Factors influencing route choice by avian migrants: A dynamic programming model of Pacific brant migration

Factors influencing route choice by avian migrants: A dynamic programming model of Pacific brant migration

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Article ID: iaor2009357
Country: United States
Volume: 249
Issue: 4
Start Page Number: 804
End Page Number: 816
Publication Date: Dec 2007
Journal: Journal of Theoretical Biology
Authors: ,
Keywords: ecology, programming: dynamic, behaviour
Abstract:

We used stochastic dynamic programming to investigate a spectacular migration strategy in the black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans), a species of goose. Black brant migration is well suited for theoretical analysis since there are a number of existing strategies that easily can be compared. In early autumn, almost the entire population of the black brant gathers at Izembek Lagoon on the Alaska Peninsula to stage and refuel before the southward migration. There are at least three distinct strategies, with most geese making a spectacular direct migration more than 5000 km across the Gulf of Alaska to their wintering grounds in southern Baja California or mainland Mexico. This is a potentially dangerous strategy since foraging is not possible during the overseas passage. Some individuals instead use shorter flights to make a detour along the coast, a longer route that all individuals use for northwards migration in spring. Since flight costs accelerate with increasing body mass, migration by short flights is energetically cheaper than long-distance flights.

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