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risk responses in renesting. We suggest that species invest-ing in Frs should not continue breeding in short breeding seasons in response to predation risk but without time con-straints, their response should be similar to species... more
risk responses in renesting. We suggest that species invest-ing in Frs should not continue breeding in short breeding seasons in response to predation risk but without time con-straints, their response should be similar to species invest-ing in crs, e.g. within-season dispersal and increased nest concealment. Keywords cost of reproduction · Information use · nest survival · replacement clutch · Migratory shorebird
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Background: Populations living in fragmented habitats may suffer from loss of genetic variation and reduced between-patch dispersal, which are processes that can result in genetic differentiation. This occurs frequently in species with... more
Background: Populations living in fragmented habitats may suffer from loss of genetic variation and reduced between-patch dispersal, which are processes that can result in genetic differentiation. This occurs frequently in species with reduced mobility, whereas genetic differentiation is less common among mobile species such as migratory birds. The high dispersal capacity in the latter species usually allows for gene flow even in fragmented landscapes. However, strongly philopatric behaviour can reinforce relative isolation and the degree of genetic differentiation. The Southern Dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii) is a philopatric, long-distance migratory shorebird and shows reduced dispersal between isolated breeding patches. The endangered population of the Southern Dunlin breeding at the Baltic Sea has suffered from habitat deterioration and fragmentation of coastal meadows. We sampled DNA across the entire population and used 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci to examine whether t...
Additional file 1: Table S1. Summary of microsatellites used in this study.
Additional file 2: Figure S1. ΔK values from the Structure analysis. Table S2. Mean LnPs and standard deviations for different K-values from program Structure Harvester.
Additional file 3: Table S3. Information on locations of sampled populations, sampling years and permits.
Migration during spring is usually faster than during autumn because of competition for breeding territories. In some cases, however, the costs and benefits associated with the environment can lead to slower spring migration, but examples... more
Migration during spring is usually faster than during autumn because of competition for breeding territories. In some cases, however, the costs and benefits associated with the environment can lead to slower spring migration, but examples are quite rare. We compared seasonal migration strategies of the endangered Baltic population of the dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii) using light-level geolocator data from 26 individuals breeding in Finland. Autumn migration was faster, with individuals showing a "jump" and "skipping" migration strategy characterised by fewer stationary periods, shorter total stopping time and faster flight. Spring migration was slower, with individuals using a "skipping" strategy. The duration of migration was longer for early departing birds during spring but not during autumn suggesting that early spring migrants are prevented from arriving to the breeding areas or that fueling conditions are worse on the stopover sites for early ...
Migration during spring is usually faster than during autumn because of competition for breeding territories. In some cases, however, the costs and benefits associated with the environment can lead to slower spring migration, but examples... more
Migration during spring is usually faster than during autumn because of competition for breeding territories. In some cases, however, the costs and benefits associated with the environment can lead to slower spring migration, but examples are quite rare. We compared seasonal migration strategies of the endangered Baltic population of the dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii) using light-level geolocator data from 26 individuals breeding in Finland. Autumn migration was faster, with individuals showing a "jump" and "skipping" migration strategy characterised by fewer stationary periods, shorter total stopping time and faster flight. Spring migration was slower, with individuals using a "skipping" strategy. The duration of migration was longer for early departing birds during spring but not during autumn suggesting that early spring migrants are prevented from arriving to the breeding areas or that fueling conditions are worse on the stopover sites for early ...
