Impact of weather conditions on ringing intensity in Suichuan avian passage, China

Abstract

Suichuan is the second largest avian migration passage in China, while studies about local migration situation were rarely conducted. In this study, it aimed to provide the primary understanding of migration in Suichuan. The scale and diversity of migrants were analyzed. Moreover, the relationship between weather conditions including wind and rainfall and ringing intensity were also explored. Based on the field collected data from 2005 to 2010, dominant migrants in Suichuan were Ciconiiformes and Passeriformes, followed by Gruiformes, and the diversity of migrant species peaked in 2007. Correlations of bird ringing intensity with wind speed and rainfall were derived through a univariate analysis. Different groups of migrants shared different correlation patterns with each weather condition. Ringing intensity of small size Passeriformes was most easily affected by the adverse weather conditions (daily rainfall ≥15 mm or wind speed >2.5 ms−1); Gruiformes shared significant correlations with wind speeds 2.5 ms−1. Multiple linear regression analysis confirmed that higher rainfall and stronger wind hampered total ringing intensity and these two predictors together could explain 79 % of the variation of total ringing intensity. Moreover, east wind was related to higher ringing intensity, especially for the groups of Ciconiiformes and others. The result of this exploratory study has important implications for assessing the impact of meteorological variables, such as wind and rain on migratory behavior in Suichuan.