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Life Sciences

Western University

2022

Migration

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Long-Term Winter-Site Fidelity In Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia), Tosha R. Kelly, Keith A. Hobson, Garth @. Casbourn, Elizabeth A. Macdougall-Shackleton, Scott A. Macdougall-Shackleton Jun 2022

Long-Term Winter-Site Fidelity In Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia), Tosha R. Kelly, Keith A. Hobson, Garth @. Casbourn, Elizabeth A. Macdougall-Shackleton, Scott A. Macdougall-Shackleton

Biology Publications

In migratory animals, the degree to which individuals return to the same wintering sites across multiple years can affect fitness and population dynamics, and thus has important implications for conservation. Despite this, long-term evaluations of wintering-site fidelity are rare for migratory birds: many populations are intensively studied on their breeding grounds but tracking the migratory movements of small birds once they leave the breeding grounds is challenging. To evaluate patterns of overwintering location and fidelity, we collected winter-grown claw tissue from 301 Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia; 449 samples) captured in spring at their breeding grounds over six consecutive …


Seasonal Migration Distance Varies With Natal Dispersal And Predicts Parasitic Infection In Song Sparrows, Tosha R. Kelly, Heather L. Macgillivray, Yanina Sarquis-Adamson, Matthew J. Watson, Keith A. Hobson, Elizabeth A. Macdougall-Shackleton May 2022

Seasonal Migration Distance Varies With Natal Dispersal And Predicts Parasitic Infection In Song Sparrows, Tosha R. Kelly, Heather L. Macgillivray, Yanina Sarquis-Adamson, Matthew J. Watson, Keith A. Hobson, Elizabeth A. Macdougall-Shackleton

Biology Publications

Seasonal migration and natal dispersal represent the major large-scale movements in the lives of animals. Individuals that are relatively prone to movement and exploration might thus be more likely to disperse and also to migrate farther. Such movement might be either negatively associated with parasitic infection (if infection prevents hosts from successful long-distance migration) or positively associated (e.g. if longer-distance migrants encounter more abundant or more diverse parasites). We examined whether natal dispersal tendency predicts seasonal migration distance in song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) and whether migration distance predicts infection with bloodborne parasites upon arrival at the breeding grounds. …


Effects Of Experimental Malaria Infection On Migration Of Yellow-Rumped Warblers (Setophaga Coronata), Rebecca J. Howe Jan 2022

Effects Of Experimental Malaria Infection On Migration Of Yellow-Rumped Warblers (Setophaga Coronata), Rebecca J. Howe

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The potential of migratory animals to spread infectious diseases depends on how infection affects movement. If infection delays or slows the speed of travel, transmission to uninfected individuals may be reduced. Whether and how malaria (Plasmodium spp.) affects bird migration has received little experimental research. I captured 40 actively-migrating Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) at a migration stopover site and held them in captivity. I inoculated 25 with P. cathemerium while 15 received sham inoculations. After 12 days the birds were released. Six P. cathemerium-inoculated birds (24%) developed P. cathemerium infections after inoculation. I radio-tagged all birds, …