Anthropogenic food subsidies reshape the migratory behaviour of a long-distance migrant

Marcelino, J., Franco, A. M. A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6055-7378, Acácio, M., Soriano-Redondo, A., Moreira, F. and Catry, I. (2023) Anthropogenic food subsidies reshape the migratory behaviour of a long-distance migrant. Science of the Total Environment, 858 (3). ISSN 0048-9697

[thumbnail of 1-s2.0-S0048969722070929-main]
Preview
PDF (1-s2.0-S0048969722070929-main) - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Bird migratory journeys are often long and hostile, requiring high energetic expenditure, and thus forcing birds to pause between migratory flights. Stopover sites allow migrants to replenish fuel reserves and rest, being crucial for the success of migration. Worldwide, the increasing accumulation of waste on landfills and rubbish dumps has been described to provide superabundant food resources for many bird species not only during the breeding and wintering seasons but also during migration, being used as stopover sites. Using GPS-tracking data of juvenile white storks (Ciconia ciconia) during their first migration from the Iberia Peninsula to the sub-Saharan wintering grounds, we uncover the effects of stopping en route on individual migratory performance. Particularly, we examine the benefits of stopping at artificial sites (landfills and rubbish dumps) when compared to natural stopover sites (wetlands, agricultural or desert areas) and explore the influence of anthropogenic food resources on storks' migratory strategies. Overall, white storks spent up to one-third of the migration in stopovers. We found that birds that stopped for longer periods made more detours, increasing migration duration by half a day for each stopover day. Stopping more often did not reflect on increasing in-flight energetic efficiency nor the likelihood of completing the migration. Juvenile storks used artificial sites in 80 % of the stopover days, spending 45 % less time and 10 % less energy foraging than when using natural stopovers. While stopping in landfills did not translate into differences in migratory performance, individuals in poor body condition possibly rely on these sites to improve body weight before proceeding, enabling them to successfully complete migration. Artificial stopover sites are attractive and likely increase the number and duration of stops for white storks. Even though the consequences of arriving late at the wintering grounds are unknown, it can lead to cascading consequences, influencing individual fitness and population dynamics.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Acknowledgements: This work was financed by the FEDER Funds through the Operational Competitiveness Factors Program — COMPETE and by National Funds through FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the project Birds on the move ‘POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028176’, by InBIO (UID/BIA/50027/2013 and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006821), and by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), via the EnvEast DTP, and NERC and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), via the NEXUSS CDT Training in the Smart and Autonomous Observation of the Environment. Funding for the development of the GPS tracking devices was provided by NERC (NE/K006312), Norwich Research Park Translational Fund, University of East Anglia Innovation Funds and Earth and Life Systems Alliance funds. J.M was supported by a doctoral grant (SFRH/BD/114683/2016) and I.C. by contract 2021.03224.CEECIND, from FCT. Graphical abstract stork images are resources of Freepik.com.
Uncontrolled Keywords: ciconia ciconia,landfills,migration,stopover behaviour,western european flyway,white stork,environmental engineering,environmental chemistry,waste management and disposal,pollution ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2305
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Biology
Related URLs:
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 09 Nov 2022 12:30
Last Modified: 17 May 2023 01:39
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/89729
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159992

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item