Hill Jason M, Renfrew Rosalind B
Vermont Center for Ecostudies Norwich Vermont.
Ecol Evol. 2018 Dec 26;9(1):680-692. doi: 10.1002/ece3.4795. eCollection 2019 Jan.
Effective management and conservation of migratory bird populations require knowledge and incorporation of their movement patterns and space use throughout the annual cycle. To investigate the little-known migratory patterns of two grassland bird species, we deployed 180 light-level geolocators on Grasshopper Sparrows () and 29 Argos-GPS tags on Eastern Meadowlarks () at Konza Prairie, Kansas, USA, and six US Department of Defense (DoD) installations distributed across the species' breeding ranges. We analyzed location data from 34 light-level geolocators and five Argos-GPS tags attached for 1 year to Grasshopper Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlarks, respectively. Grasshopper Sparrows were present on the breeding grounds from mid-April through early October, substantially longer than previously estimated, and migrated on average ~2,500 km over ~30 days. Grasshopper Sparrows exhibited strong migratory connectivity only at a continental scale. The North American Great Lakes region likely serves as a migratory divide for Midwest and East Coast Grasshopper Sparrows; Midwest populations (Kansas, Wisconsin, and North Dakota; = 13) largely wintered in Texas or Mexico, whereas East Coast populations (Maryland and Massachusetts, = 20) wintered in the northern Caribbean or Florida. Our data from Eastern Meadowlarks provided evidence for a diversity of stationary and short- and long-distance migration strategies. By providing the most extensive examination of the nonbreeding movement ecology for these two North American grassland bird species to date, we refine information gaps and provide key insight for their management and conservation.
有效管理和保护候鸟种群需要了解并纳入它们在整个年度周期中的迁徙模式和空间利用情况。为了调查两种草原鸟类鲜为人知的迁徙模式，我们在美国堪萨斯州孔扎草原以及分布在这两个物种繁殖范围内的六个美国国防部设施上，给180只草鹀（）佩戴了光级地理定位器，并给29只东部草地鹨（）佩戴了Argos-GPS标签。我们分别分析了34个光级地理定位器和5个Argos-GPS标签的数据，这些标签分别附着在草鹀和东部草地鹨身上长达1年。草鹀从4月中旬到10月初都出现在繁殖地，比之前估计的时间长得多，并且平均在大约30天内迁徙约2500公里。草鹀仅在大陆尺度上表现出强烈的迁徙连通性。北美五大湖地区可能是中西部和东海岸草鹀的迁徙分界线；中西部种群（堪萨斯州、威斯康星州和北达科他州；= 13）大多在得克萨斯州或墨西哥越冬，而东海岸种群（马里兰州和马萨诸塞州，= 20）在加勒比海北部或佛罗里达州越冬。我们从东部草地鹨获得的数据为多种静止以及短距离和长距离迁徙策略提供了证据。通过对这两种北美草原鸟类迄今为止最广泛的非繁殖期运动生态学研究，我们填补了信息空白，并为它们的管理和保护提供了关键见解。
