Migration Homework_ BIOS 236_Spring 2024

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Name/UIN __________________________________ Bios 236—Spring 2024 Migration Homework Due Thursday, March 28th at 11:59 p.m. 25 pts. GIS and animal behavior: A case study with animal movement data Migration is the movement of large numbers of animals from one place to another, and it typically involves movement across a long distance, as well as a round-trip return. Migration may be seasonal, such as songbirds migrating from south from the U.S. to South America in the winter and back north in the spring. There are also migrations that occur on other time scales, such as the daily movement of plankton from the ocean depths to the ocean surface. Migration may be undertaken for a variety of reasons. The most common are reasons for migration are to exploit seasonally-available foods, to avoid harsh seasonal conditions, to find water, and to establish breeding territories and acquire mates. Migration is an interesting aspect of animal behavior, one that comes with costs and benefits to species and individuals that undertake it. In this assignment we will explore bird migration data and how it can be used to understand animal movement patterns. This exercise will investigate the movement of two migratory bird species—the carrion-eating turkey vulture, and a fish-eating bird of prey, the osprey. Information about animal movement is important to the field of movement ecology and to addressing challenges such as climate change, land use change, biodiversity loss, invasive species, wildlife trafficking, and infectious disease. For this exercise, we're going to look at some large datasets of raptor migrations between North and South America. We will study the movements of turkey vultures and ospreys. Our main tool for this is Movebank, an online geographic information platform that helps researchers manage, share, analyze, and archive animal movement data. Movebank's database is designed for following the locations of individual animals over time, commonly referred to as tracking data. The database also compiles measurements collected by other sensors attached to animals, as well as information about animals, tags, and deployments. Movebank Database Acknowledgements: • Wikelski M, Davidson SC, Kays R. [year]. Movebank: archive, analysis and sharing of animal movement data. Hosted by the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior. www.movebank.org, accessed on [date]. • Kranstauber B, Cameron A, Weinzierl R, Fountain T, Tilak S, Wikelski M, Kays R. 2011. The Movebank data model for animal tracking. Environ Model Softw. 26(6):834–835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2010.12.005

https://external-preview.redd.it/ge89SlJweGFxRYzuHS7WG4xft4FDHpCyMWcw1LuehpY.jpg?auto=webp&s=bc97de1c3a409240f15c844e70e67bf6bb3076ec https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/assets/photo/31755791-720px.jpg https://underclearskies.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/broadie.jpg Background on Turkey Vultures Turkey vultures are large scavenging birds native to North, Central, and South America. Turkey vultures feed primarily on carrion. They may also eat insects, live or decaying fish, and occasionally, decomposing vegetation. Vultures are unusual among birds in that they have a well-developed sense of smell that helps them locate food. Turkey vultures are social, feed together, and can often be seen soaring in circles together in large groups called “kettles.” Migrating groups may contain thousands of individuals. They breed in the northern United States, and migrate south for the winter. Some turkey vultures are non-migratory, year-round residents of the southern U.S., Mexico, and Central America. The organization Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 18 million birds, with 28% spending some part of the year in the U.S., 9% in Mexico, and 1% breeding in Canada. Turkey vultures are considered to be of low conservation concern, but they face threats due to lead poisoning (eating dead animals that have been killed with lead shot), bioaccumulating poisons (like the now-banned DDT), and human persecution. By studying vulture migration patterns, we can better understand the threats they face.

Part 1: Vulture migrations Our main tool for this exercise is Movebank, an online geographic information system for animal movement data. To get started, • Go to www.movebank.org • Click “Data” from the main menu, then select “Explore map” from the pull down menu. Here you can browse animal tracking datasets visible to the public on Movebank. You can search by search terms, by selecting a sensor type (the method that was used to collect the data), or by restricting the list just to those that allow you to view some or all of the tracks. For this exercise we're going to look at some large datasets of raptor migrations between North and South America. 1. On the left side of the screen there is a “search box”. Select the box below the Search field next to “only studies where I can see data”. 2. In the Search field, type “Dodge et al. 2014”. You will get one result, for the study “Turkey vultures in North and South America (data from Dodge et al. 2014)”. 3. Click the check box to the left of the name of the study. Be patient while the map loads the tracks (over 200,000 locations!). 4. Click on the “+” to the left of the study name to view a list of the birds in the study. 5. For further directions on how to view information on the map refer to movebank.org/node/44 . This study contains tracks of 19 turkey vultures ( Cathartes aura ) tracked using GPS tags between 2003 and 2013. The data were collected as part of a long-term study by researchers at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, about 90 minutes northwest of Philadelphia. (To see a study description, go to the "i" box to the right of the study name and select Open in studies page .) You'll see there are individuals tracked from several regions. You can select a bird from the list on the left to highlight his or her track on the map. Alternatively, you can select a location on the map to highlight the related track/s, and the associated animal/s will also be highlighted on the list. A file including background information on the animals in the study has been included in the assignment folder, labeled “Turkey Vulture Reference Data”.

