repeat tracking of individual songbirds reveals consistent migration timing but flexibility in route重复跟踪个人鸣禽显示一致的迁移时间但灵活的路线.pdfVIP

Repeat Tracking of Individual Songbirds Reveals Consistent Migration Timing but Flexibility in Route Calandra Q. Stanley., Maggie MacPherson., Kevin C. Fraser*, Emily A. McKinnon, Bridget J. M. Stutchbury Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Abstract Tracking repeat migratory journeys of individual animals is required to assess phenotypic plasticity of individual migration behaviour in space and time. We used light-level geolocators to track the long-distance journeys of migratory songbirds (wood thrush, Hylocichla mustelina), and, for the first time, repeat journeys of individuals. We compare between- and within- individual variation in migration to examine flexibility of timing and route in spring and autumn. Date of departure from wintering sites in Central America, along with sex and age factors, explained most of the variation (71%) in arrival date at North American breeding sites. Spring migration showed high within-individual repeatability in timing, but not in route. In particular, spring departure dates of individuals were highly repeatable, with a mean difference between years of just 3 days. Autumn migration timing and routes were not repeatable. Our results provide novel evidence of low phenotypic plasticity in timing of spring migration, which may limit the ability of individuals to adjust migration schedules in response to climate change. Citation: Stanley CQ, MacPherson M, Fraser KC, McKinnon EA, Stutchbury BJM (2012) Repeat Tracking of Individual Songbirds Reveals Consistent Migration Timing but Flexibility in Route. PLoS ONE 7(7): e40688. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0040688 Editor: Claudia Mettke-Hofmann, Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom Received February 13, 2012; Accepted June 13, 2012; Published July 25, 2012 Copyright: 2012 Stanley et al. This is an open-acces