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Research Article | Open Access

Ecological traits affect the seasonal migration patterns of breeding birds along a subtropical altitudinal gradient

Yuwen Chenga,1, Zhixin Wenb,1, Xingcheng Hea, Zhehan Donga, Mingyu Zhangshanga, Dongrui Lia, Yan Wanga, Yong Jiangc, Yongjie Wua( )
Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China
Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
Administration of Gongga Mountain National Nature Reserve, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Ganzi, 626000, China

* Corresponding author. Key Laboratory of Bio-Resources and Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China.1 These two authors contributed equally to this work.]]>

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Abstract

Altitudinal bird migration involves seasonal shifts up and down the altitude gradient annually. Asia as the place with the largest number of altitudinal migrants, has quite few related studies, especially for montane and temperate avifaunas. To explore the potential drivers of seasonal altitudinal migration for birds in the middle of Hengduan Mountains, we conducted a three-year investigation on breeding and non-breeding season bird communities at eight elevational bands (1200–4200 ​m) in the Gongga Mountains. We examined the altitudinal migration patterns and relationships between seasonal distribution shifts and species' traits of 50 species with sufficient data recorded in both seasons. We found that a large proportion of breeding birds underwent altitudinal migration and showed three migration patterns (downslope shift, upslope shift, no shift). Seasonal distribution shifts were mainly correlated with certain ecological traits. Species breeding at high and mid-elevations, nesting in scrub and being omnivorous are more likely to show downslope movements during the non-breeding season. In addition, territorially weaker species exhibited more diverse migration patterns. Notably, we found the hand-wing index (HWI) was actually more convincing than body mass in explaining altitudinal migration. These results consolidate the studies of seasonal altitudinal migration in montane birds. Our study could be used to bridge existing knowledge gaps that currently impeding effective conservation for montane avifaunas in the Hengduan Mountains.

Keywords

Functional traitsAltitudinal migrantBreeding birdsGongga mountainMigration patterns

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Avian Research
Volume 13 Issue 4,
December 2022
Article number: 100066
DOI: 10.1016/j.avrs.2022.100066
Cite this article:
Cheng Y, Wen Z, He X, et al. Ecological traits affect the seasonal migration patterns of breeding birds along a subtropical altitudinal gradient. Avian Research, 2022, 13(4): 100066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avrs.2022.100066

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Received: 05 April 2022
Revised: 22 September 2022
Accepted: 26 September 2022
Published: 17 October 2022
© 2022 The Authors.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
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