Handout ETH course Migration ecology and methods in field ornithology
1
General information
2
Introduction
2.1
Course aims
2.2
Course schedule
2.2.1
Prepatory days: 2-5 September 2025 at Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach and ETH Zürich
2.2.2
Course day 1: Tuesday, 2 September 2025 in Sempach
2.2.3
Course day 2: Wednesday, 3 September 2025
2.2.4
Course day 3: Thursday, 4 September 2025
2.2.5
Course day 4: Friday, 5 September 2025
2.2.6
Excursion to Col de Bretolet: Mon-Fri 8-12 September 2025
2.2.7
Course day 5: Monday, 8 September 2024
2.2.8
Course day 6: Tuesday, 9 September 2025
2.2.9
Course day 6: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
2.2.10
Course day 7: Thursday, 11 September 2025
2.2.11
Course day 8: Friday, 12 September 2025
2.3
Preparations
3
Animal migration
3.1
What is migration?
3.2
Why do birds migrate?
3.3
Terminology of specific migration patterns
3.3.1
Characterisation of migration according to distances covered
3.3.2
Characterisation of migration according to daytime of travel
3.3.3
Characterisation of migration according to larger-scale patterns of migratory bouts
4
Timing of migration
4.1
Why is timing important?
4.2
What determines the timing of migratory steps? Cues!
4.2.1
Preparation
4.2.2
Departure
4.2.3
On the way
4.2.4
Termination
4.3
Consequences of migration timing
5
Orientation and Navigation
5.1
Sun compass
5.2
Star compass
5.3
Magnetic compass
5.4
Landmarks
5.5
Olfactory cues
5.6
Compass orientation vs. navigation
6
Flight energetics and plasticity of the migratory flight
6.1
Mechanics and energetics of flight
6.2
Fuel for migratory flights
6.3
Influences on migration
6.3.1
Endogeneous and exogeneous factors
6.3.2
Topography
6.3.3
Wind
6.3.4
Temperature
7
Importance of migration for the structure and dynamics of resident communities
7.1
Migrants link ecological communities and ecosystem functioning worldwide
7.2
Animal migrations provide services and disservices
8
Global change and other challenges
8.1
Climate change
8.2
Sensory pollution
8.3
Man-made structures
8.4
Conservation of migrants and migrations
9
Field methods
9.1
Observations: visual, moonwatching, IR, radar
9.2
Marking and reencountering
9.3
Tracking individuals
9.4
Orientation experiments
9.5
Stable isotopes, genetics and physiology
9.6
References
10
Migration models
10.1
State-dependent migration models
11
Statistical tools for studying migration
11.1
Linear models
11.2
Distribution models for counts of resting or migrating individuals
11.3
Migratory connectivity models
11.4
Estimating survival based on mark-recapture data: The Cormack-Jolly-Seber model
11.5
Multi-state models to estimate movement rates
11.6
Individual based hidden Markov model for bird behaviour
11.7
The combination of different data sources
11.8
References
12
Student projects
12.1
Pre-requisite: Reading and assessing scientific publications
12.2
Student project 1: Phenology - Migration timing within the season and their changes over the years
12.3
Student project 2: Long-term changes in morphology
12.4
Student project 3: Differential Migration
12.5
Student project 4: Flight energetics in the course of a night and over the season
12.6
Student project 5: Estimate survival from capture-recapture data
12.7
Student project 6: Modelling spring migration: several questions
12.8
Student project 7: Estimating Migration volume
12.9
Student project 8: Why is timing in spring important?
12.10
Student project 9: Geolocation - tracking small birds
12.11
References
13
Exercise: Refreshing R and linear models
13.1
Refreshing R
13.1.1
Software installation
13.1.2
Working with R
13.1.3
Working with rmarkdown
13.2
Linear regression
13.2.1
Theory
13.2.2
Fitting a Linear Regression in R
13.2.3
Data
13.2.4
Fit the regression using lm
13.2.5
Check the model assumptions
13.2.6
Drawing Conclusions
14
Exercise: Geolocation
15
Exercise: Estimating migratory connectivity
15.1
Background
15.2
Nightingale example
16
Exercise: Timing
16.1
Arrival dates in spring
16.2
Additional data and literature on first arrival dates
16.3
Timing of hatching dates
17
Exercise: Survival estimation
17.1
Introduction to mark-recapture modelling
18
Exercise: Modelling
18.1
Exercises
18.1.1
Change Parameters
18.1.2
Analyse resulting migration patterns
18.2
Code to replace existing code in “Workflow.R”
19
Seminar: Ecosystem Effects of Migrants
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Handout and background material for ETHZ course ‘Animal Migration and research in field ornithology’
Chapter 14
Exercise: Geolocation