Patterns of testosterone in three Nearctic-Neotropical migratory songbirds during spring passage

Preparation for breeding may overlap extensively with vernal migration in long-distance migratory songbirds. Testosterone plays a central role in mediating this transition into breeding condition by facilitating changes to physiology and behavior. While changes in testosterone levels are well studied in captive migrants, these changes are less well known in free-living birds. We examined testosterone levels in free-living Nearctic-Neotropical migrants of three species during their vernal migration. Testosterone levels increased during the migratory period in males of all three species but significantly so in only two. Testosterone levels in females remained the same throughout their migration. Our results support the extensive overlap between vernal migration and breeding preparation in male songbirds. The pattern of testosterone changes during vernal migration is far from clear in females

Fall migratory patterns of the Blackpoll Warbler at a continental scale

Blackpoll Warblers (Setophaga striata) breed across Canada and the northern United States and fly across the Atlantic Ocean to South America in fall. Studies of fall migration in this species have centered on the extensive overwater flights but have ignored other aspects of this migration, including potential geographic variation. We used Blackpoll Warbler banding records from 3 coastal (Atlantic seaboard) sites and 9 inland sites to study the fall migration. The sites covered a wide range of the species\u27 geographic distribution during breeding and fall migration in North America. The data spanned the years 1967-2013, though the particular years sampled varied considerably among the stations. We found that the Blackpoll Warbler\u27s fall migration is occurring later by ~1 day decade-1. Young birds generally moved through western sites before adults, whereas at eastern sites the reverse was generally true, which suggests that young birds are taking longer on migration. We also found that young birds were in poorer condition than adults, which may lead to an overall decreased rate of migration due to shorter flights and/or longer stops. Wing chords differed between western birds (longer wings) and eastern birds (shorter wings), and wing chords from the 2 more southerly coastal sites may reflect mixing of these groups. Birds were captured at coastal sites \u3e10 days later than at inland sites, even when at similar latitudes. The heaviest individuals and those with the most fat were found at the 2 more southerly coastal sites from late September to mid-October. These results suggest that Blackpoll Warblers from the west move toward the east, where they develop the energy stores needed for their extensive overwater flights

Seasonally specific changes in migration phenology across 50 years in the Black-throated Blue Warbler

The availability of detailed information that encompasses the geographic range of a species, spans a long-term temporal range, and yields individual information (e.g., age and sex), is a principle challenge in ecology. To this end, the North American Bird Banding Laboratory maintains a unique and underutilized dataset that can be used to address core questions of phenological change in migratory birds. We used records from 1966 to 2015 to quantify how the timing of migration has shifted in a long-distance migrant, the Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens). Additionally, we examined age and sex differences in the timing of migratory movements. We observed that early spring migrants passed through sites ∼1.1 days earlier per decade and the peak of spring migration also occurred earlier over the 50 yr of this study. Additionally, phenological change was more rapid with increasing latitude during peak spring migratory periods. During fall, the peak of migration stayed consistent across the 50 yr studied, but the migratory season showed protraction overall. During spring, males consistently migrated earlier than females and adults migrated earlier than young individuals. During fall, there was no difference in timing between males and females, but young birds migrated earlier than adults. Additionally, migration proceeded faster in spring compared with the fall. This study reveals differential strategies in migrant timing, across seasons, age groups, and by sex, and shows that en route adjustments across latitude may account for changes in migrant timing. This basic information about such a fundamental ecological process is crucial to our understanding of migration and we must utilize these unique data to appreciate critical shifts at relevant scales of migration

Comparison of geometric morphometric outline methods in the discrimination of age-related differences in feather shape

