Why is timing of bird migration advancing when individuals are not?

Recent advances in spring arrival dates have been reported in many migratory species but the mechanism driving these advances is unknown. As population declines are most widely reported in species that are not advancing migration, there is an urgent need to identify the mechanisms facilitating and constraining these advances. Individual plasticity in timing of migration in response to changing climatic conditions is commonly proposed to drive these advances but plasticity in individual migratory timings is rarely observed. For a shorebird population that has significantly advanced migration in recent decades, we show that individual arrival dates are highly consistent between years, but that the arrival dates of new recruits to the population are significantly earlier now than in previous years. Several mechanisms could drive advances in recruit arrival, none of which require individual plasticity or rapid evolution of migration timings. In particular, advances in nest-laying dates could result in advanced recruit arrival, if benefits of early hatching facilitate early subsequent spring migration. This mechanism could also explain why arrival dates of short-distance migrants, which generally return to breeding sites earlier and have greater scope for advance laying, are advancing more rapidly than long-distance migrants.     

A bird distribution model for ring recovery data: where do the European robins go?

For the study of migratory connectivity, birds have been individually marked by metal rings for more than 100 years. The resulting ring recovery data have been compiled in numerous bird migration atlases. However, estimation of what proportion of a particular population is migrating to which region is confounded by spatial heterogeneity in ring recovery probability. We present a product multinomial model that enables quantifying the continent‐wide distribution of different bird populations during different seasons based on ring recovery data while accounting for spatial heterogeneity of ring recovery probability. We applied the model to an example data set of the European robin Erithacus rubecula. We assumed that ring recovery probability was equal between different groups of birds and that survival probability was constant. Simulated data indicate that violation of the assumption of constant survival did not affect our estimated bird distribution parameters but biased the estimates for recovery probability. Posterior predictive model checking indicated a good general model fit but also revealed lack of fit for a few groups of birds. This lack of fit may be due to between‐group differences in the spatial distribution on smaller scales within regions. We found that 48% of the Scandinavian robins, but only 31% of the central European robins, wintered in northern Africa. The remaining parts of both populations wintered in southern and central Europe. Therefore, a substantial part of the Scandinavian population appears to leap over individuals from the central European population during migration. The model is applied to summary tables of numbers of ringed and recovered birds. This allows us to handle very large data sets as, for example, those presented in bird migration atlases.     

年内水热条件变化对冬候鸟数量时空分布特征的影响机制

环鄱阳湖湿地是东亚重要的冬候鸟栖息地,由于湿地内部分区接纳水源的不同,人为活动及地表类型的差异,使得该区冬候鸟数量的时空分布特征相对复杂。综合利用遥感数据、冬候鸟航空调查数据及气象观测数据,借助分区相关性统计分析方法,研究不同尺度环鄱阳湖湿地年内水热要素对冬候鸟数量时空分布特征的影响;通过水文要素之间的相关性分析以及地表温度的时空分布格局研究,探索水热要素之间的耦合关系,进而揭示鄱阳湖区年内水热条件变化对冬候鸟数量时空分布特征的影响机制。研究发现:12月份气温是影响鄱阳湖湿地冬候鸟数量时空分布特征的驱动因素;受分区农业及生态特征的影响,水文条件的年内变异成为影响鄱阳湖冬候鸟数量时空分布特征的决定因素。研究结果为环鄱阳湖湿地冬候鸟栖息地的保护提供决策依据。     

Demographic responses to climate‐driven variation in habitat quality across the annual cycle of a migratory bird species

The demography and dynamics of migratory bird populations depend on patterns of movement and habitat quality across the annual cycle. We leveraged archival GPS‐tagging data, climate data, remote‐sensed vegetation data, and bird‐banding data to better understand the dynamics of black‐headed grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) populations in two breeding regions, the coast and Central Valley of California (Coastal California) and the Sierra Nevada mountain range (Sierra Nevada), over 28 years (1992–2019). Drought conditions across the annual cycle and rainfall timing on the molting grounds influenced seasonal habitat characteristics, including vegetation greenness and phenology (maturity dates). We developed a novel integrated population model with population state informed by adult capture data, recruitment rates informed by age‐specific capture data and climate covariates, and survival rates informed by adult capture–mark–recapture data and climate covariates. Population size was relatively variable among years for Coastal California, where numbers of recruits and survivors were positively correlated, and years of population increase were largely driven by recruitment. In the Sierra Nevada, population size was more consistent and showed stronger evidence of population regulation (numbers of recruits and survivors negatively correlated). Neither region showed evidence of long‐term population trend. We found only weak support for most climate–demographic rate relationships. However, recruitment rates for the Coastal California region were higher when rainfall was relatively early on the molting grounds and when wintering grounds were relatively cool and wet. We suggest that our approach of integrating movement, climate, and demographic data within a novel modeling framework can provide a useful method for better understanding the dynamics of broadly distributed migratory species.     

