Research Projects
Research on Neotropical Austral Migration
The study of bird migration continues to be a thriving field of research, with advances in our understanding of the physiological, ecological and behavioral mechanisms underlying migratory patterns, as well as active research on the evolutionary history of the migratory syndrome. New techniques and technologies available to biologists today such as stable isotope analyses, genetics and electronic hardware have recently provided novel and detailed insights into how birds are able to accomplish their amazing journeys.
However, in spite of the recent progress in the science of “movement ecology”, research on bird migration continues to be a biased endeavor. Most studies focus on relatively well-studied species that breed in the Nearctic or Palearctic zone, such that our understanding of the migratory phenomenon is likely also biased.
For example, the fact that many migratory bird species utilize a star compass to navigate has become a pillar in the literature. Yet, no evidence exists on the use of stars by migratory birds in the Southern Hemisphere, or even in the Neotropics. Indeed, this is not known for either species with migrate wholly within the Southern Hemisphere, or for those which breed in the Northern Hemisphere, then enter the Southern Hemisphere during the northern winter. Thus, our concept of the range of options available to migratory birds, such as how to best navigate in the Southern Hemisphere, continues to be quite narrow. Bird migration is a pandemic phenomenon and unless we incorporate a similarly global view in our research on migration, we will continue to only see one part of the picture.
The obvious remedy to this situation is to initiate comprehensive, multi-disciplinary research on bird migration in the Southern Hemisphere that eventually is comparable to that in the Northern Hemisphere. Yet, how best to accomplish this?
We are involved in two current projects in South America to determine the patterns of austral migration and test hypotheses on how migration in this system is regulated. One study focuses on the partial migration of Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus m. melancholicus). The other study (“Aves Internacionales”) is focused on studying the timing of migration (i.e., when birds migrate within a season) of a suite of austral migrant species as well as understanding the connectivity (i.e., where do individuals from different breeding populations overwinter) of Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus s. savana). Click on the corresponding buttons on the toolbar to the left to learn more about these research projects.