Background: Geometric morphometric methods of capturing information about curves or outlines of organismal structures may be used in conjunction with canonical variates analysis (CVA) to assign specimens to groups or populations based on their shapes. This methodological paper examines approaches to optimizing the classification of specimens based on their outlines. This study examines the performance of four approaches to the mathematical representation of outlines and two different approaches to curve measurement as applied to a collection of feather outlines. A new approach to the dimension reduction necessary to carry out a CVA on this type of outline data with modest sample sizes is also presented, and its performance is compared to two other approaches to dimension reduction. Results: Two semi-landmark-based methods, bending energy alignment and perpendicular projection, are shown to produce roughly equal rates of classification, as do elliptical Fourier methods and the extended eigenshape method of outline measurement. Rates of classification were not highly dependent on the number of points used to represent a curve or the manner in which those points were acquired. The new approach to dimensionality reduction, which utilizes a variable number of principal component (PC) axes, produced higher cross-validation assignment rates than either the standard approach of using a fixed number of PC axes or a partial least squares method. Conclusion: Classification of specimens based on feather shape was not highly dependent of the details of the method used to capture shape information. The choice of dimensionality reduction approach was more of a factor, and the cross validation rate of assignment may be optimized using the variable number of PC axes method presented herein

Spring migration of blackpoll warblers across North America

The awe-inspiring seasonal migrations of birds between breeding and wintering grounds has long attracted the interest of casual naturalists and professional ornithologists alike. Although new technologies improve our ability to follow individual migrants throughout their annual cycle, the scale and detail provided by banding records remain incredibly valuable. The focus of avian migration studies is often the most physiologically challenging migratory feats that sometimes leaves certain species or seasons relatively understudied. The Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata) is well-known for its transoceanic migratory flight during fall migration, the season in which it is best studied, yet the details of its spring migration are not well known, at least not at a continental scale. Here we use spring migration banding data on over 15,000 Blackpoll Warblers from 28 banding sites across North America to describe the details of the spring migration patterns in this species. Our data, which spans almost 60 years, indicates that Blackpoll Warblers are migrating earlier at a rate of 0.5 days per decade. We also demonstrate an expected protandrous migratory pattern and an unexpected sex-dependent difference in migration speed with females migrating more quickly than males. Our analyses of longitudinal timing patterns reveal that passage through sites west of 85° occurs prior to passage at sites east of 85° and that this difference increases throughout the migratory period, indicating that birds using western sites are migrating faster. Additionally, we provide evidence vis-à-vis analyses of wing length that birds from eastern and western breeding locations mix at lower-latitude migratory sites but their migratory paths diverge as birds proceed north. These results indicate that birds migrating to western breeding sites differ in their migration speed and route thus compensating for the longer migratory distances traveled by western populations of Blackpoll Warblers compared to those breeding in eastern North America

Effect of fuel deposition rate on departure fuel load of migratory songbirds during spring stopover along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico

Migrants are generally assumed to minimize their overall migration time by adjusting their departure fuel loads (DFL) in relation to anticipated and experienced fuel deposition rates (FDRs). We utilized a 21-yr long migration banding station dataset to examine the relationship between FDR and DFL during spring migration in six Nearctic-Neotropical migratory songbird species during stopover along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) following trans-gulf flight. Estimates of fuel stores, stopover durations, and FDRs from our long term migration data set were combined to determine DFL. We expected and found that migrants across all six species adjust their DFL to the rate at which they deposit fuel reserves. This robust finding suggests that songbird migrants are sensitive to time constraints during spring passage presumably to fine-tune their stopover schedule in relation to experienced and anticipated habitat quality. Two of the species studied showed an effect of age on the FDR–DFL relationship: one was consistent with the expectation that older birds would be less sensitive to changes in FDR, while the second was contrary to our expectations and likely suggesting an age-dependent response to habitat quality. We found sex-dependent differences consistent with male DFL being more sensitive to FDR in only two of six species studied, and argue that both males and females are time constrained during spring passage in relation to arrival at breeding destinations. The positive relationship between FDR and DFL among all species and for age and sex groups in some species reflects a migration strategy sensitive to time

Comparison of geometric morphometric outline methods in the discrimination of age-related differences in feather shape

