ArticleMovement ecology2023
Atmospheric pressure predicts probability of departure for migratory songbirds.
Article in Movement ecology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Departing With the Wind: Spring Migration Timing in Brent Geese From Their Most Important Staging and Wintering Site, the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Breeding phenology plasticity to climate revealed by automated monitoring of two Eudpytes penguin species across the sub-Antarctic.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Within-Night Variation in Predictor Importance Highlights Dynamic Nature of Bird Migration.Ecology letters · 2026Article
- Migratory geese adjust wintering movements to both short-term weather and long-term climatic change.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Enhanced forecasting of bird nocturnal migration intensity in relation to previous days and synoptic weather patterns.International journal of biometeorology · 2025Article
- Stable atmospheric conditions underlie a steady pace of nocturnal bird migration in the tropics.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Origins of Nearctic migratory landbird vagrants recorded in Europe revealed by feather isotopic analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Factors underlying migratory timing of a seasonally migrating bird.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Radar-measured passerine vertical speeds reveal a migratory switch near a major barrier.iScience · 2025Article
- Individual timing consistency across long-distance songbird migrations.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Environmental factors influencing red knot (Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Songbirds initiate migratory flights synchronously relative to civil dusk.Movement ecology · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWeather can have both delayed and immediate impacts on animal populations, and species have evolved behavioral adaptions to respond to weather conditions. Weather has long been hypothesized to affect the timing and intensity of avian migration, and radar studies have demonstrated strong correlations between weather and broad-scale migration patterns. How weather affects individual decisions about the initiation of migratory flights, particularly at the beginning of migration, remains uncertain.
methodsHere, we combine automated radio telemetry data from four species of songbirds collected at five breeding and wintering sites in North America with hourly weather data from a global weather model. We use these data to determine how wind profit, atmospheric pressure, precipitation, and cloud cover affect probability of departure from breeding and wintering sites.
resultsWe found that the probability of departure was related to changes in atmospheric pressure, almost completely regardless of species, season, or location. Individuals were more likely to depart on nights when atmospheric pressure had been rising over the past 24 h, which is predictive of fair weather over the next several days. By contrast, wind profit, precipitation, and cloud cover were each only informative predictors of departure probability in a single species.
conclusionsOur results suggest that individual birds actively use weather information to inform decision-making regarding the initiation of departure from the breeding and wintering grounds. We propose that birds likely choose which date to depart on migration in a hierarchical fashion with weather not influencing decision-making until after the departure window has already been narrowed down by other ultimate and proximate factors.
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