Delgado, María del Mar; Arlettaz, Raphaël; Bettega, Chiara; Brambilla, Mattia; de Gabriel Hernando, Miguel; España, Antonio; Fernández-González, Angel; Fernández-Martín, Angel; Gil, Juan Antonio; Hernández-Gómez, Sergio; Laiolo, Paola; Resano-Mayor, Jaime; Obeso, José Ramón; Pedrini, Paolo; Roa-Alvarez, Isabel; Schano, Christian; Scridel, Davide; Strinella, Eliseo; Toranzo, Ignasi and Korner-Nievergelt, Fränzi (2021). Spatio-temporal variation in the wintering associations of an alpine bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society. Series B - biological sciences, 288(1951), p. 20210690. Royal Society of London 10.1098/rspb.2021.0690
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Many animals make behavioural changes to cope with winter conditions,
being gregariousness a common strategy. Several factors have been invoked
to explain why gregariousness may evolve during winter, with individuals
coming together and separating as they trade off the different costs and
benefits of living in groups. These trade-offs may, however, change over
space and time as a response to varying environmental conditions. Despite
its importance, little is known about the factors triggering gregarious behaviour
during winter and its change in response to variation in weather
conditions is poorly documented. Here, we aimed at quantifying largescale
patterns in wintering associations over 23 years of the white-winged
snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis nivalis. We found that individuals gather in
larger groups at sites with harsh wintering conditions. Individuals at
colder sites reunite later and separate earlier in the season than at warmer
sites. However, the magnitude and phenology of wintering associations
are ruled by changes in weather conditions. When the temperature increased
or the levels of precipitation decreased, group size substantially decreased,
and individuals stayed united in groups for a shorter time. These results
shed light on factors driving gregariousness and points to shifting winter
climate as an important factor influencing this behaviour.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
|---|---|
Division/Institute: |
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IEE) 08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IEE) > Conservation Biology |
UniBE Contributor: |
Arlettaz, Raphaël, Resano Mayor, Jaime |
Subjects: |
500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology 500 Science > 590 Animals (Zoology) |
ISSN: |
0962-8452 |
Publisher: |
Royal Society of London |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Olivier Roth |
Date Deposited: |
07 Apr 2022 12:02 |
Last Modified: |
05 Dec 2022 16:18 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.1098/rspb.2021.0690 |
PubMed ID: |
34034515 |
BORIS DOI: |
10.48350/168743 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/168743 |
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