic aerial environments. In this review, we first introduce the most relevant microscale, mesoscale and synoptic scale atmospheric phenomena from the point of view of a migrating bird. We then provide an overview of the individual responses of migrant birds (when, where and how to fly) in relation to these phenomena. We explore the cumulative impact of individual responses to weather during migration, and the consequences thereof for populations and migratory systems. In general, individual birds seem to have a much more flexible response to weather than previously thought, but we also note similarities in migratory behaviour across taxa. We propose various avenues for future research through which we expect to derive more fundamental insights into the influence of weather on the evolution of migratory behaviour and the life-history, population dynamics and species distributions of migrant birds.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Judy Shamoun-Baranes
- Theoretical and Computational Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94248, 1090 GE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Felix Liechti
- Department of Bird Migration, Swiss Ornithological Institute, Seerose 1, 6204, Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Wouter M G Vansteelant
- Theoretical and Computational Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94248, 1090 GE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Vansteelant Eco Research, Dijkgraaf 35, 6721 NJ, Bennekom, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Bauer S, Chapman JW, Reynolds DR, Alves JA, Dokter AM, Menz MMH, Sapir N, Ciach M, Pettersson LB, Kelly JF, Leijnse H, Shamoun-Baranes J. From Agricultural Benefits to Aviation Safety: Realizing the Potential of Continent-Wide Radar Networks. Bioscience 2017; 67:912-918. [PMID: 29599538 PMCID: PMC5862237 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/bix074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Migratory animals provide a multitude of services and disservices—with benefits or costs in the order of billions of dollars annually. Monitoring, quantifying, and forecasting migrations across continents could assist diverse stakeholders in utilizing migrant services, reducing disservices, or mitigating human–wildlife conflicts. Radars are powerful tools for such monitoring as they can assess directional intensities, such as migration traffic rates, and biomass transported. Currently, however, most radar applications are local or small scale and therefore substantially limited in their ability to address large-scale phenomena. As weather radars are organized into continent-wide networks and also detect “biological targets,” they could routinely monitor aerial migrations over the relevant spatial scales and over the timescales required for detecting responses to environmental perturbations. To tap these unexploited resources, a concerted effort is needed among diverse fields of expertise and among stakeholders to recognize the value of the existing infrastructure and data beyond weather forecasting.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Silke Bauer
- Silke Bauer is affiliated with the Swiss Ornithological Institute, in Sempach, Switzerland. Jason W. Chapman is affiliated with the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and with the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter, in Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Don R. Reynolds is with the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, in Chatham, United Kingdom. José A. Alves is affiliated with CESAM at the University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, in Portugal, and with the South Iceland Research Centre at the University of Iceland, in Selfoss. Adriaan M. Dokter and Judy Shamoun-Baranes are affiliated with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. AMD is also affiliated with the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Myles M. H. Menz is affiliated with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, and with the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, in Crawley. Nir Sapir is with the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa, in Israel. Michał Ciach is affiliated with the Department of Forest Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture, in Krakow, Poland. Lars B. Pettersson is with the Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, at the University of Lund, in Sweden. Jeffrey F. Kelly is affiliated with the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. Hidde Leijnse is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, in De Bilt, The Netherlands
| | - Jason W Chapman
- Silke Bauer is affiliated with the Swiss Ornithological Institute, in Sempach, Switzerland. Jason W. Chapman is affiliated with the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and with the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter, in Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Don R. Reynolds is with the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, in Chatham, United Kingdom. José A. Alves is affiliated with CESAM at the University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, in Portugal, and with the South Iceland Research Centre at the University of Iceland, in Selfoss. Adriaan M. Dokter and Judy Shamoun-Baranes are affiliated with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. AMD is also affiliated with the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Myles M. H. Menz is affiliated with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, and with the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, in Crawley. Nir Sapir is with the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa, in Israel. Michał Ciach is affiliated with the Department of Forest Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture, in Krakow, Poland. Lars B. Pettersson is with the Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, at the University of Lund, in Sweden. Jeffrey F. Kelly is affiliated with the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. Hidde Leijnse is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, in De Bilt, The Netherlands
| | - Don R Reynolds
