The evolution of bird migration: does current theory apply in South America?

• Grant number: 12/17225-2
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• Start date: July 01, 2013
• End date: October 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Alejandro Edward Jahn
• Grantee: Alejandro Edward Jahn
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 13/14316-0 - The evolution of bird migration: Does current theory apply in South America?, BP.JP

Abstract

How do birds evolve the ability to migrate? Although this question has been pursued for decades, the majority of research has been conducted at north temperate latitudes (Europe and North America) and has focused on a limited set of traits (e.g., migration vs. residency). How do the genetic, behavioral and morphological components of migration evolve, and do they evolve in similar ways across the planet? South America offers a one-of-a-kind, yet unrealized, opportunity to answer this question. With >230 species, it is home to one of the largest bird migration systems on the planet, offering ample opportunities to test the generality of theory. Additionally, South America holds a diversity of migration types, including short- and long distance migration. Finally, the continent straddles both temperate and tropical latitudes, such that birds there breed, migrate, and overwinter in widely different environments. Fork-tailed Flycatchers (Tyrannus savana), one of the most common South American migrants, are composed of temperate-tropical migrants, intra-tropical migrants, and permanent residents. I propose to study how bird migration evolves by comparing behavioral (e.g., speed of migration), molt-related (timing of molt), morphometric (e.g., wing length) and functional (e.g., wing loading) adaptations for migration among Fork-tailed Flycatcher populations, within a phylogeographic framework (i.e., comparing these traits in the context of genetic differentiation between populations). This will be the first study on the evolution of bird migration to simultaneously consider the genetic, morphological and behavioral components of migration across a broad geographical spectrum. Such a multidisciplinary, integrative approach promises a fresh perspective on how birds have overcome the multiple challenges to living a life "on the move". (AU)

Scientific publications

(22)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

JAHN, ALEX E.; BEJARANO, VANESA; GUZMAN, MARCELA BENAVIDES; BROWN, LEONE M.; PROVINCIATO, IVAN C. CARVALHO; CEREGHETTI, JOAQUIN; CUETO, VICTOR R.; GIRALDO, JOSE I.; GOMEZ-BAHAMON, VALENTINA; HUSAK, MICHAEL S.; et al. Molting while breeding? Lessons from New World Tyrannus Flycatchers. JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY, v. 158, n. 4, p. 1061-1072, OCT 2017. (12/17225-2)

MACPHERSON, MAGGIE P.; JAHN, ALEX E.; MASON, NICHOLAS A.. orphology of migration: associations between wing shape, bill morphology and migration in kingbirds (Tyrannus. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, v. 135, n. 1, p. 71-83, JAN 2022. (12/17225-2)

JAHN, ALEX E.; SEAVY, NATHANIEL E.; BEJARANO, VANESA; GUZMAN, MARCELA BENAVIDES; CARVALHO PROVINCIATO, IVAN CELSO; PIZO, MARCO A.; MACPHERSON, MAGGIE. Intra-tropical migration and wintering areas of Fork-tailed Flycatchers (Tyrannus savana) breeding in Sao Paulo, Brazil. REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE ORNITOLOGIA, v. 24, n. 2, p. 116-121, JUN 2016. (12/17225-2)

JIMENEZ, JAIME E.; JAHN, ALEX E.; ROZZI, RICARDO; SEAVY, NATHANIEL E.. First Documented Migration of Individual White-Crested Elaenias (Elaenia albiceps chilensis) in South America. Wilson Journal of Ornithology, v. 128, n. 2, p. 419-425, JUN 2016. (12/17225-2)

HERNANDES, FABIO AKASHI. Five new species of the feather mite genus Trouessartia Canestrini from South America (Acari: Trouessartiidae). Zootaxa, v. 3856, n. 1, p. 50-72, AUG 21 2014. (12/17225-2, 11/50145-0, 11/20805-8)

BEJARANO, VANESA; JAHN, ALEX E.. Relationship between arrival timing and breeding success of intra-tropical migratory Fork-tailed Flycatchers (Tyrannus savana). JOURNAL OF FIELD ORNITHOLOGY, v. 89, n. 2, p. 109-116, JUN 2018. (12/17225-2)

JAHN, ALEX E.; BEJARANO, VANESA; CUETO, VICTOR R.; DI GIACOMO, ADRIAN S.; FONTANA, CARLA S.. Movement ecology research to advance conservation of South America's grassland migratory birds. PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION, v. 15, n. 3, p. 209-215, JUL-SEP 2017. (12/17225-2)

JAHN, ALEX E.; GUARALDO, ANDRE C.. Do Fork-tailed Flycatchers (Tyrannus s. savana) stop to molt during fall migration?. REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE ORNITOLOGIA, v. 26, n. 2, p. 149-150, JUN 2018. (12/17225-2)

EMILIA REBOLLO, MARIA; JAHN, ALEX E.; CEREGHETTI, JOAQUIN; PEREYRA FERNANDEZ, SEBASTIAN ANDRES; HERNAN SARASOLA, JOSE. Nest-site selection and breeding success of two neotropical austral migrant birds in a semiarid forest: A comparison of sites with and without livestock. JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS, v. 177, JUN 2020. (12/17225-2)

JAHN, ALEX E.; LERMAN, SUSANNAH B.; PHILLIPS, LAURA M.; RYDER, THOMAS B.; WILLIAMS, EMILY J.. First tracking of individual American Robins (Turdus migratorius) across seasons. Wilson Journal of Ornithology, v. 131, n. 2, p. 356-359, JUN 2019. (12/17225-2)

