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From the Mediterranean Sea to Madagascar: Are there ecological barriers for the long-distance migrant Eleonora’s falcon?

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Abstract

We examined the connection between landscape characteristics and behaviour of a long-distance migratory raptor. Our main goal was to test whether long-distance migratory birds adjust their migration programme according to the different characteristics of the habitats crossed during the journey with special emphasis in the so-called “ecological barriers”, inhospitable environments such as deserts, ice fields, seas and mountain ranges, where the opportunities to fulfil energy requirements are low or absent and environmental factors could be extremely severe. To this end, 11 Eleonora’s falcons were tracked by satellite telemetry in their ca. 9000 km autumn migration route from colonies located in Western Mediterranean to their wintering grounds in Madagascar during 2007 and 2008. Our results show that Eleonora’s falcons migrated during day and night-time, adjusting migration speed and daily distance in relation to the crossed region. Unlike other migrant species, Eleonora’s falcons did not avoid ecological barriers by making unnecessary detours around them or converging on narrow corridors. Nocturnal migration and higher daily distances were observed when flying across the Sahara Desert and the Mozambique Channel. The circadian pattern of activity budget shows that Eleonora’s falcon relies on an internal navigation mechanism that works during both day and night. Finally, our results suggest that the Sahara is an ecological barrier not only for passerines but also for raptors migrating within the Palaearctic-African flyway.

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Acknowledgements

The Terra Natura Foundation and the “Conselleria de Medi Ambient, Aigua, Urbanisme i Habitatge” of the Generalitat Valenciana financed this project. Special thanks are due to J. Jiménez and J.V. Escobar of the “Servicio de Biodiversidad” of the regional government. We would like to thank J. De la Puente, A. Bermejo, E. Escudero (SEO-Monticola), J.L. Martínez (GOB), M. Suárez (GOB) and T. Muñoz (GOB) who helped in trapping some Eleonora’s falcons in Balearic Islands and V. Ferrís, E. Sánchez, B. Sarzo, M.A. Bartolomé and C. García who helped us in Columbretes Islands. The “Conselleria de Medi Ambient” of the “Govern Balear” kindly gave permission to trap falcons in Balearic Islands, and special thanks are due to J. Mayol and J. Muntaner. J. García, sexed the falcons, and blood samples were provided by Ll. Parpal of the “Centre de Recuperació de Fauna de Balears”. L.M. Carrascal, T. Alerstam and R. Strandberg kindly gave us statistical advice and helped us revise a previous draft of the manuscript. We also thank two anonymous referees and E. Gustafson for valuable comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. P. López-López and U. Mellone are supported by FPU grants of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (references AP2005-0874 and AP2008-0947). This paper is part of the Ph.D. of U. Mellone and complies with the current laws in Spain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Terrestrial Vertebrates Group, University of Valencia, Polígono de la Coma s/n, 46980, Paterna, Valencia, Spain

    Pascual López-López

  2. Grupo de Investigación Zoología de Vertebrados, CIBIO, Universidad de Alicante, Apdo. 99, 03080, Alicante, Spain

    Pascual López-López, Rubén Limiñana, Ugo Mellone & Vicente Urios

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  1. Pascual López-López
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  2. Rubén Limiñana
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  3. Ugo Mellone
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  4. Vicente Urios
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Correspondence to Pascual López-López.

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López-López, P., Limiñana, R., Mellone, U. et al. From the Mediterranean Sea to Madagascar: Are there ecological barriers for the long-distance migrant Eleonora’s falcon?. Landscape Ecol 25, 803–813 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-010-9460-7

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