- Silke Bauer is affiliated with the Swiss Ornithological Institute, in Sempach, Switzerland. Jason W. Chapman is affiliated with the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and with the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter, in Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Don R. Reynolds is with the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, in Chatham, United Kingdom. José A. Alves is affiliated with CESAM at the University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, in Portugal, and with the South Iceland Research Centre at the University of Iceland, in Selfoss. Adriaan M. Dokter and Judy Shamoun-Baranes are affiliated with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. AMD is also affiliated with the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Myles M. H. Menz is affiliated with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, and with the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, in Crawley. Nir Sapir is with the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa, in Israel. Michał Ciach is affiliated with the Department of Forest Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture, in Krakow, Poland. Lars B. Pettersson is with the Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, at the University of Lund, in Sweden. Jeffrey F. Kelly is affiliated with the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. Hidde Leijnse is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, in De Bilt, The Netherlands
| | - José A Alves
- Silke Bauer is affiliated with the Swiss Ornithological Institute, in Sempach, Switzerland. Jason W. Chapman is affiliated with the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and with the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter, in Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Don R. Reynolds is with the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, in Chatham, United Kingdom. José A. Alves is affiliated with CESAM at the University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, in Portugal, and with the South Iceland Research Centre at the University of Iceland, in Selfoss. Adriaan M. Dokter and Judy Shamoun-Baranes are affiliated with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. AMD is also affiliated with the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Myles M. H. Menz is affiliated with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, and with the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, in Crawley. Nir Sapir is with the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa, in Israel. Michał Ciach is affiliated with the Department of Forest Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture, in Krakow, Poland. Lars B. Pettersson is with the Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, at the University of Lund, in Sweden. Jeffrey F. Kelly is affiliated with the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. Hidde Leijnse is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, in De Bilt, The Netherlands
| | - Adriaan M Dokter
- Silke Bauer is affiliated with the Swiss Ornithological Institute, in Sempach, Switzerland. Jason W. Chapman is affiliated with the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and with the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter, in Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Don R. Reynolds is with the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, in Chatham, United Kingdom. José A. Alves is affiliated with CESAM at the University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, in Portugal, and with the South Iceland Research Centre at the University of Iceland, in Selfoss. Adriaan M. Dokter and Judy Shamoun-Baranes are affiliated with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. AMD is also affiliated with the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Myles M. H. Menz is affiliated with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, and with the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, in Crawley. Nir Sapir is with the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa, in Israel. Michał Ciach is affiliated with the Department of Forest Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture, in Krakow, Poland. Lars B. Pettersson is with the Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, at the University of Lund, in Sweden. Jeffrey F. Kelly is affiliated with the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. Hidde Leijnse is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, in De Bilt, The Netherlands
| | - Myles M H Menz
- Silke Bauer is affiliated with the Swiss Ornithological Institute, in Sempach, Switzerland. Jason W. Chapman is affiliated with the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and with the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter, in Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Don R. Reynolds is with the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, in Chatham, United Kingdom. José A. Alves is affiliated with CESAM at the University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, in Portugal, and with the South Iceland Research Centre at the University of Iceland, in Selfoss. Adriaan M. Dokter and Judy Shamoun-Baranes are affiliated with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. AMD is also affiliated with the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Myles M. H. Menz is affiliated with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, and with the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, in Crawley. Nir Sapir is with the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa, in Israel. Michał Ciach is affiliated with the Department of Forest Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture, in Krakow, Poland. Lars B. Pettersson is with the Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, at the University of Lund, in Sweden. Jeffrey F. Kelly is affiliated with the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. Hidde Leijnse is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, in De Bilt, The Netherlands
| | - Nir Sapir