Supplementary methods, Tables and Figures provides further details on field methods, data, and results that support the main text. (PDF 637 kb)
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Background Populations living in fragmented habitats may suffer from loss of genetic variation and reduced between-patch dispersal, which are processes that can result in genetic differentiation. This occurs frequently in species with... more
Background Populations living in fragmented habitats may suffer from loss of genetic variation and reduced between-patch dispersal, which are processes that can result in genetic differentiation. This occurs frequently in species with reduced mobility, whereas genetic differentiation is less common among mobile species such as migratory birds. The high dispersal capacity in the latter species usually allows for gene flow even in fragmented landscapes. However, strongly philopatric behaviour can reinforce relative isolation and the degree of genetic differentiation. The Southern Dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii) is a philopatric, long-distance migratory shorebird and shows reduced dispersal between isolated breeding patches. The endangered population of the Southern Dunlin breeding at the Baltic Sea has suffered from habitat deterioration and fragmentation of coastal meadows. We sampled DNA across the entire population and used 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci to examine whether th...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Description of the dataset "Supplementary Data 3 - Study... more
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Description of the dataset "Supplementary Data 3 - Study sites.csv"<br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br> The dataset <br> - is used in the paper "Unexpected diversity in socially synchronized rhythms of shorebirds" Nature 2016 by M. Bulla et al<br> - contains estimates of mean female and male wing length for each population of biparental shorebirds from a specific study site, plus the locations of the study site, whether the locations had tide, and whether the tide was used by the population for foraging, and how the incubation was monitored.<br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br> Questions can be directed to: Martin Bulla (bulla.mar@gmail.com)<br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br> Values are separated by comma. <br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br> 1. scinam : scientific name of the species<br> 2. sp : four letter abbreviation of the species's English name<br> 3. study_site : name of the study site<br> 4. site_abbreviation : four letter abbreviation of the study site<br> 5. type : was the study site at the breeding ground (breeding) or not (wintering)<br> 6. lat : latitude of the study site (decimal)<br> 7. lon : longitude of the study site (decimal)<br> 8. tidal_habitat : is the study site at primarily tidal habitat (y=yes, n=no)<br> 9. tidal_used : if the study site is at primarily tidal habitat, do the birds use it for foraging (y=yes, n=no)<br>10. incubation_monitoring : method used to monitor incubation (for details see the paper's Extended Data Table 4)<br>11. sexing_method : i [...]
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Research Interests: Biology and Population
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Geolocators are useful for tracking movements of long-distance migrants, but potential negative effects on birds have not been well studied. We tested for effects of geolocators (0.8-2.0 g total, representing 0.1-3.9 % of mean body mass)... more
Geolocators are useful for tracking movements of long-distance migrants, but potential negative effects on birds have not been well studied. We tested for effects of geolocators (0.8-2.0 g total, representing 0.1-3.9 % of mean body mass) on 16 species of migratory shorebirds, including five species with 2-4 subspecies each for a total of 23 study taxa. Study species spanned a range of body sizes (26-1091 g) and eight genera, and were tagged at 23 breeding and eight nonbreeding sites. We compared breeding performance and return rates of birds with geolocators to control groups while controlling for potential confounding variables. We detected negative effects of tags for three small-bodied species. Geolocators reduced annual return rates for two of 23 taxa: by 63 % for semipalmated sandpipers and by 43 % for the arcticola subspecies of dunlin. High resighting effort for geolocator birds could have masked additional negative effects. Geolocators were more likely to negatively affect r...
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The behavioural rhythms of organisms are thought to be under strong selection, influenced by the rhythmicity of the environment1-4. Such behavioural rhythms are well studied in isolated individuals under laboratory conditions1,5, but... more
The behavioural rhythms of organisms are thought to be under strong selection, influenced by the rhythmicity of the environment1-4. Such behavioural rhythms are well studied in isolated individuals under laboratory conditions1,5, but free-living individuals have to temporally synchronize their activities with those of others, including potential mates, competitors, prey and predators6-10. Individuals can temporally segregate their daily activities (e.g. prey avoiding predators, subordinates avoiding dominants) or synchronize their activities (e.g. group foraging, communal defence, pairs reproducing or caring for offspring)6,9-11. The behavioural rhythms that emerge from such social synchronization and the underlying evolutionary and ecological drivers that shape them remain poorly understood5-7,9. Here, we address this in the context of biparental care, a particularly sensitive phase of social synchronization12where pair members potentially compromise their individual rhythms. Using...
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Geolocators are useful for tracking movements of long-distance migrants, but potential negative effects on birds have not been well studied. We tested for effects of geolocators (0.8-2.0 g total, representing 0.1-3.9 % of mean body mass)... more
Geolocators are useful for tracking movements of long-distance migrants, but potential negative effects on birds have not been well studied. We tested for effects of geolocators (0.8-2.0 g total, representing 0.1-3.9 % of mean body mass) on 16 species of migratory shorebirds, including five species with 2-4 subspecies each for a total of 23 study taxa. Study species spanned a range of body sizes (26-1091 g) and eight genera, and were tagged at 23 breeding and eight nonbreeding sites. We compared breeding performance and return rates of birds with geolocators to control groups while controlling for potential confounding variables. We detected negative effects of tags for three small-bodied species. Geolocators reduced annual return rates for two of 23 taxa: by 63 % for semipalmated sandpipers and by 43 % for the arcticola subspecies of dunlin. High resighting effort for geolocator birds could have masked additional negative effects. Geolocators were more likely to negatively affect r...
