St Andrews Research Repository

St Andrews University Home
View Item 
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  • Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Young birds switch but old birds lead : how barnacle geese adjust migratory habits to environmental change

Thumbnail
View/Open
Oudman_2020_FEE_Youngbirds_CC.pdf (4.084Mb)
Date
09/01/2020
Author
Oudman, Thomas
Laland, Kevin
Ruxton, Graeme
Tombre, Ingunn
Shimmings, Paul
Prop, Jouke
Keywords
Branta leucopsis
Climate change
Decision-making
Explorative behavior
Group decision
Memory
Migration
Social learning
QH301 Biology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Ecology
DAS
Metadata
Show full item record
Altmetrics Handle Statistics
Altmetrics DOI Statistics
Abstract
Long-distance migratory animals must contend with global climate change, but they differ greatly in whether and how they adjust. Species that socially learn their migration routes may have an advantage in this process compared to other species, as learned changes that are passed on to the next generation can speed up adjustment. However, evidence from the wild that social learning helps migrants adjust to environmental change is absent. Here, we study the behavioral processes by which barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) adjust spring-staging site choice along the Norwegian coast, which appears to be a response to climate change and population growth. We compared individual-based models to an empirical description of geese colonizing a new staging site in the 1990s. The data included 43 years of estimated annual food conditions and goose numbers at both staging sites (1975–2017), as well as annual age-dependent switching events between the two staging sites from one year to the next (2000–2017). Using Approximate Bayesian Computation, we assessed the relative likelihood of models with different “decision rules”, which define how individuals choose a staging site. In the best performing model, individuals traveled in groups and staging site choice was made by the oldest group member. Groups normally returned to the same staging site each year, but exhibited a higher probability of switching staging site in years with larger numbers of geese at the staging site. The decision did not depend on food availability in the current year. Switching rates between staging sites decreased with age, which was best explained by a higher probability of switching between groups by younger geese, and not by young geese being more responsive to current conditions. We found no evidence that the experienced foraging conditions in previous years affected staging site choice. Our findings demonstrate that copying behavior and density-dependent group decisions explain how geese adjust their migratory habits rapidly in response to changes in food availability and competition. We conclude that considering social processes can be essential to understand how migratory animals respond to changing environments.
Citation
Oudman , T , Laland , K , Ruxton , G , Tombre , I , Shimmings , P & Prop , J 2020 , ' Young birds switch but old birds lead : how barnacle geese adjust migratory habits to environmental change ' , Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution , vol. 7 , 502 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00502
Publication
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00502
ISSN
2296-701X
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2020 Oudman, Laland, Ruxton, Tombre, Shimmings and Prop. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Description
This research was funded by a grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research awarded to TO (ref 019.172EN.011).
Collections
  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/19322

Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Advanced Search

Browse

All of RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunderThis CollectionBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunder

My Account

Login

Open Access

To find out how you can benefit from open access to research, see our library web pages and Open Access blog. For open access help contact: openaccess@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Accessibility

Read our Accessibility statement.

How to submit research papers

The full text of research papers can be submitted to the repository via Pure, the University's research information system. For help see our guide: How to deposit in Pure.

Electronic thesis deposit

Help with deposit.

Repository help

For repository help contact: Digital-Repository@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Give Feedback

Cookie policy

This site may use cookies. Please see Terms and Conditions.

Usage statistics

COUNTER-compliant statistics on downloads from the repository are available from the IRUS-UK Service. Contact us for information.

© University of St Andrews Library

University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013532.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter