Dataset Information

The impact of tree crops and temperature on the timing of frugivorous bird migration.

ABSTRACT: Migration has evolved to tackle temporal changes in availability of resources. Climate change has been shown to affect the migration dates of species, which raises the question of whether the variation in the timing of migration is climate or resource dependent? The relative importance of temperature and availability of food as drivers of migration behaviour during both spring and autumn seasons has been poorly studied. Here, we investigated these patterns in frugivorous and granivorous birds (hereafter frugivorous) that are assumed to postpone their autumn migration when there is plenty of food available, which may also advance upcoming spring migration. On the other hand, especially spring migration dates have been negatively connected with increasing temperatures. We tested whether the autumn and spring migration dates of eleven common frugivorous birds depended on the crop size of trees or ambient temperatures using 29 years of data in Finland. The increased crop sizes of trees delayed autumn migration dates; whereas, autumn temperature did not show a significant connection. We also observed a temporal trend towards later departure. Increasing temperature and crop sizes advanced spring arrival dates. Our results support the hypothesis that the timing of autumn migration in the frugivorous birds depends on the availability of food and is weakly connected with the variation in temperature. Importantly, crop size can have carry-over effects and affect the timing of spring arrival possibly because birds have overwintered closer to the breeding grounds after an abundant crop year.

SUBMITTER: Kanerva AM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7458887 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The impact of tree crops and temperature on the timing of frugivorous bird migration.

Kanerva Anna-Maria AM Hokkanen Tatu T Lehikoinen Aleksi A Norrdahl Kai K Suhonen Jukka J

Oecologia 20200806 4

Migration has evolved to tackle temporal changes in availability of resources. Climate change has been shown to affect the migration dates of species, which raises the question of whether the variation in the timing of migration is climate or resource dependent? The relative importance of temperature and availability of food as drivers of migration behaviour during both spring and autumn seasons has been poorly studied. Here, we investigated these patterns in frugivorous and granivorous birds (h ...[more]

PMID: 32766935

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Project description:Trees are crucial for sustaining life on our planet. Forests and land devoted to tree crops do not only supply essential edible products to humans and animals, but also additional goods such as paper or wood. They also prevent soil erosion, support microbial, animal, and plant biodiversity, play key roles in nutrient and water cycling processes, and mitigate the effects of climate change acting as carbon dioxide sinks. Hence, the health of forests and tree cropping systems is of particular significance. In particular, soil/rhizosphere/root-associated microbial communities (known as microbiota) are decisive to sustain the fitness, development, and productivity of trees. These benefits rely on processes aiming to enhance nutrient assimilation efficiency (plant growth promotion) and/or to protect against a number of (a)biotic constraints. Moreover, specific members of the microbial communities associated with perennial tree crops interact with soil invertebrate food webs, underpinning many density regulation mechanisms. This review discusses belowground microbiota interactions influencing the growth of tree crops. The study of tree-(micro)organism interactions taking place at the belowground level is crucial to understand how they contribute to processes like carbon sequestration, regulation of ecosystem functioning, and nutrient cycling. A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between roots and their associate microbiota can also facilitate the design of novel sustainable approaches for the benefit of these relevant agro-ecosystems. Here, we summarize the methodological approaches to unravel the composition and function of belowground microbiota, the factors influencing their interaction with tree crops, their benefits and harms, with a focus on representative examples of Biological Control Agents (BCA) used against relevant biotic constraints of tree crops. Finally, we add some concluding remarks and suggest future perspectives concerning the microbiota-assisted management strategies to sustain tree crops.

Project description:BackgroundSeasonal timing of breeding is a life history trait with major fitness consequences but the genetic basis of the physiological mechanism underlying it, and how gene expression is affected by date and temperature, is not well known. In order to study this, we measured patterns of gene expression over different time points in three different tissues of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal-liver axis, and investigated specifically how temperature affects this axis during breeding. We studied female great tits (Parus major) from lines artificially selected for early and late timing of breeding that were housed in two contrasting temperature environments in climate-controlled aviaries. We collected hypothalamus, liver and ovary samples at three different time points (before and after onset of egg-laying). For each tissue, we sequenced whole transcriptomes of 12 pools (n?=?3 females) to analyse gene expression.ResultsBirds from the selection lines differed in expression especially for one gene with clear reproductive functions, zona pellucida glycoprotein 4 (ZP4), which has also been shown to be under selection in these lines. Genes were differentially expressed at different time points in all tissues and most of the differentially expressed genes between the two temperature treatments were found in the liver. We identified a set of hub genes from all the tissues which showed high association to hormonal functions, suggesting that they have a core function in timing of breeding. We also found ample differentially expressed genes with largely unknown functions in birds.ConclusionsWe found differentially expressed genes associated with selection line and temperature treatment. Interestingly, the latter mainly in the liver suggesting that temperature effects on egg-laying date may happen down-stream in the physiological pathway. These findings, as well as our datasets, will further the knowledge of the mechanisms of tissue-specific avian seasonality in the future.

Dataset Information

The impact of tree crops and temperature on the timing of frugivorous bird migration.

Publications

The impact of tree crops and temperature on the timing of frugivorous bird migration.

Similar Datasets

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