Chapter 10 Flashcards
Migration vs Dispersal
- migration: Predictable back-and-forth movements; Repeated seasonally
- dispersal: Usually a unidirectional movement
Name the different types of dispersal
- natal dispersal
- breeding dispersal
- postbreeding dispersal
Natal dispersal
- movement between the site where an individual is born and the site where it first breeds
Breeding dispersal
- movement between one breeding site and another
Postbreeding dispersal
- typically refers to the wandering movements that some birds (e.g., herons) make after they finish breeding, but before they settle at a wintering site
Why are temperate-zone and arctic latitudes a problem? What are the three responses to this?
- Abundant resources in the summer; Limited resources and harsh climatic conditions in the winter
- 3 responses:
Migration - move to more favorable areas
Residency - with adaptations for tolerating harsh conditions
Hibernation - only documented for Common Poorwill
Understand the differences in annual adult survival, and annual reproductive success in tropical resident
annual adult survival: Do not face hazards of migration, harsh winter
HIGH (80-90%)
annual reproductive success: No seasonally abundant food source for offspring (LOW)
Understand the differences in annual adult survival, and annual reproductive success in migrant
annual adult survivial:Escape harsh winter but some die during migration
MODERATE (50%)
annual reproductive success: Seasonally abundant food source, but divert time, energy from breeding to migration
MODERATE
Understand the differences in annual adult survival, and annual reproductive success in temperate resident
annual adult survival: Endure harsh winter and restricted food supply
LOW (20-50%)
annual reproductive success: Seasonally abundant food source
HIGH
Philopatry
- Most individuals return annually to the same areas where they bred the year before
understand the different patterns of migration
seasonal variation
Residence
Facultative Migration
Partial Migrants
Obligate Migration
Nomadism
Residence
- nonannual movement at all
- common in tropics
- examples: chowchilla, wreathed hornbill, ivory-billed woodcreeper
Facultative migration
- migrate only under certain conditions
- example: northern lapwing, american robin, european blackbird
Partial migrants
- some individuals within a population
- example: In different locations, European Blackbirds (Turdus merula) are year‐round residents, facultative migrants, or obligate migrants. Even within the region where blackbirds are present year round (green), the population includes full‐time residents, facultative migrants seeking refuge and resources because conditions farther north became unsuitable, and obligate migrants that migrate south every winter regardless of conditions in the north
Oblique Migration
- Undertake predictable annual migrations to distant non‐breeding grounds
- Most songbirds that breed in the northern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia fall into this category
Nomadism
- Move less predictably from one breeding ground to the next
- example: snowy owl
Artic tern bird
- Every year, arctic terns migrate from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle—a round-trip journey of about 30,000 kilometers (18,641 miles)
Flyway
- migratory route
- Established routes used year after year by large numbers of migrants
Many bird species often converging to use similar flyways - Not all birds use clearly defined flyways during migration (broad-front migration)
Concentration Points
- Migrating raptors concentrate in narrow overland corridors
- Migratory concentrations also occur in areas where food is especially abundant, and many species of migratory birds spend substantial time at staging areas to refuel before continuing their migrations
examples: bar-tailed Godwit, cross thousands of miles of open ocean with NO stops
Blackpoll Warbler migration
- fly directly from northeastern North America to the Greater Antilles and northern South America, often with a several day refueling stop
- They return to their northern breeding grounds more leisurely up the Atlantic Coast
Wood thrushes
- tracked from Pennsylvania to winter territories in Costa Rica vary their return routes the next spring
Austral migration
- South American flycatchers and swallows, among others, migrate seasonally from temperate-zone South America to the tropics of Brazil
- Relatively fewer birds in the southern hemisphere live in locations with extreme seasonal variations in temperature
What time of day do raptors and passerines typically fly during migration?
- Hawks migrate during daylight hours when they can take advantage of warm rising air currents
- Swifts and swallows, which feed on the wing, also migrate by day
- Many small land birds, including most flycatchers, thrushes, and wood warblers, as well as rails and woodcocks, depart shortly after sunset and migrate by night
- Predation by hawks and gulls is less likely at night, and these migrants can then refuel by day
At what altitudes do most migratory birds fly?
Most migrants fly at fairly low altitudes, usually below 700 to 800 meters
- example: Bar-headed goose
- Note: More stable night atmospheres with weaker horizontal winds and less turbulent vertical motion create favorable flight conditions; Cooler and more humid night air also favors heat loss and water retention