九段沙湿地鸻形目鸟类迁徙季节环境容纳量

根据对九段沙湿地2005年春、秋季食物资源调查来计算迁徙期鸻形目鸟类的环境容纳量。结果表明,九段沙湿地春季食物总量为4541．20kgAFDW（去灰分干重）,秋季为2279．64kgAFDW,按鸻形目鸟类有效栖息生境计算,春季鸟类可利用食物资源量为3429．03kgAFDW,秋季为1700．92kgAFDW。通过鸟类体型类群分类（根据去脂净重、基础代谢率和体长）和能量消耗模型可以得出,九段沙湿地迁徙季节总食物量理论上可维持的鸻形目鸟类最大数量约为春季350万只,秋季175万只。按有效生境计算,春季约为260万只,秋季约为130万只。考虑到食物取入率的影响,九段沙湿地实际可容纳约13～26万只鸟类。根据地理信息分析可知,高潮位期有效栖息地的缺乏可能是限制鸟类数量达到估计上限的主要原因,建议在不危害保护区生态安全的前提下,开辟一些隐蔽性强的裸地和浅水塘,以提高鸻形目鸟类对九段沙湿地资源的利用率。     

亚洲飞蝗在中国新疆维吾尔自治区的发生与防治

从亚洲飞蝗在新疆发生基地的生境特点;形成和消退过程,分析亚洲飞蝗灾害发生消退的原因。自然条件变化和人们经济活动常改变亚洲飞蝗发生基地的生态条件及环境,并诱发或抑制飞蝗灾害的发生。文章指出根治亚洲飞蝗灾害的有效途径是贯彻“改治并举、根除蝗”的方针;加强蝗情监测;适时防治以及通过水利建设和农田开垦,改变飞蝗发生基地和生态条件等。     

Recent advances in the study of long-distance dispersal of aquatic invertebrates via birds

Although Darwin pioneered the study of long‐distance dispersal (LDD) of aquatic invertebrates via waterbirds, it remains in its infancy as a modern discipline. A handful of recent studies have quantified internal or external transport in the field, confirming that a variety of long‐distance migrants carry invertebrates both internally and externally. These studies show that variation in the morphology of vectors influences the frequency and size of propagules transported, and suggest that more invertebrate groups disperse via birds than was previously thought. Dispersal limitation has mainly been investigated for zooplankton in small experimental systems from which waterbirds were effectively excluded, and the extent of such limitation for invertebrate populations in wetlands interconnected by waterbird movements remains unclear. We expect that the spatial and temporal scales at which dispersal limitation constrains geographical ranges, species richness and genetic structure of invertebrates depends partly on the density of migratory birds using the area. Birds may have a major role in the expansion of exotic species. We propose several avenues for future research. There is a particular need for more quantitative studies of LDD by birds that will enable modellers to assess its role in maintaining invertebrate biodiversity among increasingly fragmented wetlands and in the face of climate change, as well as in the spread of invasive species.     

Neural stem cells: involvement in adult neurogenesis and CNS repair

Recent advances in stem cell research, including the selective expansion of neural stem cells (NSCs) in vitro, the induction of particular neural cells from embryonic stem cells in vitro, the identification of NSCs or NSC-like cells in the adult brain and the detection of neurogenesis in the adult brain (adult neurogenesis), have laid the groundwork for the development of novel therapies aimed at inducing regeneration in the damaged central nervous system (CNS). There are two major strategies for inducing regeneration in the damaged CNS: (i) activation of the endogenous regenerative capacity and (ii) cell transplantation therapy. In this review, we summarize the recent findings from our group and others on NSCs, with respect to their role in insult-induced neurogenesis (activation of adult NSCs, proliferation of transit-amplifying cells, migration of neuroblasts and survival and maturation of the newborn neurons), and implications for therapeutic interventions, together with tactics for using cell transplantation therapy to treat the damaged CNS.