Abstract
Variation in home range size throughout the year and its causes are not well understood yet. Migratory brood parasites offer a unique opportunity to incorporate this spatio-temporal dimension into the study of the factors regulating home range dynamics. Using satellite transmitters, we tracked sixteen migratory great spotted cuckoos (Clamator glandarius) of both sexes for up to three years. We constructed home ranges in all major staging areas, from the Spanish breeding areas to the African wintering grounds, analyzed their temporal and geographical variation and investigated their main potential determinants (e.g. food and host availability). We found that home ranges were significantly larger in the breeding area compared to non-breeding areas. Using NDVI as a proxy for food availability, we showed that breeding area home ranges have significantly lower food availability per km2 than home ranges elsewhere which could explain why cuckoos use alternative areas with higher food availability before initiating migration. We also found some evidence for sex differences. Additionally, we found no indications of territoriality in this species, providing novel information into the current debate on brood parasite territoriality. Overall, food availability seems to be an important factor regulating home range dynamics and influencing migratory patterns throughout the year in great spotted cuckoos.
Highlights
Space use by animals is a key factor in animal ecology and one of its core concepts is the home range[1,2]
We calculated a total of 53 home ranges that were distributed in four different general areas: the breeding area (n = 20 home ranges based on information provided by 15 cuckoos), non-breeding areas in Spain (n = 11, 6 cuckoos), stop-over area in Morocco (n = 4, 4 cuckoos) and the wintering area in the Sahel region of Western Africa (n = 18, 3 cuckoos)
A similar outcome to the Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) 95% comparison was found for the core ranges (F = 5.573, df = 3, p = 0.002)
Summary
Space use by animals is a key factor in animal ecology and one of its core concepts is the home range[1,2]. Some studies have suggested that these differences are caused by the need to incorporate areas where their host’s nests are located[13,15] Since these areas do not necessarily overlap with feeding areas, this could lead to larger home ranges during the breeding season[16] and explain why brood parasites usually have larger home ranges than same-size non-parasitic species[15,17]. Extensive overlap of female home ranges during the breeding season (suggesting an absence of territoriality) was shown in other brood parasitic species, including shiny cowbirds (Molothrus bonariensis)[23] and common cuckoos[16,17]. Home range size can be regulated by different factors for each sex: energy requirement for females and mating opportunities for males[7], which could affect territoriality differently
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