Autumn orientation behaviour of paddyfield warblers, Acrocephalus agricola, from a recently expanded breeding range on the western Black Sea coast

Behavioural Processes
Pavel ZehtindjievS Åkesson

Abstract

The paddyfield warbler, Acrocephalus agricola, has extended its breeding range from Central Asia to the western Black Sea coast. The Balkan population offers a unique chance to test the effect of breeding range expansion on the genetically programmed migratory direction. We studied 21 paddyfield warblers at Durankulak Lake, NE Bulgaria, by recording their autumn migratory orientation in circular orientation cages. Our data show that the preferred migratory orientation is directed along a NE-SW axis. Paddyfield warblers seem to avoid direct crossing of the Black Sea by following the western coast. The mean bearing was parallel to the nearest coastline and corresponds to the direction of the historical breeding range expansion of the species. In our experiment many individuals showed south-western orientation in autumn, a course which would potentially lead the birds to exploratory movements outside the current breeding range. An axial orientation response has been often shown in circular cage tests, and can be due to factors such as coastal orientation or reverse orientation triggered by the physiological condition of some individuals. However, it might also be one of the driving mechanisms for range expansion. Hence, we can exp...Continue Reading

Citations

Oct 11, 2017·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Susanne ÅkessonBarbara Helm
Oct 28, 2011·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Tim GuilfordVerner P Bingman

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