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Compensation for wind drift during raptor migration improves with age through mortality selection

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 6, pages 989–997 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Each year, billions of flying and swimming migrants negotiate the challenging displacement imposed by travelling through a flowing medium. However, little is known about how the ability to cope with drift improves through life and what mechanisms drive its development. We examined 3,140 days of migration by 90 GPS-tagged raptorial black kites (Milvus migrans) aged 1–27 years to show that the ability to compensate for lateral drift develops gradually through many more years than previously appreciated. Drift negotiation was under strong selective pressure, with inferior navigators subject to increased mortality. This progressively selected for adults able to compensate for current cross flows and for previously accumulated drift in a flexible, context-dependent and risk-dependent manner. Displacements accumulated en route carried over to shape the wintering distribution of the population. For many migrants, migratory journeys by younger individuals represent concentrated episodes of trait selection that shape adult populations and mediate their adaptation to climate change.

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Fig. 1: Strategies of drift negotiation by migrating black kites.
Fig. 2: Age-dependent drift changed by geographic area and with wind direction in the pre-breeding migration.
Fig. 3: Migrating black kites strategically interrupted and restarted their journeys on the basis of wind conditions and local food availability, as estimated by ecosystem productivity (NDVI).
Fig. 4: Individual improvements in wind-negotiation capabilities by migrating black kites and their mortality consequences.

Data availability

Data are available from DIGITAL.CSIC at https://doi.org/10.20350/digitalCSIC/14652.

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Acknowledgements

We thank F.J. Chicano, F.G. Vilches, J.M. Giralt and M. Anjos for help in the field, I. Afán and D. Aragonés of LAST–EBD for support with GIS analyses, the personnel of the Reserva Biológica de Doñana–ICTS for logistical help and accommodation, E. Palazuelos for preparing Supplementary Video 1 and F.J. Hernández for the kite drawing in Fig. 1. Part of the study was funded by Natural Research Ltd. and research projects CGL2008-01781 (F.S.), CGL2011-28103 (F.S.), CGL2012-32544 (J.B.) and PGC2018-095860-B-I00 (F.S.) of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation/Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER funds; 511/2012 (J.B.) of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment (Autonomous Organism of National Parks); JA-58 (F.S.) of the Consejería de Medio Ambiente de la Junta de Andalucía and by the Excellence Projects RNM 1790 (F.S.), RNM 3822 (F.S.), RNM 7307 (F.S.) and P18-FR-4239 (F.S.) of the Junta de Andalucía. J.M.B was supported by Generalitat Valenciana (CIDEGENT/2020/030).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Fabrizio Sergio, Jomar M. Barbosa.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana–CSIC, Seville, Spain

    Fabrizio Sergio, Alessandro Tanferna, Rafa Silva, Julio Blas & Fernando Hiraldo

  2. Department of Applied Biology, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, Spain

    Jomar M. Barbosa

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  1. Fabrizio Sergio
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Contributions

F.S., A.T., J.B. and F.H. conducted fieldwork. F.S., A.T. and J.M.B. prepared the database, extracted and processed the environmental data from internet sources and analysed the data. F.S., J.B. and F.H. obtained funding. F.S., J.M.B, A.T., R.S., J.B. and F.H. took part in the conceptual planning of the study and in the preparation of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Fabrizio Sergio.

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Nature Ecology & Evolution thanks Jason Chapman, Will Cresswell and two other, anonymous, reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Figs. 1–7 and Tables 1–6.

Reporting Summary

Supplementary Video 1.

Flow negotiation strategies by migrants. Conceptual representation of crosswind negotiation strategies by migrating raptors; by orienting their heading progressively more towards a lateral crosswind, migrants can compensate progressively more for the drift imposed by the side flow. The outcome of such orientation strategies can range from full drift to partial compensation or full compensation.

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Sergio, F., Barbosa, J.M., Tanferna, A. et al. Compensation for wind drift during raptor migration improves with age through mortality selection. Nat Ecol Evol 6, 989–997 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01776-1

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