Emergence of long distance bird migrations: a new model integrating global climate changes |
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Authors: | Antoine Louchart |
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Institution: | (1) La Font Mignot, 42410 Chuyer, France;(2) IPHEP – Institut de Paléoprimatologie et Paléontologie humaine: Evolution et Paléoenvironnements, CNRS UMR 6046, UFR-SFA, Université de Poitiers, 40, avenue du Recteur Pineau, 86022 Poitiers Cedex, France |
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Abstract: | During modern birds history, climatic and environmental conditions have evolved on wide scales. In a continuously changing
world, landbirds annual migrations emerged and developed. However, models accounting for the origins of these avian migrations
were formulated with static ecogeographic perspectives. Here I reviewed Cenozoic paleoclimatic and paleontological data relative
to the palearctic–paleotropical long distance (LD) migration system. This led to propose a new model for the origin of LD
migrations, the ‘shifting home’ model (SHM). It is based on a dynamic perspective of climate evolution and may apply to the
origins of most modern migrations. Non-migrant tropical African bird taxa were present at European latitudes during most of
the Cenozoic. Their distribution limits shifted progressively toward modern tropical latitudes during periods of global cooling
and increasing seasonality. In parallel, decreasing winter temperatures in the western Palearctic drove shifts of population
winter ranges toward the equator. I propose that this induced the emergence of most short distance migrations, and in turn
LD migrations. This model reconciliates ecologically tropical ancestry of most LD migrants with predominant winter range shifts,
in accordance with requirements for heritable homing. In addition, it is more parsimonious than other non-exclusive models.
Greater intrinsic plasticity of winter ranges implied by the SHM is supported by recently observed impacts of the present
global warming on migrating birds. This may induce particular threats to some LD migrants. The ancestral, breeding homes of
LD migrants were not ‘northern’ or ‘southern’ but shifted across high and middle latitudes while migrations emerged through
winter range shifts themselves.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. |
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Keywords: | Aves Cenozoic Evolution Migration Paleoclimate Seasonality Range shifts |
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