- Silke Bauer is affiliated with the Swiss Ornithological Institute, in Sempach, Switzerland. Jason W. Chapman is affiliated with the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and with the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter, in Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Don R. Reynolds is with the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, in Chatham, United Kingdom. José A. Alves is affiliated with CESAM at the University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, in Portugal, and with the South Iceland Research Centre at the University of Iceland, in Selfoss. Adriaan M. Dokter and Judy Shamoun-Baranes are affiliated with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. AMD is also affiliated with the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Myles M. H. Menz is affiliated with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, and with the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, in Crawley. Nir Sapir is with the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa, in Israel. Michał Ciach is affiliated with the Department of Forest Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture, in Krakow, Poland. Lars B. Pettersson is with the Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, at the University of Lund, in Sweden. Jeffrey F. Kelly is affiliated with the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. Hidde Leijnse is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, in De Bilt, The Netherlands
| | - Michał Ciach
- Silke Bauer is affiliated with the Swiss Ornithological Institute, in Sempach, Switzerland. Jason W. Chapman is affiliated with the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and with the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter, in Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Don R. Reynolds is with the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, in Chatham, United Kingdom. José A. Alves is affiliated with CESAM at the University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, in Portugal, and with the South Iceland Research Centre at the University of Iceland, in Selfoss. Adriaan M. Dokter and Judy Shamoun-Baranes are affiliated with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. AMD is also affiliated with the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Myles M. H. Menz is affiliated with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, and with the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, in Crawley. Nir Sapir is with the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa, in Israel. Michał Ciach is affiliated with the Department of Forest Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture, in Krakow, Poland. Lars B. Pettersson is with the Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, at the University of Lund, in Sweden. Jeffrey F. Kelly is affiliated with the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. Hidde Leijnse is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, in De Bilt, The Netherlands
| | - Lars B Pettersson
- Silke Bauer is affiliated with the Swiss Ornithological Institute, in Sempach, Switzerland. Jason W. Chapman is affiliated with the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and with the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter, in Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Don R. Reynolds is with the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, in Chatham, United Kingdom. José A. Alves is affiliated with CESAM at the University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, in Portugal, and with the South Iceland Research Centre at the University of Iceland, in Selfoss. Adriaan M. Dokter and Judy Shamoun-Baranes are affiliated with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. AMD is also affiliated with the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Myles M. H. Menz is affiliated with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, and with the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, in Crawley. Nir Sapir is with the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa, in Israel. Michał Ciach is affiliated with the Department of Forest Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture, in Krakow, Poland. Lars B. Pettersson is with the Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, at the University of Lund, in Sweden. Jeffrey F. Kelly is affiliated with the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. Hidde Leijnse is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, in De Bilt, The Netherlands
| | - Jeffrey F Kelly
- Silke Bauer is affiliated with the Swiss Ornithological Institute, in Sempach, Switzerland. Jason W. Chapman is affiliated with the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and with the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter, in Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Don R. Reynolds is with the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, in Chatham, United Kingdom. José A. Alves is affiliated with CESAM at the University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, in Portugal, and with the South Iceland Research Centre at the University of Iceland, in Selfoss. Adriaan M. Dokter and Judy Shamoun-Baranes are affiliated with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. AMD is also affiliated with the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Myles M. H. Menz is affiliated with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, and with the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, in Crawley. Nir Sapir is with the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa, in Israel. Michał Ciach is affiliated with the Department of Forest Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture, in Krakow, Poland. Lars B. Pettersson is with the Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, at the University of Lund, in Sweden. Jeffrey F. Kelly is affiliated with the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. Hidde Leijnse is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, in De Bilt, The Netherlands
| | - Hidde Leijnse
