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Migration

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Theses/Dissertations

Animal Sciences

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Drivers And Direct Impacts Of Lean Mass Dynamics On The Stopover Ecology And Migratory Pace Of Nearctic-Neotropical Migrant Songbirds In Spring, Mariamar Gutierrez Ramirez Mar 2022

Drivers And Direct Impacts Of Lean Mass Dynamics On The Stopover Ecology And Migratory Pace Of Nearctic-Neotropical Migrant Songbirds In Spring, Mariamar Gutierrez Ramirez

Doctoral Dissertations

Annual migration in songbirds is one of the most demanding life-history stages. It represents a period of high mortality, yet there is still much unknown about the ecological correlates that influence its successful completion. After long non-stop migratory flights, birds require a stopover period to rest and replenish depleted energy reserves. Birds use fat as the primary fuel to power long-distance flights. However, birds also burn lean tissue, which results in significant reductions in muscle and organ masses. The discovery and quantification of lean mass catabolism represented a paradigm shift in migration ecology because non-fat components were thought to remain …


Not Gone With The Wind: Addressing Effects Of Offshore Wind Development On Bat Species In The Northeastern United States, Zara Rae Dowling Nov 2018

Not Gone With The Wind: Addressing Effects Of Offshore Wind Development On Bat Species In The Northeastern United States, Zara Rae Dowling

Doctoral Dissertations

Development of coastal and offshore wind energy resources has the potential to add considerable renewable electricity capacity to the United States electrical grid, but could have detrimental impacts on wildlife. Land-based wind energy facilities are estimated to kill hundreds of thousands of bats every year in the United States, and could threaten population viability of some species. Little is known about the potential impacts of offshore wind development on bat populations along the North Atlantic coast, but a number of species are known to frequent marine islands or fly over the ocean during migration. This dissertation helps to characterize risks …


Modelling Bird Migration With Motus Data And Bayesian State-Space Models, Justin Baldwin Oct 2017

Modelling Bird Migration With Motus Data And Bayesian State-Space Models, Justin Baldwin

Masters Theses

Bird migration is a poorly-known yet important phenomenon, as understanding movement patterns of birds can inform conservation strategies and public health policy for animal-borne diseases. Recent advances in wildlife tracking technology, in particular the Motus system, have allowed researchers to track even small flying birds and insects with radio transmitters that weigh fractions of a gram. This system relies on a community-based distributed sensor network that detects tagged animals as they move through the detection nodes on journeys that range from small local movements to intercontinental migrations. The quantity of data generated by the Motus system is unprecedented, is on …