Journal article
Understanding variation in migratory movements: A mechanistic approach
General and comparative endocrinology, Vol.256, pp.112-122
01/15/2018
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/117775
PMID: 28756245
Abstract
•Migratory timing mechanisms have rarely been compared across migratory patterns.•We describe three major migratory patterns: obligate, nomadic and fugitive migration.•We review environmental cues and endocrine mechanisms used across migratory patterns.
Spatial and temporal fluctuations in resource availability have led to the evolution of varied migration patterns. In order to appropriately time movements in relation to resources, environmental cues are used to provide proximate information for timing and the endocrine system serves to integrate these external cues and behavioral and physiological responses. Yet, the regulatory mechanisms underlying migratory timing have rarely been compared across a broad range of migratory patterns. First, we offer an updated nomenclature of migration using a mechanistic perspective to clarify terminology describing migratory types in relation to ecology, behavior and endocrinology. We divide migratory patterns into three types: obligate, nomadic, and fugitive. Obligate migration is characterized by regular and directed annual movements between locations, most commonly for breeding and overwintering, where resources are predictable and sufficient. Nomadic migrations occur less predictably than do obligate migrations as animals make use of potentially rich but ephemeral resources that occur unpredictably in space or time. Fugitive migrations move animals away from an area in response to severe disruption of environmental conditions and occur as part of an emergency life history stage. We also consider partially migratory populations, which include a mix of sedentary and migratory individuals; the movement patterns of partial migrants are expected to fall into one of the three types above. For these various forms of migration, we review our understanding of the environmental cues and endocrine mechanisms that underlie the expression of a migratory state. Several common hormonal mechanisms exist across the varied migratory forms, but there are also important areas where further investigations are needed in order to gain broad insight into the origin of movements and the diversity of migratory patterns. We propose that taking a comparative approach across the migratory types that considers endocrine mechanisms will advance a new understanding of migration biology.
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Details
- Title
- Understanding variation in migratory movements: A mechanistic approach
- Creators
- Heather E Watts - Department of Biology, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA 90045, USAJamie M Cornelius - Biology Department, Eastern Michigan University, MI 48197, USAAdam M Fudickar - Environmental Resilience Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USAJonathan Pérez - Department of Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USAMarilyn Ramenofsky - Department of Neurobiology, Physiology & Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Publication Details
- General and comparative endocrinology, Vol.256, pp.112-122
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Identifiers
- 99900574386901842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article