Abstract
Circadian migration patterns for most migratory birds can be partitioned into day and night flights, but can be flexible at barrier crossings. Whether obligate nocturnal species opportunely use some daylight during migration has not been previously investigated. We tested the night constraint hypothesis using autumn Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking of a migratory nightjar species (Eastern Whip-poor-will, Antrostomus vociferus), and found that a minimum of 89% of travel occurred in darkness. All seven GPS-tracked individuals avoided crossing the Gulf of Mexico, which would have required some daytime flight. Future research should investigate the mechanisms and implications of light restrictions on the migratory movements of nocturnal species.
Zusammenfassung
Geblendet durch Licht? Circadiane Aufteilung von Zugflügen bei einer Nachtschwalbe
Circadiane Zugmuster der meisten Zugvögel können in Tag- bzw. Nachtflüge aufgeteilt sein, aber auch flexibel beim Zug über ökologische Barrieren. Ob obligat nachts aktive Arten gelegentlich auch bei Tag ziehen, wurde bisher nicht untersucht. Wir prüften dies bei der ziehenden Schwarzkehl-Nachtschwalbe (Antrostomus vociferus) mittels GPS-Verfolgung. Im Minimum 89% der Zugflüge erfolgten nachts. Alle sieben untersuchten Vögel vermieden die Überquerung des Golfes von Mexiko, da sie dafür auch bei Tag hätten fliegen müssen. Zukünftige Arbeiten sollten die Mechanismen und Folgen der Einschränkung durch Licht auf das Zugverhalten von nächtlichen Arten untersuchen.
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Acknowledgements
Funding was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the University of Manitoba. Field assistance was provided by Catherine Mills, Peter Mills, Sylvia Mills, Lyndsey Friesen, Chris Evans, Ruth Noland-Flores, and Justin Peter. The capture and tagging of birds was approved by the University of Manitoba’s Animal Care Committee under protocol F14-009/1/2/3 (AC10930), and performed under permit from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
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Korpach, A.M., Mills, A., Heidenreich, C. et al. Blinded by the light? Circadian partitioning of migratory flights in a nightjar species. J Ornithol 160, 835–840 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-019-01668-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-019-01668-5