Migration and wintering strategies in vulnerable Mediterranean Osprey populations |
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| Authors: | Flavio Monti David Grémillet Andrea Sforzi Giampiero Sammuri Jean Marie Dominici Rafel Triay Bagur Antoni Muñoz Navarro Leonida Fusani Olivier Duriez |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS – Université de Montpellier – Université Paul‐Valéry Montpellier – EPHE, Montpellier, France;2. Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy;3. Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Siena, Italy;4. FitzPatrick Institute, DST‐NRF Centre of Excellence at the University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa;5. Maremma Natural History Museum, Grosseto, Italy;6. Federparchi, Rome, Italy;7. Réserve Naturelle Scandola, Parc Naturel Régional de Corse, Galeria, France;8. IME (Institut Menorquí d'Estudis), Maó, Spain;9. Grup Balear d'Ornitologia i Defensa de la Naturalesa (GOB), Palma de Mallorca, Spain;10. Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, & Konrad Lorenz Institute for Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria |
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| Abstract: | A broad range of migration strategies exist in avian species, and different strategies can occur in different populations of the same species. For the breeding Osprey Pandion haliaetus populations of the Mediterranean, sporadic observations of ringed birds collected in the past suggested variations in migratory and wintering behaviour. We used GPS tracking data from 41 individuals from Corsica, the Balearic Islands and continental Italy to perform the first detailed analysis of the migratory and wintering strategies of these Osprey populations. Ospreys showed heterogeneous migratory behaviour, with 73% of the individuals migrating and the remaining 27% staying all year round at breeding sites. For migratory individuals, an extremely short duration of migration (5.2 ± 2.6 days) was recorded. Mediterranean Ospreys were able to perform long non‐stop flights over the open sea, sometimes overnight. They also performed pre‐ and post‐migratory trips to secondary sites, before or after crossing the sea during both autumn and spring migration. Ospreys spent the winter at temperate latitudes and showed high plasticity in habitat selection, using marine bays, coastal lagoons/marshland and inland freshwater sites along the coasts of different countries of the Mediterranean basin. Movements and home‐range areas were restricted during the wintering season. The short duration of trips and high levels of variability in migratory routes and wintering grounds revealed high behavioural plasticity among individuals, probably promoted by the relatively low seasonal variability in ecological conditions throughout the year in the Mediterranean region, and weak competition for non‐breeding sites. We stress the importance of considering the diversity in migration strategies and the particular ecology of these vulnerable populations, especially in relation to proactive management measures for the species at the scale of the Mediterranean region. |
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| Keywords: | barrier crossing behavioural flexibility GPS tracking migration
Pandion haliaetus
wintering |
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