Animal migration - MB170P129

• Title: Animal migration
• Czech title: Migrace živočichů
• Guaranteed by: Department of Zoology (31-170)
• Faculty: Faculty of Science
• Actual: from 2025
• Semester: winter
• E-Credits: 3
• Examination process: winter s.:oral
• Hours per week, examination: winter s.:2/0, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: unlimited
• Min. number of students: 5
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Note: enabled for web enrollment
• Guarantor: RNDr. Radek Lučan, Ph.D.
• Teacher(s): RNDr. Jiří Hadrava, Ph.D.; RNDr. Radek Lučan, Ph.D.; Mgr. Zuzana Musilová, Ph.D.; Mgr. Jiří Šmíd, Ph.D.

Annotation

Animal migration is a fascinating phenomenon that has attracted human attention since ancient times. Why and
how do different animals, from tiny insects to whales, move over huge distances? How do they navigate during
their migration? How do they cope with physiological stressors? How do we get information about their migratory
ecology? What challenges do migrating animals face in today's rapidly changing world? These and a number of
other questions are part of the lectures, which will be conceived as an evolutionary ecological cross-section of the
migratory ecology of individual groups of animals. The course will be conducted as a combination of classical
lectures with active involvement of students in the form of presentations of case studies and their discussion. An
optional part of the course will be an excursion to one of the locations where migration research is conducted.

Last update: Peterková Jindřiška, Ing. (28.04.2025)

Literature

Dingle, H. (2014). Migration: the biology of life on the move. Oxford University Press.

Elewa, A. M. (2005). Migration of Organisms. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Hoare, B. (2009). Animal migration: remarkable journeys in the wild. University of California Press.

Newton, I. (2023). The migration ecology of birds. Elsevier.

Hansson, L. A., & Åkesson, S. (Eds.). (2014). Animal movement across scales. Oxford University Press.

Last update: Peterková Jindřiška, Ing. (28.04.2025)

Requirements to the exam

Requirements:

(1) active participation (each student will take part in presentation of at least one case study provided in advance by lecturer)

(2) oral exam

Last update: Peterková Jindřiška, Ing. (28.04.2025)

Syllabus

1.What is migration? Evolution of migratory behavior (Radek Lučan).

2. Migration in invertebrates (Jiří Hadrava).

3. Migrations of fish-like vertebrates (Zuzana Musilová)

4. Migrations in amphibians (Radek Lučan)

5. Migrations in reptiles (Jiří Šmíd)

6. Bird migration (Radek Lučan)

7. Bird migration (Radek Lučan)

8. Migration of terrestrial mammals (Radek Lučan)

9. Migration of marine mammals (Radek Lučan)

10. Animal migrations in a changing world: conservation implications (Radek Lučan)

Last update: Peterková Jindřiška, Ing. (28.04.2025)

Learning outcomes

After successful completion of the course Animal Migration, the student will be able to:

• explain the evolutionary and ecological drivers of animal migration across major taxonomic groups, from insects to large vertebrates;
• describe and compare different types of migratory strategies (e.g. obligate vs. facultative migration, partial migration, nomadism) and evaluate their adaptive significance;
• explain the mechanisms of orientation and navigation used by migrating animals and assess the evidence supporting different navigational hypotheses;
• analyse the physiological challenges associated with migration, including energetic demands, stress, and trade-offs with reproduction and survival;
• apply knowledge of migration ecology to interpret empirical case studies from different animal groups and ecosystems;
• identify and critically evaluate the main methods used to study animal migration, including marking techniques, telemetry, biologging, stable isotopes, and genetic approaches;
• assess the impacts of environmental variability and global change (e.g. climate change, habitat loss, artificial barriers) on migratory behaviour and population dynamics;
• apply knowledge of migratory ecology to conservation and management issues affecting migratory species in a rapidly changing world.

Last update: Lučan Radek, RNDr., Ph.D. (03.02.2026)