Why Do Birds Fatten Up for Migration?
4 June 2016 Why Do Birds Fatten Up for Migration?
Birdsdevelop ample energy reservesin preparation for and during migrationbutoften storemore fatthan they need for the journey alone.
In a recent study inThe Auk: Ornithological Advances,Professor of BiologyMark Deutschlanderand his colleague JennaleeHolzschuh, who earned her masters degree in theDepartment of Environmental Science and Biology atSUNYBrockport under the mentorship of Deutschlander, discovered that both male and female warblers put on the extra weight during spring migration to stay in good reproductive shape.
The article Do migratory warblers carry excess fuel reserves during migration for insurance or for breeding purposes?is the result ofa multi-year analysis of data collected between1999and2012 at the Braddock Bay Bird Observatory in Hilton, N.Y.To determine whether theexcess fuel reservesserved as insurance against potentially poor environmental conditions in early spring or to offset the demands of breeding, Deutschlander andHolzschuhexaminedbanding data for 12 species of warblers during both fall and spring migration.This is the first of two manuscripts published from Holzschuhs masters thesis.
I think this paper really illustrates the types of questions and analyses that can be addressed with archived banding data, Deutschlanderexplains onThe Aukblog. There are lots of data being collected at bird observatories, and much of it is waiting for interested researchers and students to use that data to address questions about bird migration. Deutschlander currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Braddock Bay Bird Observatory (and served as a past president and vice president), and he chairs the Observatorys research committee.
The study, which has been picked up by several news outlets nationally and internationally,ultimately concludesthat theexcessenergystoreswere most likely forreproductive efforts. AsThe Auknotes, females arrived with more fat reserves than males, earlier birds arrived with less fat than later birds (rather than the other way around), and all birds carried more fat in spring than in fall. Thefat helps the birds prepare for the stresses of reproduction, particularly females who must produce energetically-expensive eggs.
Apeer-reviewed, international journal of ornithology,The Aukbegan in 1884 as the official publication of the American Ornithologists Union(AOU), the oldest and largest society for the study of ornithology in the Western Hemisphere. In 2009, the journalwas honored as one of the 100 most influential journals of biology and medicine over the past 100 years.Deutschlander currently serves as one of the journals associate editors.
This most recentstudy has beencovered by:
Over the past 20 years,Deutschlandersresearchhas focused on the sensory and physiological aspects of migration and navigation, particularly the use of the earths magnetic field and visual cues in animal orientation. His publications on navigation appear in a wide array of prestigious international and national journals, includingNature,The Journalof Experimental Biology, andJournal of Field Ornithology.This most recent paper in The Auk is Deutschlanders first venture into other aspects of migration biology. In 2009, heshared his expertise on bird migration on National Public Radio during a live broadcast of Science Friday from Cornells Bailey Hall.In 2013,hebecame an elective member of theAOU.
Deutschlandercurrently serves asfirstvice president for the Wilson Ornithological Society, the second oldest and second largest scientific ornithological society in North America.When that appointment concludes,hewill servetwo years as president.
Heearned his B.S. in biologysumma cum laudefrom the State University of New York atGeneseo, and his Ph.D. in zoology from Indiana University, where he specialized in animal behavior and minored in neuroscience.Hehas taught previously at the Rochester Institute of Technology and was a postdoctoral fellow at University of Victoria in British Columbia,as well asa visiting scientist at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia.He joined theHWS faculty in 2000 and hasservedas chair of Biology Department,theHWSHealth Professions Program, and the Colleges Committee on Academic Affairs.