ArticleEcology2021
Flight efficiency explains differences in natal dispersal distances in birds.
Article in Ecology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- The importance of migratory drop-off for island colonization in birds.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Pooled it
- Carryover effects across juvenile periods vary by species, cause-specific mortality, and stage-specific behavior.Oecologia · 2026Article
- Simple mechanistic traits outperform complex syndromes in predicting avian dispersal distances.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Habitat selection during dispersal reduces the energetic cost of transport when making large displacements.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Birds With Distinct Ecological Traits Show Varied Haemoglobin Adaptations Along Elevation Gradients.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Integrating animal tracking and trait data to facilitate global ecological discoveries.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Heterogeneity of Locked-Pasture Snow Conditions Modulate Habitat and Movement Choices of a Facultative Migrant.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Broad geographic dispersal is not a diversification driver for Emberizoidea.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Long-distance dispersal in the short-distance dispersing house sparrow (Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Bird clades with less complex appendicular skeletons tend to have higher species richness.Nature communications · 2023Article
- New methods for estimating the total wing area of birds.Ecology and evolution · 2023Article
- Climate-driven variation in dispersal ability predicts responses to forest fragmentation in birds.Nature ecology & evolution · 2023Article
- Responses of a resident group to an outsider in the blue-breasted quail: A paradigm for studying social resettlement of dispersers.Current zoology · 2023Article
- Wing morphology covaries with migration distance in a highly aerial insectivorous songbird.Current zoology · 2023Article
- Changes in the functional diversity of modern bird species over the last million years.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Determinants of natal dispersal distances in North American birds.Ecology and evolution · 2023Article
- Environmental niche and flight intensity are associated with molecular evolutionary rates in a large avian radiation.BMC ecology and evolution · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The factors responsible for variation in dispersal distances across species remain poorly understood. Previous comparative studies found differing results and equivocal support for theoretical predictions. Here I re-examine factors that influence natal dispersal distances in British birds while taking into account the cost of transport as estimated from proxies of long-distance flight efficiency. First, I show that flight efficiency, as estimated by the hand-wing index, the aspect ratio, or the lift-to-drag ratio, is a strong predictor of dispersal distances among resident species. Most migratory species showed a similar pattern, but a group of species with relatively low aerodynamic efficiency showed longer-than-expected dispersal distances, making the overall trend independent of flight efficiency. Ecological, behavioral, and life history factors had a small or nil influence on dispersal distances, with most of their influence likely mediated by adaptations for the use of space reflected in flight efficiency. This suggests that dispersal distances in birds are not determined by adaptive strategies for dispersal per se, but are predominantly influenced by the energetic cost of movement.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.