- Silke Bauer is affiliated with the Swiss Ornithological Institute, in Sempach, Switzerland. Jason W. Chapman is affiliated with the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and with the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter, in Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Don R. Reynolds is with the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, in Chatham, United Kingdom. José A. Alves is affiliated with CESAM at the University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, in Portugal, and with the South Iceland Research Centre at the University of Iceland, in Selfoss. Adriaan M. Dokter and Judy Shamoun-Baranes are affiliated with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. AMD is also affiliated with the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Myles M. H. Menz is affiliated with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, and with the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, in Crawley. Nir Sapir is with the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa, in Israel. Michał Ciach is affiliated with the Department of Forest Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture, in Krakow, Poland. Lars B. Pettersson is with the Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, at the University of Lund, in Sweden. Jeffrey F. Kelly is affiliated with the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. Hidde Leijnse is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, in De Bilt, The Netherlands
| | - Judy Shamoun-Baranes
- Silke Bauer is affiliated with the Swiss Ornithological Institute, in Sempach, Switzerland. Jason W. Chapman is affiliated with the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and with the Environment and Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter, in Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Don R. Reynolds is with the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, in Chatham, United Kingdom. José A. Alves is affiliated with CESAM at the University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, in Portugal, and with the South Iceland Research Centre at the University of Iceland, in Selfoss. Adriaan M. Dokter and Judy Shamoun-Baranes are affiliated with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. AMD is also affiliated with the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Myles M. H. Menz is affiliated with the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, and with the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, in Crawley. Nir Sapir is with the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology at the University of Haifa, in Israel. Michał Ciach is affiliated with the Department of Forest Biodiversity at the University of Agriculture, in Krakow, Poland. Lars B. Pettersson is with the Biodiversity Unit, Department of Biology, at the University of Lund, in Sweden. Jeffrey F. Kelly is affiliated with the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Department of Biology at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman. Hidde Leijnse is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, in De Bilt, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Affiliation(s)
| | - Adam T. Ford
- University of British Columbia; Okanagan Campus, 3333 University Way Kelowna British Columbia Canada V1V 1V7
| | - Kevin C. Fraser
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Manitoba; Winnipeg MB Canada R3T 2N2
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Salamon J, Bello JP, Farnsworth A, Robbins M, Keen S, Klinck H, Kelling S. Towards the Automatic Classification of Avian Flight Calls for Bioacoustic Monitoring. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0166866. [PMID: 27880836 PMCID: PMC5120805 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2016] [Accepted: 11/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Automatic classification of animal vocalizations has great potential to enhance the monitoring of species movements and behaviors. This is particularly true for monitoring nocturnal bird migration, where automated classification of migrants’ flight calls could yield new biological insights and conservation applications for birds that vocalize during migration. In this paper we investigate the automatic classification of bird species from flight calls, and in particular the relationship between two different problem formulations commonly found in the literature: classifying a short clip containing one of a fixed set of known species (N-class problem) and the continuous monitoring problem, the latter of which is relevant to migration monitoring. We implemented a state-of-the-art audio classification model based on unsupervised feature learning and evaluated it on three novel datasets, one for studying the N-class problem including over 5000 flight calls from 43 different species, and two realistic datasets for studying the monitoring scenario comprising hundreds of thousands of audio clips that were compiled by means of remote acoustic sensors deployed in the field during two migration seasons. We show that the model achieves high accuracy when classifying a clip to one of N known species, even for a large number of species. In contrast, the model does not perform as well in the continuous monitoring case. Through a detailed error analysis (that included full expert review of false positives and negatives) we show the model is confounded by varying background noise conditions and previously unseen vocalizations. We also show that the model needs to be parameterized and benchmarked differently for the continuous monitoring scenario. Finally, we show that despite the reduced performance, given the right conditions the model can still characterize the migration pattern of a specific species. The paper concludes with directions for future research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Justin Salamon
- Music and Audio Research Laboratory, New York University, New York, NY, United States of America
- Center for Urban Science and Progress, New York University, New York, NY, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Juan Pablo Bello
- Music and Audio Research Laboratory, New York University, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Andrew Farnsworth
