Macro-scale relationship between body mass and timing of bird migration

Xiaodan Wang, Marius Somveille, Adriaan M. Dokter, Wenhua Cao, Chuyu Cheng, Jiajia Liu and Zhijun Ma ()
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Xiaodan Wang: Fudan University
Marius Somveille: University College London
Adriaan M. Dokter: Cornell University
Wenhua Cao: Fudan University
Chuyu Cheng: Fudan University
Jiajia Liu: Fudan University
Zhijun Ma: Fudan University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Clarifying migration timing and its link with underlying drivers is fundamental to understanding the evolution of bird migration. However, previous studies have focused mainly on environmental drivers such as the latitudes of seasonal distributions and migration distance, while the effect of intrinsic biological traits remains unclear. Here, we compile a global dataset on the annual cycle of migratory birds obtained by tracking 1531 individuals and 177 populations from 186 species, and investigate how body mass, a key intrinsic biological trait, influenced timings of the annual cycle using Bayesian structural equation models. We find that body mass has a strong direct effect on departure date from non-breeding and breeding sites, and indirect effects on arrival date at breeding and non-breeding sites, mainly through its effects on migration distance and a carry-over effect. Our results suggest that environmental factors strongly affect the timing of spring migration, while body mass affects the timing of both spring and autumn migration. Our study provides a new foundation for future research on the causes of species distribution and movement.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48248-7

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