Abstract
Common Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) populations are dependent on specific key conifer species for their primary food supply, but many of these conifers standardly show irregular cone crop production. Consequently, the species has evolved a nomadic behavior, breeding in areas with a high crop production in given years. Northern European crossbills mostly forage on Norway Spruce (Picea abies) and migrate along a northeast–southwest gradient across Europe. In contrast, crossbills from Spain were considered to be resident until recent studies on crossbill populations in the Pyrenees showed that a fraction of the population may also migrate. The type of movements of these Spanish birds, however, remains virtually unknown. The aim of our study was to resolve the question of whether these birds displace on a small local scale or whether they actually move to a distinct non-breeding area for part of the annual cycle. We tracked 14 male Common Crossbills from the Pyrenees with light-level geolocators for an entire year. Our results suggest that these birds were resident; only one bird may have shown a west–east movement of up to 200 km along the Pyrenean axis. We conclude that movement of the Common Crossbill from the Pyrenees may predominantly consist of relocation to nearby mountain ranges in Iberia or vertically in altitude. We expect that such small-scale movements have implications for population dynamics, and we recommend further research with telemetry to resolve the details of this small-scale movement.
Zusammenfassung
Geolokatoren bestätigen den Standvogelstatus der Fichtenkreuzschnäbel in Südeuropa
Fichtenkreuzschnäbel (Loxia curvirostra) sind spezialisiert auf Nahrung von Nadelgehölz und sind deshalb von den unregelmäßig auftretenden Mastjahren ihrer Futterpflanzen abhängig. Eine evolutive Anpassung daran ist das nomadische Umherziehen zwischen Brutgebieten mit hohem Nahrungsangebot. Besonders nordeuropäische Populationen sind auf Fichtenbestände (Picea abies) angewiesen und ziehen innerhalb Europas entlang einer nordöstlich-südwestlichen Achse, während man von spanischen Fichtenkreuzschnäbeln bisher annahm, dass es sich um Standvögel handelte. Dieses Wissen wurde jedoch kürzlich von einer Studie in Frage gestellt, die zeigte, dass in einer gewissen Population in den Pyrenäen ein Teil der Vögel vielleicht auch umherziehen. In dieser Studie wollten wir wissen, ob diese Vögel nur lokal wandern, oder ob es tatsächlich eine saisonale Zugbewegung in ein vom Brutgebiet unterschiedliches Gebiet ist. Hierfür beloggerten wir 14 männliche Fichtenkreuzschnäbel während eines Jahres mit Geolokatoren. Es zeigte sich, dass mit einer Ausnahme alle Vögel ortstreu blieben und dass der eine Vogel wahrscheinlich 200 km in Ost-West Richtung entlang der Pyrenäen zog. Daraus schließen wir, dass Wanderungen von Fichtenkreuzschnäbeln in Spanien vor allem zwischen benachbarten Gebirgszügen und innerhalb von Gebirgen in vertikaler Richtung vorkommen. Wir erwarten, dass der lokale Austausch eine wichtige Komponente in der Dynamik lokaler Populationen spielt und wir empfehlen eine Telemetriestudie, um mehr über diese lokalen Bewegungen von Fichtenkreuzschnäbeln zu erfahren.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by D. Alonso and the Swiss Ornithological Institute. Authorization to ring crossbills was obtained from the Government of Navarra. We thank J.M. Barbarín, A. Díaz, B. Fernández, and J. Torrea for their collaboration in the field work. The Swiss Federal Office for the Environment provided financial support for the development of the data loggers (UTF-Nr. 254, 332, 363, 400). We thank two anonymous referees who provided valuable comments which helped us improve an earlier version of this work.
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Communicated by F. Bairlein.
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Alonso, D., Arizaga, J., Meier, C.M. et al. Light-level geolocators confirm resident status of a Southern European Common Crossbill population. J Ornithol 158, 75–81 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1388-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1388-5