Seasonal variation in habitat selection for a Neotropical migratory songbird using high‐resolution GPS tracking

Abstract

AbstractDeciphering how environmental heterogeneity affects population dynamics in migratory species is complicated by the redistribution of individuals in time and space across the annual cycle. Approaches that tackle this problem require information about how migratory species respond to ecological factors across time and space, and how they are linked across migratory periods. Using high spatial resolution (10 m) GPS tracking of individual male songbirds, we quantified for the first time (1) local‐ and landscape‐scale habitat selection across the annual cycle and (2) patterns indicative of regional habitat selection for individuals within five populations of wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) throughout their breeding range. Wood thrush exhibited seasonal variation in local‐ and landscape‐scale habitat selection. Within stationary periods, wood thrush occupied forested habitats and proximity to forest edge was an important predictor of habitat selection at the local scale. In contrast, during migratory periods wood thrush exhibited greater behavioral flexibility indicative of a more generalist approach to habitat selection. Landscape habitat selection was only identified during the breeding season (average patch size) and could be a response to the extensive forest fragmentation in the North American breeding grounds. We also identified individual population distribution patterns indicative of regional habitat selection during fall migration and winter period, but not spring migration. Seasonal changes in habitat selection at multiple spatial scales suggest the factors driving habitat selection patterns are aligned with life‐history stage and may be dependent on regional differences in landscape composition. These results highlight the importance of a full annual cycle approach to ecological studies that address how migratory species respond to spatial and temporal environmental heterogeneity.