A neonicotinoid insecticide reduces fueling and delays migration in songbirds.

Neonicotinoids are neurotoxic insecticides widely used as seed treatments, but little is known of their effects on migrating birds that forage in agricultural areas. We tracked the migratory movements of imidacloprid-exposed songbirds at a landscape scale using a combination of experimental dosing and automated radio telemetry. Ingestion of field-realistic quantities of imidacloprid (1.

Imidacloprid and chlorpyrifos insecticides impair migratory ability in a seed-eating songbird.

Birds that travel long distances between their wintering and breeding grounds may be particularly susceptible to neurotoxic insecticides, but the influence of insecticides on migration ability is poorly understood. Following acute exposure to two widely used agricultural insecticides, imidacloprid (neonicotinoid) and chlorpyrifos (organophosphate), we compared effects on body mass, migratory activity and orientation in a seed-eating bird, the white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys). During spring migration, sparrows were captured, held and dosed by gavage daily for 3 days with either the vehicle control, low (10% LD50) or high (25% LD50) doses of imidacloprid or chlorpyrifos and tested in migratory orientation trials pre-exposure, post-exposure and during recovery.

Ecological Causes and Consequences of Intratropical Migration in Temperate-Breeding Migratory Birds.

New discoveries from direct tracking of temperate-breeding passerines show that intratropical migration (ITM) occurs in a growing number of species, which has important implications for understanding their evolution of migration, population dynamics, and conservation needs. Our large sample size ([Formula: see text]) for purple martins (Progne subis subis) tracked with geolocators to winter sites in Brazil, combined with geolocator deployments at breeding colonies across North America, allowed us to test hypotheses for ITM, something which has not yet been possible to do for other species. ITM in purple martins was not obligate; only 44% of individuals exhibited ITM, and movements were not coordinated in time or space.

Effects of breeding versus winter habitat loss and fragmentation on the population dynamics of a migratory songbird.

Many migratory species are in decline and understanding these declines is challenging because individuals occupy widely divergent and geographically distant habitats during a single year and therefore populations across the range are interconnected in complex ways. Network modeling has been used to show, theoretically, that shifts in migratory connectivity patterns can occur in response to habitat or climate changes and that habitat loss in one region can affect sub-populations in regions that are not directly connected. Here, we use a network model, parameterized by integrating long-term monitoring data with direct tracking of -100 individuals, to explain population trends in the rapidly declining Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) and to predict future trends.

Carry-Over Effects of Nonbreeding Habitat on Start-to-Finish Spring Migration Performance of a Songbird.

For migratory animals, conditions during the nonbreeding period may carry-over to influence spring migration performance. Animals in low-quality habitats are predicted to be in poorer condition, show later migration timing, and travel at slower speeds. This can result in subsequent negative effects on fitness.

Seasonal change in tropical habitat quality and body condition for a declining migratory songbird.

Many migratory songbirds spend their non-breeding season in tropical humid forests, where climate change is predicted to increase the severity and frequency of droughts and decrease rainfall. For conservation of these songbirds, it is critical to understand how resources during the non-breeding season are affected by seasonal patterns of drying, and thereby predict potential long-term effects of climate change. We studied habitat quality for a declining tropical forest-dwelling songbird, the wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), and tested the hypothesis that habitat moisture and arthropod abundance are drivers of body condition during the overwintering period.

Tracking from the tropics reveals behaviour of juvenile songbirds on their first spring migration.

Juvenile songbirds on spring migration travel from tropical wintering sites to temperate breeding destinations thousands of kilometres away with no prior experience to guide them. We provide a first glimpse at the migration timing, routes, and stopover behaviour of juvenile wood thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) on their inaugural spring migration by using miniaturized archival geolocators to track them from Central America to the U.S.

Connectivity of wood thrush breeding, wintering, and migration sites based on range-wide tracking.

Many migratory animals are experiencing rapid population declines, but migration data with the geographic scope and resolution to quantify the complex network of movements between breeding and nonbreeding regions are often lacking. Determining the most frequently used migration routes and nonbreeding regions for a species is critical for understanding population dynamics and making effective conservation decisions. We tracked the migration of individual Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) (n = 102) from across their range with light-level geolocators and, for the first time, quantified migration routes and wintering regions for distinct breeding populations.

A trans-hemispheric migratory songbird does not advance spring schedules or increase migration rate in response to record-setting temperatures at breeding sites.

The decline of long distance migratory songbirds has been linked to an increasing mismatch between spring arrival date and timing of food availability caused by climate change. It is unclear to what extent individuals can adjust migration timing or en route rate in response to annual variation in temperature at breeding sites. We tracked the ca.

Continent-wide tracking to determine migratory connectivity and tropical habitat associations of a declining aerial insectivore.

North American birds that feed on flying insects are experiencing steep population declines, particularly long-distance migratory populations in the northern breeding range. We determine, for the first time, the level of migratory connectivity across the range of a songbird using direct tracking of individuals, and test whether declining northern populations have higher exposure to agricultural landscapes at their non-breeding grounds in South America. We used light-level geolocators to track purple martins, Progne subis, originating from North American breeding populations, coast-to-coast (n = 95 individuals).

Repeat tracking of individual songbirds reveals consistent migration timing but flexibility in route.

Tracking repeat migratory journeys of individual animals is required to assess phenotypic plasticity of individual migration behaviour in space and time. We used light-level geolocators to track the long-distance journeys of migratory songbirds (wood thrush, Hylocichla mustelina), and, for the first time, repeat journeys of individuals. We compare between- and within-individual variation in migration to examine flexibility of timing and route in spring and autumn.

Corticosterone stress response and plasma metabolite levels during breeding and molt in a free-living migratory songbird, the wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina).

Many birds face energetic trade-offs between different life history stages, such as reproductive effort, feather molt and the non-breeding period. Little is known about how physiological measures of condition (corticosterone, plasma metabolites) in free-living birds change from nesting stages to the post-breeding molt period or whether this is influenced by prior reproductive effort. We evaluated whether corticosterone (CORT) and plasma metabolite levels vary with date, nest stage and sex in a free-living migratory songbird, the wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina).

Effects of post-breeding moult and energetic condition on timing of songbird migration into the tropics.

Each autumn billions of songbirds migrate between the temperate zone and tropics, but little is known about how events on the breeding grounds affect migration to the tropics. Here, we use light level geolocators to track the autumn migration of wood thrushes Hylocichla mustelina and test for the first time if late moult and poor physiological condition prior to migration delays arrival on the winter territory. Late nesting thrushes postponed feather moult, and birds with less advanced moult in August were significantly farther north on 10 October while en route to the tropics.

Tracking long-distance songbird migration by using geolocators.

We mapped migration routes of migratory songbirds to the Neotropics by using light-level geolocators mounted on breeding purple martins (Progne subis) and wood thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina). Wood thrushes from the same breeding population occupied winter territories within a narrow east-west band in Central America, suggesting high connectivity of breeding and wintering populations. Pace of spring migration was rapid (233 to 577 kilometers/day) except for one individual (159 kilometers/day) who took an overland route instead of crossing the Gulf of Mexico.