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Questions for Part 1/Vultures: 1. How many birds are tracked from each region in the dataset? (hint: see “turkey vulture reference data” document). ( 1pt ) 2. Do the individuals in this study represent the entire distribution range for the species (hint: Google it), and what might this mean for representativeness of the sample? ( 2pt ) 3. Are Steamhouse 1 and Rosalie likely to start a family, and what might this mean for the evolution of migration patterns? ( 2 pts. ) 4. Select sort by number of data points from the sorting menu below search result . This will sort the birds so that those with the most locations are at the top of the list. Look at the five birds with the most locations. (3pts). a. For each bird, how many years have they been tracked for? (hint: refer to reference data document). b. How many “round-trip” migrations does the data show for each bird? (hint: refer to website guide pdf) c. For the birds that have made multiple migrations, do they seem to take the same routes each year?

5. (4pts) a. Do all of the birds within a region show the same migration behavior (i.e., migratory vs. non- migratory)? b. How might your inferences about these patterns be biased if, for example, the researchers had tracked only one vulture from each population? 6. Do you think these different populations are potentially interbreeding? Justify your answer. (2pts) 7. What information would you need in addition to the tracking data to confirm your hypothesis? (How would behavioral observations help you here?) ( 1 pt )

https://intobirds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/osprey_17._web.jpg https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/assets/photo/137797491-1280px.jpg Background on Ospreys Ospreys are birds of prey that specialize on fish, from both freshwater and marine environments. They have several adaptations that help them fish, and as a result, they have a high success rate—25% to 70% of attempts result in a catch. Ospreys can be found throughout the United States, Mexico, and Central America, with both migratory and sedentary populations. They can live up to 25 years. Ospreys are currently considered to fall into the “Least Concern” conservation category, although that was not always the case. These birds were heavily impacted by DDT from the 1950s through the 1970s before DDT was banned in 1972. Before that ban, many U.S. osprey populations experienced crashes of 90%. Currently, Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 500,000 birds, with 21% spending some part of the year in the U.S., 28% in Canada, and 3% in Mexico. Ospreys are currently vulnerable to coastal development, bioaccumulating chemicals, and entanglement in discarded fishing lines. Part 2: Osprey migrations Our main tool for this exercise is Movebank, an online geographic information system for animal movement data. To get started, • Go to www.movebank.org • Click “Data” from the main menu, then select “ Explore map” from the pull down menu. Here you can browse animal tracking datasets visible to the public on Movebank. You can search by search terms, by selecting a sensor type (the method that was used to collect the data), or by restricting the list just to

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those that allow you to view some or all of the tracks. For this exercise we're going to look at some large datasets of raptor migrations between North and South America. Now we'll look at another large dataset of another species of raptor: the osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ). • In the Search field, type “Bierregaard”. That’s typed with two “r’s: and two “a’s”!!! You will see three results; we will use the second study on the list: “Osprey Bierregaard North and South America (2007- 2013)”. • Click the check box to the left of the name of the study. Be patient while the map loads the tracks. • Click on the “+” to the left of the study name to view a list of the birds in the study. • For further directions on how to view information on the map, refer to movebank.org/node/44 . This study contains tracks of 49 osprey tracked using GPS tags on the east coast of North and South America between 2007 and spring 2013. It is part of a long-term study by Dr. Rob Bierregaard, who has primarily been studying juvenile movements during their first few migrations. You can read more about Rob’s research at www.ospreytrax.com . A summary of information about the animals in this study is available in the assignment folder, labeled “Osprey Reference Data”. Questions for Part 2/Osprey 8. Use the reference data about the animals to find out which are adults and which are juveniles. ( 4 pts ) a. What difference(s), if any, do you see between adult and juvenile migration routes ? b. What reason(s) can you think of for these differences? (hint: review costs of migrations/behavioral adaptations). 9. What happened to Chip? ( 2 pts. ) 10. Compare the vulture and osprey datasets. ( 4pts) a. What is the major difference in the migration routes between these two species? b. What possible reasons can you think of for this difference? (hint: consider ecology of each species- i.e., diet, habitat, species interactions (predation or competition) etc.)

Migration Homework_ BIOS 236_Spring 2024

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