Experience does not change the importance of wind support for migratory route selection by a soaring bird

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors.Migration is a complex behaviour that is costly in terms of time, energy and risk of mortality. Thermal soaring birds rely on airflow, specifically wind support and uplift, to offset their energetic costs of flight. Their migratory routes are a record of movement decisions to negotiate the atmospheric environment and achieve efficiency. We expected that, regardless of age, birds use wind support to select their routes. Because thermal soaring is a complex flight behaviour that young birds need to learn, we expected that, as individuals gain more experience, their movement decisions will also increasingly favour the best thermal uplift conditions. We quantified how route choice during autumn migration of young European honey buzzards (Pernis apivorus) was adjusted to wind support and uplift over up to 4 years of migration and compared this with the choices of adult birds. We found that wind support was important in all migrations. However, we did not find an increase in the use of thermal uplifts. This could be due to the species-specific learning period and/or an artefact of the spatio-temporal scale of our uplift proxies.Peer reviewe

Tapping into non-English-language science for the conservation of global biodiversity.

The widely held assumption that any important scientific information would be available in English underlies the underuse of non-English-language science across disciplines. However, non-English-language science is expected to bring unique and valuable scientific information, especially in disciplines where the evidence is patchy, and for emergent issues where synthesising available evidence is an urgent challenge. Yet such contribution of non-English-language science to scientific communities and the application of science is rarely quantified. Here, we show that non-English-language studies provide crucial evidence for informing global biodiversity conservation. By screening 419,679 peer-reviewed papers in 16 languages, we identified 1,234 non-English-language studies providing evidence on the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation interventions, compared to 4,412 English-language studies identified with the same criteria. Relevant non-English-language studies are being published at an increasing rate in 6 out of the 12 languages where there were a sufficient number of relevant studies. Incorporating non-English-language studies can expand the geographical coverage (i.e., the number of 2° × 2° grid cells with relevant studies) of English-language evidence by 12% to 25%, especially in biodiverse regions, and taxonomic coverage (i.e., the number of species covered by the relevant studies) by 5% to 32%, although they do tend to be based on less robust study designs. Our results show that synthesising non-English-language studies is key to overcoming the widespread lack of local, context-dependent evidence and facilitating evidence-based conservation globally. We urge wider disciplines to rigorously reassess the untapped potential of non-English-language science in informing decisions to address other global challenges. Please see the Supporting information files for Alternative Language Abstracts

Upward Altitudinal Shifts in Habitat Suitability of Mountain Vipers since the Last Glacial Maximum

We determined the effects of past and future climate changes on the distribution of the Montivipera raddei species complex (MRC) that contains rare and endangered viper species limited to Iran, Turkey and Armenia. We also investigated the current distribution of MRC to locate unidentified isolated populations as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of the current network of protected areas for their conservation. Present distribution of MRC was modeled based on ecological variables and model performance was evaluated by field visits. Some individuals at the newly identified populations showed uncommon morphological characteristics. The distribution map of MRC derived through modeling was then compared with the distribution of protected areas in the region. We estimated the effectiveness of the current protected area network to be 10%, which would be sufficient for conserving this group of species, provided adequate management policies and practices are employed. We further modeled the distribution of MRC in the past (21,000 years ago) and under two scenarios in the future (to 2070). These models indicated that climatic changes probably have been responsible for an upward shift in suitable habitats of MRC since the Last Glacial Maximum, leading to isolation of allopatric populations. Distribution will probably become much more restricted in the future as a result of the current rate of global warming. We conclude that climate change most likely played a major role in determining the distribution pattern of MRC, restricting allopatric populations to mountaintops due to habitat alterations. This long-term isolation has facilitated unique local adaptations among MRC populations, which requires further investigation. The suitable habitat patches identified through modeling constitute optimized solutions for inclusion in the network of protected areas in the region

渡り鳥の移動への気候変動の将来インパクトの評価

長崎大学学位論文 学位記番号:博(水・環)甲第32号 学位授与年月日:平成29年9月20日Nagasaki University (長崎大学)課程博

The effects of atmospheric currents on the migratory behavior of soaring birds: a review

Atmospheric currents influence the choice of migratory routes and flight characteristics of birds as well as their decisions regarding migration onset and stopovers. Among long distance avian migrants, soaring birds are particularly dependent on wind and updrafts to help them complete their journeys. This review focuses on the behavioral adaptations of migratory soaring birds at various scales with regard to these atmospheric phenomena. Soaring landbirds and soaring seabirds have evolved morphological characteristics that make them specialists in soaring flight, thus enabling them to reduce the costs of migration significantly. We introduce the flight strategies of each group and discuss how migratory routes, flight characteristics, and onset and stopover decisions are all adjusted in relation to atmospheric conditions best suited for soaring. In addition, we discuss briefly how this strong dependence on atmospheric conditions makes soaring birds vulnerable to anthropogenic threats, such as wind energy development and climate change

Atmospheric data for ornithology: an introduction

This paper introduces user-friendly atmospheric data, so-called objective analysis data, for ornithological studies. The data have been interpolated onto grid points distributed at a regular interval in space and time, and are suitable for analyz- ing using computer data analysis software. Data assimilation techniques, which are basically the application of optimization and control theories, are utilized for produc- ing objective analysis data in order to reduce errors as much as possible and obtain the most reliable dataset. Some examples of objective analysis data are shown and their features are described. Some cautionary notes are also given in order to avoid misinterpretation of the data

Figure S1 from Climate change alters the optimal wind-dependent flight routes of an avian migrant

Average response of each algorithm to explanatory variable