Ocean-wide drivers of migration strategies and their influence on population breeding performance in a declining seabird
Fayet, Annette L.; Freeman, Robin; Anker-Nilssen, Tycho; Diamond, Antony; Erikstad, Kjell E; Fifield, Dave; Fitzsimmons, Michelle G; Hansen, Erpur Snær; Harris, Mike P.; Jessopp, Mark; Kouwenberg, Amy-Lee; Kress, Steve; Mowat, Stephen; Perrins, Chris M.; Petersen, Aevar; Petersen, Ib K.; Reiertsen, Tone; Robertson, Gregory J.; Shannon, Paula; Sigurðsson, Ingvar A.; Shoji, Akiko; Wanless, Sarah; Guilford, Tim
Journal article, Peer reviewed
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Date
2017Metadata
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Original version
10.1016/j.cub.2017.11.009Abstract
Which factors shape animals’ migration movements
across large geographical scales, how different
migratory strategies emerge between populations,
and how these may affect population dynamics are
central questions in the field of animal migration [1]
that only large-scale studies of migration patterns
across a species’ range can answer [2]. To address
these questions, we track the migration of 270
Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica, a red-listed,
declining seabird, across their entire breeding range.
We investigate the role of demographic, geographical,
and environmental variables in driving spatial
and behavioral differences on an ocean-basin scale
by measuring puffins’ among-colony differences in
migratory routes and day-to-day behavior (estimated
with individual daily activity budgets and energy
expenditure). We show that competition and local
winter resource availability are important drivers of
migratory movements, with birds from larger colonies
or with poorer local winter conditions migrating
further and visiting less-productive waters; this in
turn led to differences in flight activity and energy
expenditure. Other behavioral differences emerge
with latitude, with foraging effort and energy expenditure
increasing when birds winter further north in
colder waters. Importantly, these ocean-wide migration
patterns can ultimately be linked with breeding
performance: colony productivity is negatively associated
with wintering latitude, population size, and
migration distance, which demonstrates the cost of
competition and migration on future breeding and
the link between non-breeding and breeding periods.
Our results help us to understand the drivers of animal
migration and have important implications for
population dynamics and the conservation of migratory
species.