Response to Comment on "Rapid Advance of Spring Arrival Dates in Long-Distance Migratory Birds (original) (raw)
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Variation in climate warming along the migration route uncouples arrival and breeding dates
Global Change Biology, 2004
Migratory species are of special concern in the face of global climate change, since they may be affected by changes in the wintering area, along the migration route and at the breeding grounds. Here we show that migration and breeding times of a trans-Saharan migrant, the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca, closely follow local temperatures along the migration route and at the breeding grounds. Because of differences in long-term temperature trends of short within-spring periods, the migration period and the time interval between migration and breeding dates of this species have extended in SW Finland. Temperatures in northern parts of Central Europe have risen at the time when the first migrants arrive there, facilitating their migration northward. Temperatures later in the spring have not changed, and the last individuals arrive at the same time as before. The timing of breeding has not advanced because temperatures at the breeding site after arrival have not changed. These results show that the pied flycatchers can speed up their migration in response to rising temperatures along the migration route. Our results strongly indicate that the effects of climate change have to be studied at the appropriate time and geographical scales for each species and population concerned.
Climate Research, 2007
In the course of the 20th century, migratory birds have shown rapid phenological changes in response to climate change. However, the spatial variability of phenological changes, as well as their intraspecific consistency, remains largely unexplored. Here we analysed 672 estimates of change in first arrival dates of migratory birds and 289 estimates of mean/median arrival dates, based on time series with a minimum duration of 15 yr, collected across Europe from 1960 to 2006. There were highly significant advances in arrival date, significantly more so for first than mean arrival date. Change in arrival dates significantly varied among species, implying that response to climate change is a species-specific feature, and showed substantial phylogenetic effects, since ca. 50% of the variation in the observed trends was attributable to differences among species. The advance in first arrival date was weaker at extreme latitudes and stronger at intermediate latitudes, while geographic variation in mean arrival dates was less pronounced. Both first and mean arrival dates advanced the most for short-compared to long-distance migrants. These findings emphasize the reliability of estimates of phenological trends of avian species, which are therefore suitable to be included in comparative analyses aimed at identifying species-specific traits that favour adaptation to climatic changes. In addition, our results suggest that analyses of factors that have affected phenological responses to climate change should take into account spatial variation in the response, which could be due to spatial differences in the strength of climate change.
The Auk, 2012
Although changes in the mean arrival and breeding dates of some species are expected in response to climate change, other species may respond to direct or indirect climate effects by modifying the duration of their breeding period. We used a 20-year database for two closely related species that breed in sympatry in Europe, the short-distance migrant Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus) and the long-distance migrant Great White Pelican (P. onocrotalus), to test for changes in breeding phenology over the past two decades. Median laying dates of the species covaried over time, indicating that the same or similar environmental factors probably influenced both species at their breeding sites. However, direct climate effects were revealed only for the shortdistance migrant species, which showed a rapid advancement in its median laying dates (1.4 days year -1 ). This shift was associated with (1) an increase in population size and (2) weather variation following warmer and wetter winters. Earlier breeding was associated with enhanced survival of juvenile Dalmatian Pelicans, especially during hot and wet years. The Great White Pelican exhibited no advancement in its median laying date, but it significantly reduced the duration of its laying period (1.7 days year -1 ) by advancing the latest laying date. Furthermore, the response of the Great White Pelican was related only to factors of population size. Further analyses of breeders' interactions within and between species might help to identify possible indirect effects of environmental changes on both species and should be further considered for their future conservation.
Significantly Earlier Spring Migration in Most Bird Species at the Eastern Limit of Europe
Animals
The first arrival dates of 31 species of migrant birds in the Tatarstan Republic of Russia were monitored for the 34-year period from 1989–2022. Trends in first arrival date were evaluated using regression against the year value. Patterns in arrival data with respect to species traits (habitat, migration distance, body weight, etc.) were evaluated using redundancy analysis. Relationships between first arrival dates and Tatarstan temperatures were also evaluated using regression methods of first-arrival date on monthly mean temperatures. Almost all (28 of 31) species revealed a significantly earlier migration arrival date; however, associations between arrival patterns and species traits were equivocal. Warmer temperatures were significantly associated with earlier arrival in 26 of the 31 species, but the relationship was insufficient to explain the average 11-day advance in species. For these species and in this location only the timing and location of arrival are well recorded; the...
Biology Letters, 2021
Precise timing of migration is crucial for animals targeting seasonal resources at locations encountered across their annual cycle. Upon departure, long-distance migrants need to anticipate unknown environmental conditions at their arrival site, and they do so with their internal annual clock. Here, we tested the hypothesis that long-distance migrants synchronize their circannual clock according to the phenology of their environment during the breeding season and therefore adjust their spring departure date according to the conditions encountered at their breeding site the year before. To this end, we used tracking data of Eurasian curlews from different locations and combined movement data with satellite-extracted green-up dates at their breeding site. The spring departure date was better explained by green-up date of the previous year, while arrival date at the breeding site was better explained by latitude and longitude of the breeding site, suggesting that other factors impacted...
Adjustment to climate change is constrained by arrival date in a long-distance migrant bird
Nature, 2001
Spring temperatures in temperate regions have increased over the past 20 years, and many organisms have responded to this increase by advancing the date of their growth and reproduction. Here we show that adaptation to climate change in a long-distance migrant is constrained by the timing of its migratory journey. For long-distance migrants climate change may advance the phenology of their breeding areas, but the timing of some species' spring migration relies on endogenous rhythms that are not affected by climate change. Thus, the spring migration of these species will not advance even though they need to arrive earlier on their breeding grounds to breed at the appropriate time. We show that the migratory pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca has advanced its laying date over the past 20 years. This temporal shift has been insufficient, however, as indicated by increased selection for earlier breeding over the same period. The shift is hampered by its spring arrival date, which ha...
Climate change and timing of avian breeding and migration throughout Europe
Climate Research, 2007
Bird breeding and spring migration phenology have advanced in response to climate change, but the effects differ between sites. Here, we examine the geographical variation in layingdate trends in a short-distance migrant, the European starling Sturnus vulgaris, and a long-distance migrant, the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca. We model the trend in laying date for these 2 species -between 1980 and 2004 for most of their European breeding areas -by combining geographical variation in mean laying date, the effect of temperature on laying date, and spatial variation in temperature change. Starlings are predicted to have advanced breeding over most of their range, with the greatest advance in north-eastern Europe. In contrast, pied flycatchers have delayed their laying in northern Europe, but have advanced their laying in western and central Europe. The species differ because pied flycatchers lay their eggs 25 d later at each site than starlings, and temperatures during these 2 periods show different trends. Temperatures during migration have also changed differently for populations heading to different breeding areas. This was most pronounced for pied flycatchers; northern populations experience an increase in temperatures during migration, while more southern populations presently still migrate at temperatures similar to those experienced 25 yr ago. As a consequence the southern population may be constrained in adapting to climate change by low temperatures during migration. There is a large contrast in how circumstances during migration and at the breeding grounds have changed: populations that advanced breeding most were subjected to the lowest temperature increases during migration. The temporal and spatial variation in temperature change has important consequences on how migrants adapt to ongoing climate change.