Objective Understanding why birds migrate is a long-standing problem that still largely eludes scientists. Recent advance in technology is currently leading migration science into a golden age as patterns of bird migration are increasingly being documented. However, the question of what are the ecological and evolutionary causes underlying the observed widespread variation in avian migration, remains open. Answering this will provide a greater comprehension of the forces driving how species distribute in space and time, and improve predictions of the fate of migratory birds under global change. In MIGRACAST, I will investigate the extent to which energy efficiency and biogeographic history shape avian migration patterns. These two key processes have been proposed to explain bird migration: stating that species’ migratory movements and seasonal redistribution are, respectively, energetically optimal and/or retrace postglacial colonisation routes. However, these processes have never been tested together and across many species on a large scale. To fill this important gap in migration science, I will design a novel modelling framework based on first ecological principles that uses recently developed computational tools. This model will leverage the power of multiple large datasets on the distribution, movement and genetic diversity of birds as well as environmental conditions to explicitly test hypotheses about mechanisms driving bird migration. This approach will be applied to North American bird species that are particularly rich in data and exhibits a diversity of migration behaviours. It will be utilised to (i) examine the extent to which energy efficiency drives bird migration, (ii) refine weekly bird migration forecasts on a continental scale, and (iii) back-cast bird migration to the Last Glacial Maximum (~20,000 years ago) to determine if the history of shift and expansion of seasonal ranges complements energy optimisation to shape migratory movements. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyornithology Keywords Computational ecology big data movement ecology animal migration ecological theory energetics migratory connectivity ecological forecasting global change Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2019 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2019 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE Net EU contribution € 271 732,80 Address Trinity lane the old schools CB2 1TN Cambridge United Kingdom See on map Region East of England East Anglia Cambridgeshire CC Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 Partners (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all Partner Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement. CORNELL UNIVERSITY United States Net EU contribution € 0,00 Address Pine tree road 373 14850 Ithaca ny See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 165 265,92
