Migratory Birds Advance Spring Arrival and Egg‐Laying in the Arctic, Mostly by Travelling Faster

In the current warming climate, many organisms in seasonal environments advance their timing of reproduction to benefit from resource peaks earlier in spring. For migrants, the potential to advance reproduction may be constrained by their migration strategies, notably their ability to advance arrival at the breeding grounds. Recent studies show various changes in migration strategies, including wintering closer to the breeding grounds, earlier departure from the wintering grounds or faster travels by spending less time at stopover sites. However, whether such changes lead to earlier arrival or earlier breeding remains an open question. We studied changes in migration and reproduction timing in 12 populations of nine migratory birds, including seabirds, shorebirds, birds of prey and waterfowl breeding at Arctic sites bordering the Greenland and Barents Sea, a region undergoing rapid climate warming. The timing of migration and reproduction was derived from tracking and field data and analysed to study (1) how timing has changed in response to the changing moment of snowmelt at the breeding grounds and (2) what adjustments in migration strategies this involved. We found that in years with early snowmelt, egg-laying in multiple populations advanced, but only two waterfowl populations also advanced arrival in the Arctic. In contrast, arrival in the Arctic generally advanced with time, even when snowmelt or egg-laying dates did not advance. Earlier arrival with time was mostly explained by populations traveling to the Arctic faster, likely spending less time at stopover sites. Inability to forecast conditions in the Arctic may limit birds to adjust migration timing to annually varying snowmelt, but we show that several species, particularly waterfowl, are able to travel faster and advance the timing of migration over the years. The question remains whether this reflects adaptations to Arctic climate change or other factors, for example, environmental changes along the migratory route.

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Publication Details

Journal
Global Change Biology
Published
2025-04-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70158
Citations
11
Primary Topic
Avian ecology and behavior
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
18.88

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article

Migratory Birds Advance Spring Arrival and Egg‐Laying in the Arctic, Mostly by Travelling Faster

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11 citations
Global Change Biology
Avian ecology and behavior
18.88
article

Migratory Birds Advance Spring Arrival and Egg‐Laying in the Arctic, Mostly by Travelling Faster

Philip Hunke, Isabella B. R. Scheiber, Martin C. Wikelski, Helmut Kruckenberg, Sveinn Are Hanssen, Julia Loshchagina, Jeroen Reneerkens, Gerhard J. D. M. Müskens, С. В. Волков, Ingrid Tulp, Hans Schekkerman, Ivan G. Pokrovsky, Götz Eichhorn, Klaus‐Michael Exo, Sander Moonen, Hans Linssen, Margje E. de Jong, Alexander Kondratyev, Mo A. Verhoeven, Michiel P. Boom, Tom S. L. Versluijs, Kees H. T. Schreven, Rascha J. M. Nuijten, Andrea Kölzsch, П.М. Глазов, R.S.A. van Bemmelen, Jesper Johannes Madsen, Børge Moe, Nelleke H. Buitendijk, Bart A. Nolet, Olga Kulikova, Henk P. van der Jeugd, Bruno J. Ens, Thomas K. Lameris, Maarten J. J. E. Loonen, Tohar Tal
article en
11 citations

Abstract

In the current warming climate, many organisms in seasonal environments advance their timing of reproduction to benefit from resource peaks earlier in spring. For migrants, the potential to advance reproduction may be constrained by their migration strategies, notably their ability to advance arrival at the breeding grounds. Recent studies show various changes in migration strategies, including wintering closer to the breeding grounds, earlier departure from the wintering grounds or faster travels by spending less time at stopover sites. However, whether such changes lead to earlier arrival or earlier breeding remains an open question. We studied changes in migration and reproduction timing in 12 populations of nine migratory birds, including seabirds, shorebirds, birds of prey and waterfowl breeding at Arctic sites bordering the Greenland and Barents Sea, a region undergoing rapid climate warming. The timing of migration and reproduction was derived from tracking and field data and analysed to study (1) how timing has changed in response to the changing moment of snowmelt at the breeding grounds and (2) what adjustments in migration strategies this involved. We found that in years with early snowmelt, egg-laying in multiple populations advanced, but only two waterfowl populations also advanced arrival in the Arctic. In contrast, arrival in the Arctic generally advanced with time, even when snowmelt or egg-laying dates did not advance. Earlier arrival with time was mostly explained by populations traveling to the Arctic faster, likely spending less time at stopover sites. Inability to forecast conditions in the Arctic may limit birds to adjust migration timing to annually varying snowmelt, but we show that several species, particularly waterfowl, are able to travel faster and advance the timing of migration over the years. The question remains whether this reflects adaptations to Arctic climate change or other factors, for example, environmental changes along the migratory route.

Global Change BiologyVol. 31(4)
University of Vienna (AT), Radboud University Nijmegen (NL), University of Groningen (NL), University of Konstanz (DE), Aarhus University (DK), Radboud University Medical Center (NL), Bureau Waardenburg (Netherlands) (NL), Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NL), Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NL), Institute of Biological Problems of the North (RU), Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (NL), Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (DE), Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology (NL), Institute of Geography (RU), Institute of Avian Research (DE), Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (RU), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NO), University of Amsterdam (NL), Wageningen University & Research (NL)
Aarhus Universitet, European Space Agency, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Austrian Science Fund, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Waddenfonds, Norsk institutt for naturforskning, Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Avian ecology and behavior
18.88
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