GOMEZ-BAHAMON, VALENTINA; TUERO, DIEGO T.; CASTANO, MARIA ISABEL; JAHN, ALEX E.; BATES, JOHN M.; CLARK, CHRISTOPHER J.. Sonations in Migratory and Non-migratory Fork-tailed Flycatchers (Tyrannus savana). INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY, v. 60, n. 5, p. 1147-1159, NOV 2020. (12/17225-2)

GOMEZ-BAHAMON, VALENTINA; MARQUEZ, ROBERTO; JAHN, ALEX E.; MIYAKI, CRISTINA YUMI; TUERO, DIEGO T.; LAVERDE-R, OSCAR; RESTREPO, SILVIA; DANIEL CADENA, CARLOS. Speciation Associated with Shifts in Migratory Behavior in an Avian Radiation. Current Biology, v. 30, n. 7, p. 1312+, APR 6 2020. (13/50297-0, 12/17225-2)

LOPES, LEONARDO ESTEVES; HEMING, NEANDER MARCEL; JAHN, ALEX E.; FERREIRA, DALILA DE FATIMA; PUTARE, OMAR BARROSO; MARINI, MIGUEL ANGELO. Breeding biology of the White-throated Kingbird (Tyrannus albogularis) in Brazil and Bolivia. Wilson Journal of Ornithology, v. 130, n. 4, p. 915-923, DEC 2018. (12/17225-2)

TUERO, DIEGO T.; JAHN, ALEX E.; HUSAK, MICHAEL S.; ROEDER, V, DIANE; MASSON, DIEGO A.; PUCHETA, FLORENCIA M.; MICHELS, TYLER J.; QUICKLE, AARON; VIDOZ, JULIAN Q.; DOMINGUEZ, MARISOL; et al. Ecological determinants of Tyrannus flycatcher nestling growth at north- and south-temperate latitudes. AUK, v. 135, n. 3, p. 439-448, JUL 2018. (12/17225-2)

EMILIA REBOLLO, MARIA; JAHN, ALEX E.; ADRIAN STELLA, CESAR; PEREZ-RODRIGUEZ, LORENZO; GABRIEL LOPEZ, FERNANDO; HERNAN SARASOLA, JOSE; CEREGHETTI, JOAQUIN. Dietary ecology of two migrant flycatchers in habitats with and without cattle during the breeding season in central Argentina. JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS, v. 206, p. 8-pg., 2022-08-19. (12/17225-2)

JAHN, ALEX E.; GIRALDO, JOSE I.; MACPHERSON, MAGGIE; TUERO, DIEGO T.; HERNAN SARASOLA, JOSE; CEREGHETTI, JOAQUIN; MASSON, DIEGO A.; MORALES, MARVIN V.. Demographic variation in timing and intensity of feather molt in migratory Fork-tailed Flycatchers (Tyrannus s. savana). JOURNAL OF FIELD ORNITHOLOGY, v. 87, n. 2, p. 143-154, JUN 2016. (12/17225-2)

CARVALHO PROVINCIATO, IVAN C.; ARAUJO, MARCIO S.; JAHN, ALEX E.. Drivers of wing shape in a widespread Neotropical bird: a dual role of sex-specific and migration-related functions. EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY, v. 32, n. 4, p. 379-393, AUG 2018. (12/17225-2)

MACPHERSON, MAGGIE P.; JAHN, ALEX E.; MURPHY, MICHAEL T.; KIM, DANIEL H.; CUETO, VICTOR R.; TUERO, DIEGO T.; HILL, ELLIOT D.. Follow the rain? Environmental drivers of Tyrannus migration across the New World. AUK, v. 135, n. 4, p. 881-894, OCT 2018. (12/17225-2)

JAHN, ALEX E.; CUETO, VICTOR R.; FONTANA, CARLA S.; GUARALDO, ANDRE C.; LEVEY, DOUGLAS J.; MARRA, PETER P.; RYDER, THOMAS B.. Bird migration within the Neotropics. AUK, v. 137, n. 4, OCT 1 2020. (12/17225-2)

JAHN, ALEX E.; BEJARANO, VANESA; GUZMAN, MARCELA BENAVIDES; BROWN, LEONE M.; PROVINCIATO, IVAN C. CARVALHO; CEREGHETTI, JOAQUIN; CUETO, VICTOR R.; GIRALDO, JOSE I.; GOMEZ-BAHAMON, VALENTINA; HUSAK, MICHAEL S.; et al. Molting while breeding? Lessons from New World Tyrannus Flycatchers. JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY, v. 158, n. 4, p. 12-pg., 2017-10-01. (12/17225-2)

JAHN, ALEX E.; CEREGHETTI, JOAQUIN; CUETO, VICTOR R.; HALLWORTH, MICHAEL T.; LEVEY, DOUGLAS J.; MARINI, MIGUEL A.; MASSON, DIEGO; PIZO, MARCO A.; HERNAN SARASOLA, JOSE; TUERO, DIEGO T.. Breeding latitude predicts timing but not rate of spring migration in a widespread migratory bird in South America. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, v. 9, n. 10, p. 5752-5765, MAY 2019. (12/17225-2)

MARINA SOMENZARI; PRISCILLA PRUDENTE DO AMARAL; VÍCTOR R. CUETO; ANDRÉ DE CAMARGO GUARALDO; ALEX E. JAHN; DIEGO MENDES LIMA; PEDRO CERQUEIRA LIMA; CAMILE LUGARINI; CAIO GRACO MACHADO; JAIME MARTINEZ; et al. An overview of migratory birds in Brazil. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo), v. 58, 2018-03-19. (12/17225-2)