Skip to main content
Dryad

Data from: Evaluation of sex differences in the stopover behavior and postdeparture movements of wood-warblers

Cite this dataset

Morbey, Yolanda E. et al. (2017). Data from: Evaluation of sex differences in the stopover behavior and postdeparture movements of wood-warblers [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.19526

Abstract

Sex differences in the behaviors underlying avian protandry, where males arrive at breeding areas earlier than females, are still poorly understood for most species. We tested for sex differences in stopover behavior, refueling rates, and post-departure movements during spring migration in two consecutive years in wood-warblers (Parulidae) at a coastal site on Lake Erie, Ontario, using automated radio telemetry (black-throated blue warblers Setophaga caerulescens and magnolia warblers S. magnolia) and analysis of plasma metabolites as indicators of refueling (magnolia warblers, American redstarts S. ruticilla and common yellowthroats Geothylpis trichas). We found no differences between sexes in stopover duration or refueling index, although we did find subtle sex differences in the onset and end of diel activity, with males beginning to forage earlier in the morning than females and male magnolia warblers ending diel activity later in the evening than female magnolia warblers. More obvious were annual differences in stopover duration and the timing of diel activity, with shorter stopovers and an earlier onset of diel activity in the year with a warmer spring. We also did not find any evidence that sexes differed in their post-departure ground speeds or migration routes. In wood-warblers, males and females can differ in some aspects of their stopover ecology, but these differences are likely context dependent and likely do not drive protandry in a consistent way.

Usage notes

Location

Canada
Ontario