Innate factors and ontogeny determine nonbreeding areas of migrant songbirds.
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| Title: | Innate factors and ontogeny determine nonbreeding areas of migrant songbirds. |
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| Authors: | Lamers, K.P. (AUTHOR), Ouwehand, J. (AUTHOR), Ubels, R. (AUTHOR), Nicolaus, M. (AUTHOR), Camacho, C. (AUTHOR), Potti, J. (AUTHOR), Bell, F. (AUTHOR), Burgess, M. (AUTHOR), Lampe, H.M. (AUTHOR), Nilsson, J.Å. (AUTHOR), Kerimov, A. (AUTHOR), Ilyina, T. (AUTHOR), Belskii, E. (AUTHOR), Grinkov, V.G. (AUTHOR), Sternberg, H. (AUTHOR), Both, C. (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Science. 6/25/2026, Vol. 392 Issue 6805, p1375-1379. 5p. |
| Subjects: | Ontogeny, Heredity, Migratory birds, Habitats, Migration flyways, Flycatchers |
| Geographic Terms: | Sweden, Netherlands, Northern Europe |
| Abstract: | Migratory birds connect ecosystems worldwide and often show connectivity between breeding and nonbreeding areas, meaning that individuals have nonbreeding ("wintering") locations close to others from the same breeding population. Although much work has characterized migration routes, we know little about what determines nonbreeding areas. We tracked pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) from their entire breeding range and identified population-specific nonbreeding areas. Using an egg translocation experiment between the Netherlands and Sweden, we show that both inheritance and natal environment determine nonbreeding areas. Genetically Dutch birds that hatched in Sweden had nonbreeding areas intermediate between Swedish and Dutch populations. Although an inherited basis for migratory routes and nonbreeding areas may hamper rapid adaptation to a changing world, dispersing individuals can create new breeding–nonbreeding site combinations. Editor's summary: Migrations are profound examples of species adapting to and navigating their environment. In birds, the differences between breeding and nonbreeding ranges can be thousands of miles, and we still do not know precisely how these ranges are established or how birds can so accurately move between them. Lamers et al. tracked pied flycatchers in Europe and translocated eggs between the Netherlands and Sweden to determine the degree to which breeding and wintering ranges are learned or innate. They found that the birds imprinted on their natal breeding ranges but returned to wintering ranges following innate paths, even when these took them far out of their way. —Sacha Vignieri [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Migratory birds connect ecosystems worldwide and often show connectivity between breeding and nonbreeding areas, meaning that individuals have nonbreeding ("wintering") locations close to others from the same breeding population. Although much work has characterized migration routes, we know little about what determines nonbreeding areas. We tracked pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) from their entire breeding range and identified population-specific nonbreeding areas. Using an egg translocation experiment between the Netherlands and Sweden, we show that both inheritance and natal environment determine nonbreeding areas. Genetically Dutch birds that hatched in Sweden had nonbreeding areas intermediate between Swedish and Dutch populations. Although an inherited basis for migratory routes and nonbreeding areas may hamper rapid adaptation to a changing world, dispersing individuals can create new breeding–nonbreeding site combinations. Editor's summary: Migrations are profound examples of species adapting to and navigating their environment. In birds, the differences between breeding and nonbreeding ranges can be thousands of miles, and we still do not know precisely how these ranges are established or how birds can so accurately move between them. Lamers et al. tracked pied flycatchers in Europe and translocated eggs between the Netherlands and Sweden to determine the degree to which breeding and wintering ranges are learned or innate. They found that the birds imprinted on their natal breeding ranges but returned to wintering ranges following innate paths, even when these took them far out of their way. —Sacha Vignieri [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00368075 |
| DOI: | 10.1126/science.ads0532 |
