Causes and consequences of migratory routines
Long-distance migration is a fascinating phenomenon, and particularly common in birds. In a world that is rapidly changing, many species are in decline, with migratory animals being among the most rapidly declining taxa on earth.
I am interested in the causes and consequences of (individual) variation in migratory behaviour, in order to better understand the capacities and constraints of migratory species to respond to changes in their environment.
Spoonbills are a very suitable study system in this respect. They are large esthetic birds that live in open wetland habitats. Most spoonbills breed in The Netherlands and by the end of summer, they fly south along the East-Atlantic coast to many different wintering sites in France, Spain, Portugal and West Africa. Since 1982, a colour-ringing program has been set up. Today, more than 7,000 Dutch spoonbills have been colour-ringed and over 150,000 observations of these birds have been done throughout Europe and West Africa.
During my PhD I showed that there is individual variation in wintering sites of spoonbills, and that the choice of wintering sites has consequences for survival and reproductive success. I also found that most spoonbills are wintering in suboptimal wintering sites in West Africa (where spoonbills generally have lower survival and reproductive success) but that the winter distribution is changing, with more and more spoonbills now wintering in Europe. This shows that spoonbills are responding to differential winter site suitabilities along their flyway, but also that this response is slower than optimal, suggesting constraints in the evolution of new migratory routines.
My current research focuses on better understanding the capacities and constraints of migratory animals in their response to environmental changes, using a combination of established mark-recapture methods and state-of-the-art GPS-tracking. As part of this research, we have equipped 80 juvenile spoonbills with GPS-GSM trackers in The Netherlands and southern France. You can follow them in near real-time here or on your mobile phone, using the Animal Tracker app.
I am interested in the causes and consequences of (individual) variation in migratory behaviour, in order to better understand the capacities and constraints of migratory species to respond to changes in their environment.
Spoonbills are a very suitable study system in this respect. They are large esthetic birds that live in open wetland habitats. Most spoonbills breed in The Netherlands and by the end of summer, they fly south along the East-Atlantic coast to many different wintering sites in France, Spain, Portugal and West Africa. Since 1982, a colour-ringing program has been set up. Today, more than 7,000 Dutch spoonbills have been colour-ringed and over 150,000 observations of these birds have been done throughout Europe and West Africa.
During my PhD I showed that there is individual variation in wintering sites of spoonbills, and that the choice of wintering sites has consequences for survival and reproductive success. I also found that most spoonbills are wintering in suboptimal wintering sites in West Africa (where spoonbills generally have lower survival and reproductive success) but that the winter distribution is changing, with more and more spoonbills now wintering in Europe. This shows that spoonbills are responding to differential winter site suitabilities along their flyway, but also that this response is slower than optimal, suggesting constraints in the evolution of new migratory routines.
My current research focuses on better understanding the capacities and constraints of migratory animals in their response to environmental changes, using a combination of established mark-recapture methods and state-of-the-art GPS-tracking. As part of this research, we have equipped 80 juvenile spoonbills with GPS-GSM trackers in The Netherlands and southern France. You can follow them in near real-time here or on your mobile phone, using the Animal Tracker app.