Data from: Differences in speed and duration of bird migration between spring and autumn

Dataset

Description

It has been suggested that birds migrate faster in spring than in autumn because of competition for arrival order at breeding grounds and environmental factors such as increased daylight. Investigating spring and autumn migration performances is important for understanding ecological and evolutionary constraints in the timing and speed of migration. We compiled measurements from tracking studies and found a consistent predominance of cases showing higher speeds and shorter durations during spring compared to autumn, in terms of flight speeds (airspeed, ground speed, daily travel speed), stopover duration, and total speed and duration of migration. Seasonal differences in flight speeds were generally smaller than those in stopover durations and total speed/duration of migration, indicating that rates of foraging and fuel deposition were more important than flight speed in accounting for differences in overall migration performance. Still, the seasonal differences in flight speeds provide important support for time selection in spring migration.

The data set (http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.82d4q) reflects seasonal comparisons of migration speed and duration among five major categories of birds, namely, (1) songbirds, swifts, and hoopoes ( and 14 cases referring to migration speed and duration, respectively), (2) shorebirds, gulls, and terns ( and 7), (3) ducks, geese, and swans ( and 3), (4) oceanic birds (petrels, albatrosses, shearwaters; and 7), and (5) thermal soaring migrants (raptors, storks; and 20) and other migrants ( and 1).
Datum van beschikbaarheid12-feb.-2013
UitgeverUniversity of Groningen

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