Migration behavior and performance of the great spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius)
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2019-01-04Referencia bibliográfica
Ibáñez-Álamo JD, Rühmann J, Pérez- Contreras T, Soler M (2019) Migration behavior and performance of the great spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius). PLoS ONE 14(1): e0208436.
Patrocinador
This study was partially funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad/ FEDER (research projects CGL2011-25634/BOS and CGL2017-89338-P to M.S.).Resumen
The study of brood parasitism has traditionally been focused on the breeding period, but recent
evidence suggests that it urgently needs a new spatio-temporal perspective to explore novel
avenues on brood parasite-host co-evolutionary interactions. Many brood parasites are
migrants, but their ecology outside their short breeding season is poorly known. The great
spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius) is one of the classical models in the study of brood parasitism,
however, there is very little information on its migratory strategy, route and wintering
grounds. Furthermore, there is no previous information on the geographical distribution of mortality
and its causes in this species; information that is critical to understand the fluctuations in
cuckoo populations and detect potential conservation risks. Using satellite tracking technology,
we provide novel insight into the migratory behavior and performance of the great spotted
cuckoo. We found individuals from southern Spain to be long-distance nocturnal migrants that
use the East Atlantic Flyway for both post and pre-breeding migration, and that winter in the
western Sahel. We found evidence of individual variation in their migration route, particularly
regarding their post-breeding behavior in Spain. Our study also suggests that the south of
Morocco is the most dangerous area due to a large number of deaths during the post-breeding
migratory period. Furthermore, we found that natural predation seems to be the main cause of
death, probably due to raptors, although human activities (i.e. hunting) could also played a role
in the southern Mediterranean shore. Our study offers novel findings and challenges traditional
ideas on the ecology of this species providing a good example of how the new spatio-temporal
perspective can expand our knowledge on brood parasites.