Resident birds are more behaviourally plastic than migrants

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Ornithology

Background:

• Phenotypic plasticity is expected to be higher in species facing variable environments.
• Migratory birds, encountering diverse habitats, are hypothesized to be more plastic than resident birds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare phenotypic plasticity in migratory versus resident bird species.
• To investigate variation in flight initiation distance (FID) as a measure of antipredator behavior plasticity.

Main Methods:

• Comparative study of flight initiation distance (FID) variation across migratory and non-migratory bird species.
• Analysis of FID as an indicator of antipredator behavior and risk assessment.

Main Results:

• Contrary to predictions, non-migratory (sedentary) species showed greater variation in FID than migratory species.
• Migratory and partially migratory birds displayed longer average FIDs, indicating higher wariness.
• Sedentary species exhibited more nuanced risk assessment, reflected in greater FID variation.

Conclusions:

• Environmental predictability in non-migratory species may facilitate more refined risk assessment.
• The relationship between migration, environmental variability, and phenotypic plasticity is complex.
• Antipredator behavior variation, measured by FID, offers insights into species' adaptive strategies.