BACKGROUND: Geometric morphometric methods of capturing information about curves or outlines of organismal structures may be used in conjunction with canonical variates analysis (CVA) to assign specimens to groups or populations based on their shapes. This methodological paper examines approaches to optimizing the classification of specimens based on their outlines. This study examines the performance of four approaches to the mathematical representation of outlines and two different approaches to curve measurement as applied to a collection of feather outlines. A new approach to the dimension reduction necessary to carry out a CVA on this type of outline data with modest sample sizes is also presented, and its performance is compared to two other approaches to dimension reduction. RESULTS: Two semi-landmark-based methods, bending energy alignment and perpendicular projection, are shown to produce roughly equal rates of classification, as do elliptical Fourier methods and the extended eigenshape method of outline measurement. Rates of classification were not highly dependent on the number of points used to represent a curve or the manner in which those points were acquired. The new approach to dimensionality reduction, which utilizes a variable number of principal component (PC) axes, produced higher cross-validation assignment rates than either the standard approach of using a fixed number of PC axes or a partial least squares method. CONCLUSION: Classification of specimens based on feather shape was not highly dependent of the details of the method used to capture shape information. The choice of dimensionality reduction approach was more of a factor, and the cross validation rate of assignment may be optimized using the variable number of PC axes method presented herein

The Influence of Energetic Condition on Flight Initiation and Orientation of Migratory Passerines in the Gulf of Maine Region

Energetic condition influences migratory decisions made by songbirds along their migration and at stopover sites. Over-water or coastal flights can be dangerous for landbirds if they are not able to rest and refuel, but are often the routes of shortest travel distance. In this study, I performed trials on migratory songbirds in the Gulf of Maine region to investigate how various components of energetic condition relate to the likelihood that an individual will initiate migratory flight and the direction that it will choose to fly during both spring and fall migration. I used release tests and measurements of fat (energy stores), plasma triglycerides (indicating fattening trajectory), size-corrected body mass, and within-day changes in body mass to investigate whether any of these measures of condition relate to the decisions migrants must make about when and where to go. My results indicate that the amount of fat a bird has at the time of release, and within-day changes in body mass influence the decision to initiate a flight during both spring and fall migration in the Gulf of Maine region. Additionally, in Blackpoll Warblers {Dendroica striata) during spring migration, size-corrected mass was higher in birds that initiated flights than those that did not. The amount of fat a bird had at the time of release was related to the preferred direction of migrants during fall migration but not during spring migration. Within-day changes in body mass and plasma triglyceride levels were not related to orientation decisions made by migrants in either spring or fall migration. Further, size-corrected mass was not related to the directional decisions of Blackpoll Warblers during spring migration. During spring migration, I investigated differences between species by comparing flight initiation and orientation decisions between Blackpoll Warblers and all other species tested in the season ( nonblackpolls ). Blackpoll Warblers were more likely to initiate flights compared to nonblackpolls . Additionally, blackpolls oriented north-northwest while all other birds had a westerly orientation. Based on the results from my study, it appears that migrant songbirds on stopover rely on information about their energetic condition when making departure decisions. Only some of the variables tested were related to orientation decisions, however, thus indicating that information about energetic condition may be more strongly related to decisions about when to fly rather than where to fly. While there were some similarities in the relationships between migratory behavior and energetic condition between spring migration and fall migration, differences may be due to the relative nearness of spring birds to the destinations compared to those in fall species (or breeding destination) may also be related to these flight initiation and orientation decisions

Daytime sleeping behavior observed in a Black-and-white Warbler during spring stopover

Nocturnally migrating birds experience loss of sleep during the migratory period especially when undertaking long, non-stop flights. We report a field observation of daytime sleeping behavior in a Black-andwhite Warbler (Mniotilta varia) during spring migration. It is likely that this individual was compensating from sleep loss experienced during a trans-Gulf of Mexico flight. Only a few observations of daytime sleeping behavior have been reported in free-living migrants and all have been associated with long-distance flights in relation to ecological barriers

Patterns of Testosterone In Three Nearctic-Neotropical Migratory Songbirds During Spring Passage

Preparation for breeding may overlap extensively with vernal migration in long-distance migratory songbirds. Testosterone plays a central role in mediating this transition into breeding condition by facilitating changes to physiology and behavior. While changes in testosterone levels are well studied in captive migrants, these changes are less well known in free-living birds. We examined testosterone levels in free-living Nearctic-Neotropical migrants of three species during their vernal migration. Testosterone levels increased during the migratory period in males of all three species but significantly so in only two. Testosterone levels in females remained the same throughout their migration. Our results support the extensive overlap between vernal migration and breeding preparation in male songbirds. The pattern of testosterone changes during vernal migration is far from clear in females