Data from: Migrating curlews on schedule: departure and arrival patterns of a long-distance migrant depend on time and breeding location rather than on wind conditions

Citation
Schwemmer P, Garthe S. 2021. Data from: Migrating curlews on schedule: departure and arrival patterns of a long-distance migrant depend on time and breeding location rather than on wind conditions. Movebank Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.715k46g2
Abstract
Background: Departure decisions in long-distance migratory bird species may depend on favourable weather conditions and beneficial resources at the destination location, overarched by genetic triggers. However, few studies have tried to validate the significance of these three concepts simultaneously, and long-term, high-resolution tagging datasets recording individual movements across consecutive years are scarce. We used such a dataset to explore intraspecific and intra-individual variabilities in departure and arrival decisions from/to wintering grounds in relation to these three different concepts in bird migration. Methods: We equipped 23 curlews (Numenius arquata) wintering in the Wadden Sea with Global Positioning System data loggers to record their spatio-temporal patterns of departure from and arrival at their wintering site, and the first part of their spring migration. We obtained data for 42 migrations over 6 years, with 12 individuals performing repeat migrations in consecutive years. Day of year of departure and arrival was related to 38 meteorological and bird-related predictors using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) to identify drivers of departure and arrival decisions. Results: Curlews migrated almost exclusively to Arctic and sub-Arctic Russia for breeding. They left their wintering site mainly during the evening from mid- to late April and returned between the end of June and mid-July. There was no difference in departure times between the sexes. Weather parameters did not impact departure decisions; if departure days coincided with headwind conditions, the birds accounted for this by flying at higher altitudes of up to several kilometres. Curlews breeding further away in areas with late snowmelt departed later. Departures dates varied by only <4 days in individual curlews tagged over consecutive years. Conclusions: These results suggest that the trigger for migration in this long-distance migrant is largely independent of weather conditions but is subject to resource availability in breeding areas. The high intra-individual repeatability of departure days among subsequent years and the lack of relationship to weather parameters suggest the importance of genetic triggers in prompting the start of migration. Further insights into the timing of migration in immatures and closely related birds might help to further unravel the genetic mechanisms triggering migration patterns.
Keywords
Numenius arquata,animal tracking,avian migration,common curlew,GPS logger,GSM telemetry,Numenius arquata,phenology,repeatability,shorebirds,Wadden Sea
Taxa
Taxon
Numenius arquata
Eurasian Curlew
Sensors
Sensor
GPS
Related Workflows
DOIs of related Publications
BibTex
@misc{001/1_715k46g2,
  title = {Data from: Migrating curlews on schedule: departure and arrival patterns of a long-distance migrant depend on time and breeding location rather than on wind conditions},
  author = {Schwemmer, P and Garthe, S},
  year = {2021},
  URL = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.715k46g2},
  doi = {doi:10.5441/001/1.715k46g2},
  publisher = {Movebank data repository}
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
ID  - doi:10.5441/001/1.715k46g2
T1  - Data from: Migrating curlews on schedule: departure and arrival patterns of a long-distance migrant depend on time and breeding location rather than on wind conditions
AU  - Schwemmer, Philipp
AU  - Garthe, Stefan
Y1  - 2021/03/16
KW  - Numenius arquata
KW  - animal movement
KW  - animal tracking
KW  - avian migration
KW  - common curlew
KW  - GPS logger
KW  - GSM telemetry
KW  - Numenius arquata
KW  - phenology
KW  - repeatability
KW  - shorebirds
KW  - Wadden Sea
KW  - Numenius arquata
PB  - Movebank data repository
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.715k46g2
DO  - doi:10.5441/001/1.715k46g2
ER  -
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