Energetic trade-offs in migration decision-making, reproductive effort, and subsequent parental care in a long-distance migratory bird
Data files
Jan 30, 2024 version files 95.12 KB
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autumn_data.csv
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README.md
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spring_data.csv
Jul 31, 2024 version files 96.88 KB
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autumn_data.csv
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README.md
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spring_data.csv
Abstract
Migratory species trade-off long-distance movement with survival and reproduction, but the spatiotemporal scales at which these decisions occur is relatively unknown. Technological and statistical advances allow fine-scale study of animal decision-making, improving our understanding of possible causes and therefore conservation management. We quantified effects of reproductive preparation during spring migration on subsequent breeding outcomes, breeding outcomes on autumn migration characteristics, and autumn migration characteristics on subsequent parental survival in Greenland white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons flavirostris). These are long-distance migratory birds with a ~50% population decline from 1999 to 2022. We deployed GPS-acceleration devices on adult females to quantify up to five years of individual decision-making throughout the annual cycle. Weather and habitat-use affected time spent feeding and overall dynamic body acceleration (i.e., energy expenditure) during spring and autumn. Geese that expended less energy and fed longer during spring were more likely to successfully reproduce. Geese with offspring expended more energy and fed for less time during autumn, potentially representing adverse fitness consequences of breeding. These behavioural comparisons among Greenland white-fronted geese improve our understanding of fitness trade-offs underlying abundance. We provide a reproducible framework for full annual cycle modelling using location and behaviour data, applicable to similarly studied migratory animals.
README: Energetic trade-offs in migration decision-making, reproductive effort, and subsequent parental care in a long-distance migratory bird
This repository contains the data and code used in the following publication:
Schindler, A. R., A. D. Fox, C. K. Wikle, B. M. Ballard, A. J. Walsh, S. B. A. Kelly, L. Cao, L. R. Griffin, M. D. Weegman. (2024). Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 291:29120232016. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.2016.
Data DOI: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2547d7wzn
Code DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10581609
All analyses were completed using R. See manuscript for details about analyses and supplementary data for example code.
Please contact the corresponding author with questions about this data package or to seek potential collaborations using these data.
Description
Model code and associated data files to quanitfy the effects of reproductive preparation during spring migration on subsequent breeding outcomes, breeding outcomes on autumn migration characteristics, and autumn migration characteristics on subsequent parental survival in Greenland white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons flavirostris).
Authors
Alexander R. Schindler\
Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Anthony D. Fox\
Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Christopher K. Wikle\
Department of Statistics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
Bart M. Ballard\
Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX, USA
Alyn J. Walsh\
National Parks and Wildlife Service, Dublin, Ireland
Seán B. A. Kelly\
National Parks and Wildlife Service, Dublin, Ireland
Lei Cao\
State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Larry R. Griffin\
Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Gloucester, UK
ECO-LG Limited, Dumfries, UK
Mitch D. Weegman\
Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Files
full_annual_cycle_model_categorical.R
- Includes all code to read in data files and run the full annual cycle model with breeding outcome as a categorical variable (i.e., successful attempt, failed attempt, deferral).full_annual_cycle_model_bernoulli.R
- Includes all code to read in data files and run the full annual cycle model with breeding outcome as a Bernoulli variable (i.e., success, fail).spring_dat.csv
- All data for the spring sub-model (summarised to each bird/year/sub-season).autumn_dat.csv
- All data for the autumn sub-model (summarised to each bird/year/sub-season).
Data file column names
id
- numerical identifier for each bird marked in the studyyear
- numerical identifier for each year in the study (i.e., 1-5 corresponds with 2018-2022)sub_season
-numerical identifier for the sub-season in the corresponding season (spring_data.csv: 1 = late winter, 2 = first migration flight, 3 = first half of spring staging, 4 = second half of spring staging, 5 = second migration flight, 6 = early breeding; autumn_data.csv: 1 = late breeding, 2 = first migration flight, 3 = first half of autumn staging, 4 = second half of autumn staging, 5 = second migration flight, 6 = early winter)breeding_outcome
- 1 = successful breeding attempt, 2 = failed breeding attempt, 3 = breeding deferralbreeding_success
- 1 = breeding success, 0 = breeding failurefirst_day
- day of year (i.e., days since 31 Dec the previous year) for the first day of the corresponding bird/year/sub-seasonlog_ODBA
- log-transformed overall dynamic body acceleration (log(g))num_feed_fixes
- number of ACC fixes classified as feedingnum_ACC_fixes
- total number of ACC fixesmean_precip
- mean daily cumulative precipitation (mm)prop_days_below_freezing
- proportion of days below freezingprop_storm_days
- proportion of days with a severe stormprop_grass
- proportion of time spent in grasslandsprop_ag
- proportion of time spent in (non-grassland) agricultural landprop_bog
- proportion of time spent in peat bogssurvival
(autumn data only) - autumn survival (1 = survived, 0 = died)