Affiliation:
1. Department of Biology, University of Turku, Vesilinnantie 5, 20500 Turku, Finland
Abstract
Migratory divides separate populations of migratory animals, facilitating the evolution of intraspecific differences in migration strategies. Migration strategies are expected to be different for birds using different flyways and environments, but the knowledge regarding the impact of the flyway on individual migration strategies is scarce. By using satellite tracking and neckband resightings, we reveal the existence and structure of a gradual migratory divide between two European flyway populations of greylag geese
Anser anser
. Birds breeding at the far end of the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea coast use the Western Flyway, those breeding in the Gulf of Finland the Central Flyway and those breeding between these extremes scatter to the two flyways. By using Gaussian process modelling, we show that migration strategies differed between the flyways. The birds using the Western Flyway migrated earlier in autumn, performed longer annual migration and made a clear stopover during migration, whereas the birds using the Central Flyway flew directly to their wintering sites. The gradual migratory divide that also divides migration strategies provides insights into migratory divides on birds with learned migration. Distinct migration strategies in different flyways provide exciting possibilities to further study the factors driving migration strategies.
Funder
Kartanon Riista
G2 Invest Oy
Luonnon- ja riistanhoitosäätiö
Suomen Riistanhoito-Säätiö
Uittokalusto Oy
Swarovski Optik
Raseborg Stad
Finnish Wildlife Agency
Natural Resource Institute Finland
Finnish Hunter's Association
Subject
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences,General Environmental Science,General Immunology and Microbiology,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,General Medicine