acase@tulane.edu / Tyrannus is a highly diverse genus with respect to migration strategies within the largest adaptive radiation of birds in the world (Tyrannidae). Within the genus, there are Nearctic- Neotropical migrant, Neotropical austral migrant, intratropical migrant, and resident species and subspecies. The overall goal of this dissertation was to use a variety of methods to explain the diversity of migration patterns found in the New World (focusing on the Tyrannus genus) to gain a better understanding of the ecology and evolution of migration in birds. In my first chapter I developed a phylogeny to account for phylogenetic relatedness in analyses demonstrating that natural selection has acted on two morphologies relevant to the strategy-specific niches of migratory versus resident Tyrannus (wing pointedness), which may be part of a suite of co-adaptations that are adaptive for migratory populations. Then I showed that New World migratory passerines are tracking with different aspects of seasonality in the Northern versus the Southern Hemisphere, better equipping further research exploring differential impacts of climate change on different types of migrants. In my final chapter I developed a novel gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC/MS) protocol to discover evidence that austral migrant Fork-tailed flycatchers had higher concentrations of oleic and linoleic acid in their diets compared to residents, demonstrating that a diet switch from insects to fruit is important to fuel spring migration, via the accumulation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). This study has improved our understanding of the ecology and evolution of migration in birds by extending hypotheses developed for Nearctic migrants into a genus with both Nearctic and austral migrants. Taken together, my findings demonstrate important new information for proximate versus ultimate mechanisms driving the evolution of migration in birds, as well as elucidating important ecological patterns of Nearctic-Neotropical versus Neotropical austral migration that may be important for developing species distribution models and conservation plans under climate change scenarios where both future temperature and rainfall regimes are expected to change. / 1 / Maggie MacPherson

Distributional and ecological dynamics of Neotropical migratory birds at stopover sites where they maintain critical fat reserves during migration remain poorly understood in North American aridlands. I examined spatiotemporal abundance and timing of migrants relative to 1) upland and riparian habitats, 2) post-fire landscape mosaics, and 3) phenological synchrony and overlap of migration with tree flowering in southeastern Arizona's Madrean Archipelago (2009-2011), and 4) abundance, habitat breadth, and foraging substrates relative to tree flowering along the Colorado River in southwestern Arizona and northwestern Sonora, Mexico (2000-2003). I explored these dynamics relative to local weather conditions and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate phenomena. In Madrean habitats, migrants showed three non-exclusive responses to high precipitation, snowfall, and low minimum temperatures associated with El Niño in 2010; migration timing adjustments, habitat shifts, and reduced abundances suggesting migration route shifts. Foliage-gleaning insectivores were most abundant in high severity burns, disproportionate to their availability, and decreased with time since fire (TSF); flycatchers were most abundant in low-moderate severity and increased with TSF. Migrant abundance increased with tree flowering. Phenological overlap declined with increasing difference in timing of these events. Overlap was lowest in 2011 in riparian habitat due to low willow (Salix goodinggii) flowering, despite high migrant abundance, but lowest in 2010 in montane conifer, despite high pollen cone production by Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga meziesii), suggesting temperature limitation of insect abundance at high elevations, but water limitation of plant phenology at lower elevations. Along the Colorado River, migrant abundance and habitat breadth had inverse positive and negative quadratic relationships, respectively. Abundance increased with tree flowering, but only in 2003 during severe drought. Habitat breadth increased with monsoon precipitation. Foraging substrate use tracked flowering, shifting from willow to mesquite (Prosopis sp.); the overlap coincided with peak abundance and narrowest habitat breadth. Maintenance of diverse vegetation and post-fire landscape mosaics in the Madrean Archipelago should benefit migratory bird diversity. Flowering phenology likely provides large-scale cues of local-scale stopover habitat condition associated with interannual climatic variation. Management and restoration of upland habitats and large riparian woody perennials will be critical for migratory bird conservation in aridlands.

The timing of biological events in autumn, or autumn phenology, is an important factor in many ecosystem processes. Leaf senescence terminates the growing season, fruiting is important for seed dispersal and frugivorous wildlife, bird migration concludes the breeding season and is a high-mortality event, and insect diapause ends the active season for insects. Climate change and the spread of invasive species have the potential to shift autumn events and ecological processes. However, autumn has been neglected in the phenology literature, and there are many gaps in our knowledge of basic phenological patterns in this season, as well as how they are affected by anthropogenic changes. To address these gaps, I first synthesized the literature on how climate change affects autumn phenology. I found that shifts in autumn phenology can alter reproductive capacities, exacerbate invasions, increase disease transmission rates, reshuffle enemy-prey dynamics, and alter interactions between species. With a focus on autumn interactions between birds and fleshy-fruited plants, my colleagues and I then observed patterns of fruit phenology, using herbarium specimens of 55 species collected across New England, and over 400 species in the living collections of 5 international botanical gardens. Last, I monitored fleshy fruit phenology and abundance at Manomet, a migratory stopover site in coastal Massachusetts, and compared those patterns to seeds identified from landbird fecal samples collected across the autumn season. I found that the sequence of fruiting is moderately consistent from year to year and place to place, and has a significant phylogenetic signal. In wild plants, invasive species fruit, on average, nearly one month later than native species. Considering many landbirds are migrating through New England later over time and in warm years, this suggests birds are increasingly likely to encounter invasive fruits during late-autumn migration. However, bird diets do not reflect the increased availability of invasive fruits in late-autumn; rather, birds show a preference for native fleshy fruits throughout the autumn season. These findings add to our knowledge of how climate change and species invasions affect autumn synchrony, and highlight the importance of native, rather than invasive, fruits as a food source for migratory landbirds. / 2019-11-07T00:00:00Z

