Testing four hypotheses to explain partial migration: balancing reproductive benefits with limits to fasting endurance
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Lundblad-Conway2020_Article_Te ...
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Univ Arizona, Arizona Cooperat Fish & Wildlife Res Unit, Sch Nat Resources & EnvironmIssue Date
2020-01-27Keywords
Altitudinal migrationArrival time hypothesis
Body size hypothesis
Carry-over effects
Junco phaeonotus
Yellow-eyed junco
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Lundblad, C.G., Conway, C.J. Testing four hypotheses to explain partial migration: balancing reproductive benefits with limits to fasting endurance. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 74, 26 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-019-2796-3Rights
This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Seasonal migration is ubiquitous in animals, and yet its underlying cause(s) remain poorly known. Species exhibiting short-distance altitudinal migration and intraspecific variation in migratory behavior (partial or differential migration) are ideal study systems for examining the selective pressures that affect individual migratory decisions. We used an individually marked population of yellow-eyed juncos, breeding along a 1000-m elevational gradient and migrating up and down that gradient, to examine the morphological, behavioral, and reproductive traits associated with migratory behavior. We tested the four most well-known hypotheses proposed to explain partial migration: the thermal tolerance, fasting endurance, dominance, and arrival time hypotheses. Our results indicate that: (1) limits to juncos' fasting endurance constrain their ability to overwinter at high elevations, in support of the fasting endurance hypothesis, (2) differences in body size mediate fasting ability and are associated with variation in migratory behavior and overwinter apparent survival, (3) migratory behavior interacts with reproductive success, in partial support of the arrival time hypothesis, and (4) additional mechanisms that are not captured by the four well-known hypotheses might better explain individual variation in migratory behavior. Less migratory females achieved greater nesting success the following breeding season. Among males, nesting success influenced migratory tendency the following winter. Successful males may either migrate to a more benign winter climate without paying reproductive costs, or high levels of parental effort might physiologically constrain their ability to overwinter in harsh climates.Note
Public domain articleISSN
0340-5443EISSN
1432-0762Version
Final published versionSponsors
National Science Foundationae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1007/s00265-019-2796-3
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply.