Mapping migration strategies and carry-over effects along the migratory divide of a trans-Saharan migratory passerine using stable isotopes in feathers
| Název práce v češtině: | Mapping migration strategies and carry-over effects along the migratory divide of a trans-Saharan migratory passerine using stable isotopes in feathers |
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| Název v anglickém jazyce: | Mapping migration strategies and carry-over effects along the migratory divide of a trans-Saharan migratory passerine using stable isotopes in feathers |
| Klíčová slova: | isotopes, δ13C, migratory connectivity, barn swallow, Hirundo rustica, heritability |
| Klíčová slova anglicky: | isotopes, δ13C, migratory connectivity, barn swallow, Hirundo rustica, heritability |
| Akademický rok vypsání: | 2024/2025 |
| Typ práce: | disertační práce |
| Jazyk práce: | čeština |
| Ústav: | Katedra zoologie (31-170) |
| Vedoucí / školitel: | prof. Mgr. Tomáš Albrecht, Ph.D. |
| Řešitel: | skrytý - zadáno vedoucím/školitelem |
| Datum přihlášení: | 01.10.2024 |
| Datum zadání: | 01.10.2024 |
| Konzultanti: | Mgr. Jaroslav Cepák, Ph.D. |
| Předběžná náplň práce |
| Understanding the ecology of migratory birds is crucial to establishing links between breeding grounds, stopover areas, feeding areas and wintering grounds. Individual life history trajectories of trans-Saharan migratory species can be well studied during the breeding season in Europe, but less is known about how the conditions during the non-breeding period, and specifically on wintering grounds in Africa, affect individual fitness (carry-over effects). The optimal location to study the carry-over effects of migration strategies on individual lifetime performance is populations with large variability in migration patterns, for example, in areas where the migratory divide is present. Mapping of the bird's migratory strategies and wintering grounds is often dependent on ringing data or the costly use of telemetry data. However, in some cases, the different migration strategies and the wintering grounds of populations at the migration divide can be detected using stable isotopes.The model species of this dissertation project is the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica). The wintering grounds of the southern and south-western European barn swallow populations are mainly situated in central and western tropical rain forests of Africa (Congo Basin), while the north-eastern European barn swallow populations winter mainly in a wide range of savannahs extending into southern Africa. The contact zone between the southwestern and northeastern populations appears to cross the Czech Republic, with the breeding population of barn swallows in the Czech Republic wintering in various parts of Africa, from the Congo Basin to the savannas of southern Africa. The high fidelity of adults to breeding grounds allows for lifelong tracking of individuals, making this species a highly suitable model for studying the impact of migratory behaviour and fitness consequences of competing migratory strategies. In our study population of barn swallows, unique data on the individual life history strategies of more than 1200 birds have been collected over the past decade, with data on fitness, ornamentation (growing at the wintering grounds while moulting), and feathers for isotope analyses for all individuals over their lifetime.
Aims of the dissertation: 1) To assess the consistency of isotope profiles of feathers (proxies for winter grounds, migration strategies) of individuals throughout their lifetime 2) A detailed description of carry-over effects of migration related to the wintering grounds (Congo Basin vs. savannah), including condition, sexual ornamentation, feather growth rates, timing of breeding and arrival from the wintering grounds, assortative pairing and lifetime reproductive success with respect to wintering grounds 3) Comparison of migration behaviour of parents and their offspring, heritability in feather isotope profiles (Congo Basin vs. savannah) 4) A detailed description of the barn swallow migration divide in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (transect from Aš to Michalovce) based on δ13C. Analysis of wintering ground preferences (Congo Basin or South Africa) and timing of breeding (time of the arrival) of south-western and north-eastern swallow populations outside the migratory divide and in its centre. The centre of the migration divide is predicted to be in the Vysočina region |
| Předběžná náplň práce v anglickém jazyce |
| Understanding the ecology of migratory birds is crucial to establishing links between breeding grounds, stopover areas, feeding areas and wintering grounds. Individual life history trajectories of trans-Saharan migratory species can be well studied during the breeding season in Europe, but less is known about how the conditions during the non-breeding period, and specifically on wintering grounds in Africa, affect individual fitness (carry-over effects). The optimal location to study the carry-over effects of migration strategies on individual lifetime performance is populations with large variability in migration patterns, for example, in areas where the migratory divide is present. Mapping of the bird's migratory strategies and wintering grounds is often dependent on ringing data or the costly use of telemetry data. However, in some cases, the different migration strategies and the wintering grounds of populations at the migration divide can be detected using stable isotopes.The model species of this dissertation project is the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica). The wintering grounds of the southern and south-western European barn swallow populations are mainly situated in central and western tropical rain forests of Africa (Congo Basin), while the north-eastern European barn swallow populations winter mainly in a wide range of savannahs extending into southern Africa. The contact zone between the southwestern and northeastern populations appears to cross the Czech Republic, with the breeding population of barn swallows in the Czech Republic wintering in various parts of Africa, from the Congo Basin to the savannas of southern Africa.The high fidelity of adults to breeding grounds allows for lifelong tracking of individuals, making this species a highly suitable model for studying the impact of migratory behaviour and fitness consequences of competing migratory strategies. In our study population of barn swallows, unique data on the individual life history strategies of more than 1200 birds have been collected over the past decade, with data on fitness, ornamentation (growing at the wintering grounds while moulting), and feathers for isotope analyses for all individuals over their lifetime.
Aims of the dissertation: 1) To assess the consistency of isotope profiles of feathers (proxies for winter grounds, migration strategies) of individuals throughout their lifetime 2) A detailed description of carry-over effects of migration related to the wintering grounds (Congo Basin vs. savannah), including condition, sexual ornamentation, feather growth rates, timing of breeding and arrival from the wintering grounds, assortative pairing and lifetime reproductive success with respect to wintering grounds 3) Comparison of migration behaviour of parents and their offspring, heritability in feather isotope profiles (Congo Basin vs. savannah) 4) A detailed description of the barn swallow migration divide in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (transect from Aš to Michalovce) based on δ13C. Analysis of wintering ground preferences (Congo Basin or South Africa) and timing of breeding (time of the arrival) of south-western and north-eastern swallow populations outside the migratory divide and in its centre. The centre of the migration divide is predicted to be in the Vysočina region |