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States of America
| | - Matt Robbins
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States of America
| | - Sara Keen
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States of America
| | - Holger Klinck
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States of America
| | - Steve Kelling
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Stepanian PM, Horton KG, Melnikov VM, Zrnić DS, Gauthreaux SA. Dual‐polarization radar products for biological applications. Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Phillip M. Stepanian
- Advanced Radar Research Center University of Oklahoma 120 David L. Boren Boulevard Norman Oklahoma 73072 USA
- School of Meteorology University of Oklahoma 120 David L. Boren Boulevard Norman Oklahoma 73072 USA
| | - Kyle G. Horton
- Advanced Radar Research Center University of Oklahoma 120 David L. Boren Boulevard Norman Oklahoma 73072 USA
- Oklahoma Biological Survey University of Oklahoma 120 David L. Boren Boulevard Norman Oklahoma 73072 USA
- Department of Biology University of Oklahoma 120 David L. Boren Boulevard Norman Oklahoma 73072 USA
| | - Valery M. Melnikov
- National Severe Storms Laboratory 120 David L. Boren Boulevard Norman Oklahoma 73072 USA
- Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies 120 David L. Boren Boulevard Norman Oklahoma 73072 USA
| | - Dušan S. Zrnić
- National Severe Storms Laboratory 120 David L. Boren Boulevard Norman Oklahoma 73072 USA
| | - Sidney A. Gauthreaux
- Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign 205 North Mathews Avenue Urbana Illinois 61801 USA
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Innovative Visualizations Shed Light on Avian Nocturnal Migration. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0160106. [PMID: 27557096 PMCID: PMC4996449 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2016] [Accepted: 07/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Globally, billions of flying animals undergo seasonal migrations, many of which occur at night. The temporal and spatial scales at which migrations occur and our inability to directly observe these nocturnal movements makes monitoring and characterizing this critical period in migratory animals' life cycles difficult. Remote sensing, therefore, has played an important role in our understanding of large-scale nocturnal bird migrations. Weather surveillance radar networks in Europe and North America have great potential for long-term low-cost monitoring of bird migration at scales that have previously been impossible to achieve. Such long-term monitoring, however, poses a number of challenges for the ornithological and ecological communities: how does one take advantage of this vast data resource, integrate information across multiple sensors and large spatial and temporal scales, and visually represent the data for interpretation and dissemination, considering the dynamic nature of migration? We assembled an interdisciplinary team of ecologists, meteorologists, computer scientists, and graphic designers to develop two different flow visualizations, which are interactive and open source, in order to create novel representations of broad-front nocturnal bird migration to address a primary impediment to long-term, large-scale nocturnal migration monitoring. We have applied these visualization techniques to mass bird migration events recorded by two different weather surveillance radar networks covering regions in Europe and North America. These applications show the flexibility and portability of such an approach. The visualizations provide an intuitive representation of the scale and dynamics of these complex systems, are easily accessible for a broad interest group, and are biologically insightful. Additionally, they facilitate fundamental ecological research, conservation, mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts, improvement of meteorological products, and public outreach, education, and engagement.
Collapse
|
25
|
Horton KG, Van Doren BM, Stepanian PM, Hochachka WM, Farnsworth A, Kelly JF. Nocturnally migrating songbirds drift when they can and compensate when they must. Sci Rep 2016; 6:21249. [PMID: 26879152 PMCID: PMC4754638 DOI: 10.1038/srep21249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2015] [Accepted: 01/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The shortest possible migratory route for birds is not always the best route to travel. Substantial research effort has established that birds in captivity are capable of orienting toward the direction of an intended goal, but efforts to examine how free-living birds use navigational information under conditions that potentially make direct flight toward that goal inefficient have been limited in spatiotemporal scales and in the number of individuals observed because of logistical and technological limitations. Using novel and recently developed techniques for analysis of Doppler polarimetric weather surveillance radar data, we examined two impediments for nocturnally migrating songbirds in eastern North America following shortest-distance routes: crosswinds and oceans. We found that migrants in flight often drifted sideways on crosswinds, but most strongly compensated for drift when near the Atlantic coast. Coastal migrants’ tendency to compensate for wind drift also increased through the night, while no strong temporal differences were observed at inland sites. Such behaviors suggest that birds migrate in an adaptive way to conserve energy by assessing while airborne the degree to which they must compensate for wind drift.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kyle G Horton
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.,Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.,Advanced Radar Research Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Benjamin M Van Doren
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Phillip M Stepanian
- Advanced Radar Research Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.,School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
| | | | | | - Jeffrey F Kelly
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.,Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
| |
Collapse
|