The true cost of migration: testing the species-energy hypothesis by quantifying the energy budget of free flying avian migrants under spatially explicit environmental conditions

Información del proyecto

TesSEH

Identificador del acuerdo de subvención: 892006

DOI

10.3030/892006

Proyecto cerrado

Fecha de la firma de la CE 31 Marzo 2020

Fecha de inicio 1 Mayo 2020

Fecha de finalización 31 Octubre 2023

Financiado con arreglo a

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Coste total

€ 162 806,40

Aportación de la UE

€ 162 806,40

Coordinado por

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TesSEH (The true cost of migration: testing the species-energy hypothesis by quantifying the energy budget of free flying avian migrants under spatially explicit environmental conditions)

Período documentado: 2020-05-01 hasta 2022-04-30

Resumen del contexto y de los objetivos generales del proyecto

The annual long-distance migration of birds is a widespread phenomenon that underpins the seasonal distribution of biodiversity and ecological processes on Earth. However, knowledge of the energetic balance of animals undertaking these endurance flights and the drivers of this fascinating behavior undertaken by billions of individuals remains lacking. The TesSEH project aimed to quantify the demographic, spatial and temporal specific energetic budget of migratory songbirds by utilizing technological advances in biologging to determine fundamental physiological processes in the natural environment. By doing so, the TesSEHproject aimed to answer some of the fundamental questions in Ecology – how do patterns of large-scale seasonal movement evolve and which environmental drivers underlie this phenomenon. An understanding of the relationship between the environment and distribution of life on earth has impact on our understanding of how the planet and biodiversity may look under predicted climate and anthropogenic change, the processes that has led to the diversification on behavioral traits were recognize today. Overall, the TesSEH project delivered a robust package of novel data, developed modelling pipelines and analytical tools to finalise the goals of the fellowship and open up new avenues of research.

Trabajo realizado desde el comienzo del proyecto hasta el final del período abarcado por el informe y los principales resultados hasta la fecha

The TesSEH project consisted of two complimentary work packages. The first, a broad and comprehensive energetic model for a whole species with multiple migratory phenotypes, involved the roll out of a European wide biologging collaboration with state-of-the-art miniaturized tracking devices to inform a demographically specific energetic map for a migratory songbird, the European Blackbird, in order to investigate evolutionary and population level processes. The second, investigated in the highest resolution the flight energetics and biomechanics using a state-of-the-art motion capture flight hanger. For the second work package, European Blackbirds were temporarily instrumented with Heart-Rate transmitters and non-invasive markers for tracking at sub mm spatial resolution to capture the energetics of a vast array of flight and behaviors.

Avances que van más allá del estado de la técnica e impacto potencial esperado (incluida la repercusión socioeconómica y las implicaciones sociales más amplias del proyecto hasta la fecha)

To date, TesSEHs clearest advancement beyond the state of the art was the unanticipated breakthrough in how to model species distributions through space and time by integrating multiple data streams from biologgers, telemetry and ringing. Moreover, results from both packages delivers insights into the energetic capacity of the study species from continental scale population processes to ultra-high resolution flight biomechanics highlighting the adaptations to efficient flight. Results of the project have already been published in the scientific literature, have been disseminated at international research conferences and attracted collaboration with the arts with the hope of enhancing the publics understanding and appreciation for natural phenomena and our collective impact on the world.

ICARUS tagged blackbird (photo credit Jochen Dierschke)