![]() The rapid decline is presumed to be caused mainly by habitat modification and agricultural changes. The European turtle dove, a Palearctic-African migrant species, is one of the fastest declining birds in Europe. Furthermore, we provide evidence for breeding site fidelity of adult individuals and for home range size to increase with an increasing proportion of agricultural used areas. “Niche tracking” was only observed regarding night-time temperatures. Tracking data in combination with environmental parameters demonstrated that most environmental parameters and niche breadth differed between breeding and wintering grounds. The tracking data along with analysis of land cover data confirm previously assumed use of multiple wintering sites and the use of a wide range of forest and agricultural landscapes at the breeding grounds. We used Argos satellite transmitters to obtain detailed year-round tracks and provide new insights on migration strategies and winter quarters, of turtle doves breeding in Central and Eastern Europe. For this species, knowledge of non-breeding movements is mainly based on ringing data that are limited by a low recovery rate in Africa, and tracking studies with a strong bias towards individuals breeding in France. We still lack fundamental data of the non-breeding movements for many migratory species, such as European turtle doves Streptopelia turtur, a trans-Saharan migrant. Therefore, the identification of migration routes, wintering grounds, and stopover sites is crucial for the development of relevant conservation strategies for declining migrant bird species. Contrary to non-migratory species, understanding the causal mechanisms proves difficult (for migratory bird species) as underlying processes may operate across broad geographic ranges and stages of the annual cycle. ![]() Populations of migratory bird species have suffered a sustained and severe decline for several decades. Data can be accessed at: doi:10.5061/dryad.bv24t. The loggers of birds #1 and 5 ceased collecting data en-route. Note that the location on 31 August was at the extreme bounds of the exclusion period (i.e. The migration route for bird#5 that started its autumnal migration earlier is framed in box. Note that single positions (black dots) and migration paths (dash lines) are approximated on the basis of geolocation data with low accuracy. The spring migration routes derived from (twice smoothed) positioning data are shown along with the corresponding dates for illustrative purposes. Note that kernel contours do not illustrate home ranges because the inaccuracy of data is embedded in their calculation. Wintering grounds are coloured red and are based on all locations (twice a day) outside the autumnal equinox period (from 12 Oct) and until departure date in the following spring. Dashed lines depict the migration corridor used by the birds in autumn, when longitude data indicated that they were clearly off the coasts of Portugal or over Moroccan or Mauritanian territories (See also Fig. This later finding is a crucial issue for future conservation strategies because environmental conditions on these staging areas might play a pivotal role in population dynamics of this declining species.Įstimated migration routes, stopover- and wintering areas of Turtles Doves with key dates.ĭensity contours reflect 50, 75, 90 and 95% kernel density. Contrary to previous suggestions, our data reveal that birds used stopover sites for several weeks, presumably in Morocco and North Algeria. Finally, we found that on their way back to breeding grounds Turtle Doves needed to refuel after crossing the Sahara desert. We also found evidence for a loop migration pattern, with a post-breeding migration flyway lying west of the spring route. Our results reveal that all individuals did not spend the winter period at a single location some of them experienced a clear eastward shift of several hundred kilometres. Some individuals also extended their wintering ranges over North Guinea, North-West of Burkina Faso and the Ivory-Coast. The main wintering area encompassed Western Mali, the Inner Delta Niger and the Malian/Mauritanian border. Data confirm that Turtle Doves wintered in West Africa. From five recovered loggers, our data provide new insights on migratory journeys and winter destinations of Turtle Doves originating from a breeding population in Western France. ![]() Using miniaturized light-level geolocators we report a comprehensive and detailed year round track of a granivorous trans-Saharan migrant, the European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur). The identification of migration routes, wintering grounds and stopover sites are crucial issues for the understanding of the Palearctic-African bird migration system as well as for the development of relevant conservation strategies for trans-Saharan migrants.
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