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Migration during spring is usually faster than during autumn because of competition for breeding territories. In some cases, however, the costs and benefits associated with the environment can lead to slower spring migration, but examples... more
Migration during spring is usually faster than during autumn because of competition for breeding territories. In some cases, however, the costs and benefits associated with the environment can lead to slower spring migration, but examples are quite rare. We compared seasonal migration strategies of the endangered Baltic population of the dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii) using light-level geolocator data from 26 individuals breeding in Finland. Autumn migration was faster, with individuals showing a “jump” and “skipping” migration strategy characterised by fewer stationary periods, shorter total stopping time and faster flight. Spring migration was slower, with individuals using a “skipping” strategy. The duration of migration was longer for early departing birds during spring but not during autumn suggesting that early spring migrants are prevented from arriving to the breeding areas or that fueling conditions are worse on the stopover sites for early arriving individuals. Dunlins showed high migratory connectivity. All individuals had one long staging at the Wadden Sea in the autumn after which half of the individuals flew 4500 km non-stop to Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania. The other half stopped briefly on the Atlantic coast on their way to Mauritania. One bird wintered on the coast of Portugal. Nine individuals that carried geolocators for two years were site faithful to their final non-breeding sites. Based on the strategies during the non-breeding period we identified, Baltic dunlin may be especially vulnerable to rapid environmental changes at the staging and non-breeding areas. Consequently, the preservation of the identified non-breeding areas is important for their conservation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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... southwards. Changes in population sizes and ranges left signs into the genetic variation within species, enabling phylogeographic reconstruction (eg Avise & Walker, 1998; Kraaijeveld & Nieboer, 2000; Hewitt, 2004). Glacial ...
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Small light-level geolocators have revolutionized research on avian migration and breeding ecology. However, proper evaluations of their impact on the life history of individuals compared to control individuals that experience the same... more
Small light-level geolocators have revolutionized research on avian migration and breeding ecology. However, proper evaluations of their impact on the life history of individuals compared to control individuals that experience the same conditions are still rare. Geolocator effects may be species specific and depend on the type of mounting, sex and size of individuals. While geolocators have been used extensively and without negative effects on large shorebirds, relatively little is known about their effects on small shore-birds, especially of those attached on leg-flags. We mounted 30 leg-flagged geolocators (15 on each sex) on Southern Dunlins (Calidris alpina schinzii) – a small, long distance migratory shorebird (40–52 grams) – and examined the effects of geolocators on return rates and reproduction through comparisons to a control group. The whole attachment weighed 1.5–2% of an individual's body mass. We found no evidence of lowered return rates. Out of 30 birds, 22 (73%) r...
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Research Interests: Reproduction, Ecology, Finland, Cues, Birds, and 5 moreAnimals, Oecologia, Nesting Behavior, Seasons, and Predatory Behavior
The behavioural rhythms of organisms are thought to be under strong selection, influenced by the rhythmicity of the environment 1–4. Such behavioural rhythms are well studied in isolated individuals under laboratory conditions 1,5 , but... more
The behavioural rhythms of organisms are thought to be under strong selection, influenced by the rhythmicity of the environment 1–4. Such behavioural rhythms are well studied in isolated individuals under laboratory conditions 1,5 , but free-living individuals have to temporally synchronize their activities with those of others, including potential mates, competitors, prey and predators 6–10. Individuals can temporally segregate their daily activities (for example, prey avoiding predators, subordinates avoiding dominants) or synchronize their activities (for example, group foraging, communal defence, pairs reproducing or caring for offspring) 6–9,11. The behavioural rhythms that emerge from such social synchronization and the underlying evolutionary and ecological drivers that shape them remain poorly understood 5–7,9. Here we investigate these rhythms in the context of biparental care, a particularly sensitive phase of social synchronization 12 where pair members potentially compromise their individual rhythms. Using data from 729 nests of 91 populations of 32 biparentally incubating shorebird species, where parents synchronize to achieve continuous coverage of developing eggs, we report remarkable within-and between-species diversity in incubation rhythms. Between species, the median length of one parent's incubation bout varied from 1–19 h, whereas period length—the time in which a parent's probability to incubate cycles once between its highest and lowest value—varied from 6–43 h. The length of incubation bouts was unrelated to variables reflecting energetic demands, but species relying on crypsis (the ability to avoid detection by other animals) had longer incubation bouts than those that are readily visible or who actively protect their nest against predators. Rhythms entrainable to the 24-h light–dark cycle were less prevalent at high latitudes and absent in 18 species. Our results indicate that even under similar environmental conditions and despite 24-h environmental cues, social synchronization can generate far more diverse behavioural rhythms than expected from studies of individuals in captivity 5–7,9. The risk of predation, not the risk of starvation, may be a key factor underlying the diversity in these rhythms.