Ecological markers to monitor migratory bird populations: Integrating citizen science and transboundary management for conservation purposes.

Countries share responsibility for the management and conservation of migratory bird species. However, a limited understanding of population dynamics hampers the implementation of harvest and transboundary management. Age-ratios and population density can be useful indicators to assess population dynamics to improve management and conservation actions.

Body proportions for the facilitation of walking, running and flying: the case of partridges.

Background: Predation is one of the most important natural selection forces. Prey species can optimize feeding behavior and escape from predators based on mobility conditioned by body proportions. With age, mobility capacity increases and individuals are more efficient in finding resources and safety (e.

Time, geography and weather provide insights into the ecological strategy of a migrant species.

Farmland and migratory bird populations are in decline. The Common quail (Coturnix coturnix) provides an exception to this trend and its populations have remained stable over the last two decades. However, some basic facts regarding quail biology and ecology, such as the geographic distribution of age and sex classes during the summer, remain poorly understood.

Reply to the comment on "Synchronizing biological cycles as key to survival under a scenario of global change: The Common quail (Coturnix coturnix) strategy" by Rodriguez-Teijeiro et al.

Two methodological criticisms of our paper "Synchronizing biological cycles as key to survival under a scenario of global change: The Common quail (Coturnix coturnix) strategy" (Nadal et al., 2018) were proposed in the comment by Rodriguez-Teijeiro et al. (2018) regarding: 1) our estimates of the mean date of arrival, duration of stay and departure stages in the different regions studied; and 2) the analyses carried out to correlate the phenology of the species with changes in the climate variables.

The effects of scaling on age, sex and size relationships in Red-legged Partridges.

Wild birds differ in size according to their age and sex, adult birds being larger than juveniles. In the galliforms, males are larger than females, in contrast to some groups, such as the raptors, in which the females are larger. Size generally influences the rank hierarchy within a group of birds, although the age, sex, temperament and behaviour of an individual may override its size related rank order.

Synchronizing biological cycles as key to survival under a scenario of global change: The Common quail (Coturnix coturnix) strategy.

Breeding grounds are key areas for sustaining Common quail (Coturnix coturnix) populations as this species is characterised by short life expectancy that requires high offspring production. Annually, breeding quails make up to three breeding attempts in different places. However, the impact of climate warming on quail phenology is unknown.

Age and Sex Ratios in a High-Density Wild Red-Legged Partridge Population.

The dynamics of a wild red-legged partridge population were examined over a 14-year period in Spain to identify patterns in age and sex ratios in relation to weather parameters, and to assess the importance of these parameters in population dynamics and management. The results gave age ratios of 1.07 (but 2.