Skip to main content

IMIS

A new integrated search interface will become available in the next phase of marineinfo.org.
For the time being, please use IMIS to search available data

 

[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

Ontogenetic niche shifts as a driver of seasonal migration
Fokkema, W.; van der Jeugd, H.P.; Lameris, T.K.; Dokter, A.M.; Ebbinge, B.S.; de Roos, A.M.; Nolet, B.A.; Piersma, T.; Olff, H. (2020). Ontogenetic niche shifts as a driver of seasonal migration. Oecologia 193(2): 285-297. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-020-04682-0
In: Oecologia. Springer: Heidelberg; Berlin. ISSN 0029-8549; e-ISSN 1432-1939, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Keywords
    Branta bernicla (Linnaeus, 1758) [WoRMS]; Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) [WoRMS]; Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum, 1792) [WoRMS]
Author keywords
    Barnacle goose; Dark-bellied brent goose; Humpback whale; Matrix population modelling; Ontogeny; Pacific salmon; Reproduction; Seasonal migration

Authors  Top 
  • Fokkema, W.
  • van der Jeugd, H.P.
  • Lameris, T.K., more
  • Dokter, A.M.
  • Ebbinge, B.S.
  • de Roos, A.M.
  • Nolet, B.A.
  • Piersma, T., more
  • Olff, H.

Abstract
    Ontogenetic niche shifts have helped to understand population dynamics. Here we show that ontogenetic niche shifts also offer an explanation, complementary to traditional concepts, as to why certain species show seasonal migration. We describe how demographic processes (survival, reproduction and migration) and associated ecological requirements of species may change with ontogenetic stage (juvenile, adult) and across the migratory range (breeding, non-breeding). We apply this concept to widely different species (dark-bellied brent geese (Branta b. bernicla), humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and migratory Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) to check the generality of this hypothesis. Consistent with the idea that ontogenetic niche shifts are an important driver of seasonal migration, we find that growth and survival of juvenile life stages profit most from ecological conditions that are specific to breeding areas. We suggest that matrix population modelling techniques are promising to detect the importance of the ontogenetic niche shifts in maintaining migratory strategies. As a proof of concept, we applied a first analysis to resident, partial migratory and fully migratory populations of barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis). We argue that recognition of the costs and benefits of migration, and how these vary with life stages, is important to understand and conserve migration under global environmental change.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors