Abstract
Understanding the relationship between migratory performance and fitness is crucial for predicting population dynamics of migratory species. In this study, we used geolocators to explore migration performance (speed and duration of migratory movements, migratory timings) and its association with breeding phenology and productivity in an Afro-Palearctic insectivore, the European bee-eater (Merops apiaster), breeding in Iberian Peninsula. Bee-eaters migrated at higher travel speeds and had shorter travel duration in spring compared to autumn. Individuals that departed earlier or spent fewer days in-flight arrived earlier to the breeding areas. Our results show overall positive, but year-specific, linkages between arrival and laying dates. In one year, laying was earlier and productivity was higher, remaining constant throughout the season, while in the subsequent year productivity was lower and, importantly, declined with laying date. These results suggest that arriving earlier can be advantageous for bee-eaters, as in years when breeding conditions are favourable, early and late breeders produce high and similar number of fledglings, but when conditions are unfavourable only early breeders experience high productivity levels.
Highlights
Understanding the relationship between migratory performance and fitness is crucial for predicting population dynamics of migratory species
Exploring the potential factors affecting long-distance migrants is challenging, as conditions at very distant locations experienced in a given season, may affect individual performance in a subsequent stage of the annual cycle at another location
Migratory birds must time annual cycle events to coincide with local environmental conditions at all stages of the annual cycle if they are to maximize fitness, despite the difficulty of predicting conditions at breeding/wintering sites hundreds of kilometres away
Summary
Understanding the relationship between migratory performance and fitness is crucial for predicting population dynamics of migratory species. In one year, laying was earlier and productivity was higher, remaining constant throughout the season, while in the subsequent year productivity was lower and, importantly, declined with laying date These results suggest that arriving earlier can be advantageous for bee-eaters, as in years when breeding conditions are favourable, early and late breeders produce high and similar number of fledglings, but when conditions are unfavourable only early breeders experience high productivity levels. Individuals occupying high quality habitats during the non-breeding season may accumulate fuel at a fast rate and initiate spring migration in good c ondition[20], increasing the probability of raising more offspring in the breeding a reas[19]. Spending the non-breeding season in high quality areas and undertaking specific migratory strategies can have important consequences for individual fitness in distant breeding areas[4]
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