Experience drives innovation of new migration patterns of whooping cranes in response to global change

Claire S. Teitelbaum (), Sarah J. Converse, William F. Fagan, Katrin Böhning-Gaese, Robert B. O’Hara, Anne E. Lacy and Thomas Mueller ()
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Claire S. Teitelbaum: Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung
Sarah J. Converse: US Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
William F. Fagan: University of Maryland
Katrin Böhning-Gaese: Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung
Robert B. O’Hara: Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung
Anne E. Lacy: International Crane Foundation
Thomas Mueller: Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Anthropogenic changes in climate and land use are driving changes in migration patterns of birds worldwide. Spatial changes in migration have been related to long-term temperature trends, but the intrinsic mechanisms by which migratory species adapt to environmental change remain largely unexplored. We show that, for a long-lived social species, older birds with more experience are critical for innovating new migration behaviours. Groups containing older, more experienced individuals establish new overwintering sites closer to the breeding grounds, leading to a rapid population-level shift in migration patterns. Furthermore, these new overwintering sites are in areas where changes in climate have increased temperatures and where food availability from agriculture is high, creating favourable conditions for overwintering. Our results reveal that the age structure of populations is critical for the behavioural mechanisms that allow species to adapt to global change, particularly for long-lived animals, where changes in behaviour can occur faster than evolution.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12793

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