Migratory birds, some small and light weight as matchboxes, engage in seasonal inter-continental journeys in order to take advantage of the long summer days and abundance of food at northern latitudes to breed and raise their young, and then escape the harsh winters by migrating to lower latitudes. This thesis deals with two important aspects of migration, the routes taken during migration and the birds’ behaviour at stopovers. The migratory routes are for many species unknown, whole or in part, and this is especially true for species that migrate nocturnally. At stopovers birds replenish fuel reserves that powers migratory flight, and studying how birds utilise stopovers is important in order to understand how migration is organised. In this thesis I have used modern tracking technology to study both continental wide movements of thrush nightingales (Luscinia luscinia) and common rosefinches (Carpodacus erythrinus) using small light-level geolocators, and smaller scale movements at a single stopover site of garden warblers (Sylvia borin) using miniature radio-transmitters. I have also studied the fuelling behaviour of garden warblers during autumn migration in the field and in the lab, and great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) at a stopover site on Crete during spring migration after the Sahara crossing. The thesis discusses the significance of several aspects of migration shown by the birds that would have been very difficult to detect without the aid of modern tracking technology, such as loop migration, prolonged stops during migration, multiple wintering sites, and nocturnal relocations at stopover sites. Studies carried out at stopover sites also show that garden warblers and great reed warblers can attain large fuel loads even at sites where they have no barrier to cross and this might be a result of good foraging conditions. The thesis also highlights the importance of combining different techniques when studying stopover behaviour to get reliable estimates on stopover durations and fuel deposition rates as well as the importance of choosing sites preferred by birds when planning stopover studies. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript. Paper 5: Manuscript.</p>

The timing of many biological events, including the onset of spring and bird migration, have changed in the recent years due to climate change. This may affect birds’ length of stay in the breeding area. By using Swedish ringing data from two periods, 1979-1989 and 2006-2016, changes in the length of stay between birds with different migration modes and seasonal number of broods were analysed. The results indicated that changes in the length of stay differed between species depending on their seasonal number of broods. Species with a fixed number of broods shifted their stay by arriving earlier in the spring and migrating earlier in the fall. In contrast, species with a variable number of broods extended their stay by arriving earlier in the spring without changing the timing of autumn migration. An extended stay might enable a higher reproduction output by giving the opportunity to invest more time in offspring. Thus, climate change might favour species with a variable number of broods. Birds with a fixed number of broods might however not experience the same benefits of a warmer climate because their annual reproductive success often relies on one single brood. Species with a fixed number of broods are generally long-distance migrants and therefore their migration is less flexible. If they do not arrive early enough to match their breeding with the advanced timing of peak food abundance a mismatch arises. As a result, they might be more sensitive to climate change

Master of Arts / Department of Geography / John A. Harrington Jr / In late summer and fall, many migratory birds journey south from the North American Great Plains to spend the winter in locations with greater food availability. As spring returns, a combination of genetics and environmental cues trigger these birds to return north to their breeding grounds. Several bird migration phenology studies from Europe, Australia, and the eastern/northern United States have discovered that some bird species are returning earlier in the spring, a change that has often been correlated with a warming climate. This study aimed to be the first to analyze possible changes in both spring bird migration phenology and regional spring climate change in Kansas. First arrival dates (FADs) were collected for thirty bird species, resulting in a database with over 6,000 FAD entries. For northeast Kansas, 1997-2007 median arrival dates were calculated and compared to dates published by Dr. Richard Johnston in 1965. In southcentral Kansas, 1997-2007 and 1947-1967 median arrival dates were calculated and compared. Temperature data from spring (February through May) were also obtained from the National Climate Data Center's United States Historical Climatology Network for all stations within northeast and south central Kansas and temporal trends were analyzed with linear regression analysis. A comparison between median arrival dates in northeast Kansas found that eleven species had altered their arrival date by a potentially significant number of days. Nine of these had advanced their arrival and two showed a delay. In south central Kansas, nine species were shown to have statistically significant differences in median arrival dates between time periods. Six of these showed an advance and three showed a delay. Five species showed the same trend between both regions, with four arriving earlier by an average 9.4 days and one delaying by an average of 4.5 days. Temperature trends for both subregions in Kansas showed significant warming of 1.8-2.6°F (1.0-1.4°C) over the last century, with the largest warming observed in February and associated strongly with increasing minimum temperatures. The results from this study provide the first evidence that some bird species have recently altered the timing of their arrival in Kansas, with a greater shift toward earlier arrival dates. While the majority of these shifts were correlated with spring warming in Kansas, additional research is necessary to determine the precise cause(s) of these phenological shifts. Still, given existing literature and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predictions for continued warming in the next century, continued alterations to bird migration phenology seem likely.

Segregation, that animals of different sex and/or age do not spend time together all year round, is a common phenomenon. One example is that males and older individuals in migratory birds wintering further north. Migration time also affects the distribution of birds in the wintering area. European Robins that migrate in late autumn tend to winter farther east. Another factor that affects wintering areas is global warming. Today wintering birds do not migrate as far as they used to. The aim was therefore to investigate if Robins segregate during winter and if they segregate by sex, age and/or migration time and to see if the wintering area has changed since 1950. Analysis of Robins ringed at Ottenby Bird Observatory that has been recovered during winter was conducted. To obtain an indication on what influences Robins in their choice of wintering area, an analysis was done with migration year, age, and migration time (sex was excluded in this analysis) to analyse what effects migration distance. The geographical centroid was used for representing the wintering area. The difference between the group’s centroid was tested with a permutation test. The result indicated that migration time best explains the distribution of Robins in the wintering area. Robins that migrate late migrate shorter and winter further northeast, this is probably due to sequential migration of different populations. No effect of age or migration year was observed. The wintering area appears to have moved north, which indicates that Robins are affected by global warming.

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