Assortative Mating as a Mechanism for Rapid Evolution of a Migratory Divide

There have been numerous recent observations of changes in the behavior and dynamics of migratory bird populations, but the plasticity of the migratory trait and our inability to track small animals over large distances have hindered investigation of the mechanisms behind migratory change. We used h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2005-10, Vol.310 (5747), p.502-504
Main Authors: Bearhop, Stuart, Fiedler, Wolfgang, Furness, Robert W, Votier, Stephen C, Waldron, Susan, Newton, Jason, Bowen, Gabriel J, Berthold, Peter, Farnsworth, Keith
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Animal and plant ecology
Animal Migration
Animal reproduction
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Assortative mating
Aves
Aviculture
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Evolution
Bird migration
Birds
Breeding
Carbon Isotopes - analysis
Claws
Courtship of animals
Demecology
Environment
Europe
Evolution
Female
Female animals
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hydrogen - analysis
Isotopes
Male
Male animals
Mating behavior
Mating behaviour
Migration
Migratory birds
Passeriformes - physiology
Population migration
Regression Analysis
Reproduction
Seasons
Sexual Behavior, Animal
Signatures
Vertebrata
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Description
Summary:There have been numerous recent observations of changes in the behavior and dynamics of migratory bird populations, but the plasticity of the migratory trait and our inability to track small animals over large distances have hindered investigation of the mechanisms behind migratory change. We used habitat-specific stable isotope signatures to show that recently evolved allopatric wintering populations of European blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla pair assortatively on their sympatric breeding grounds. Birds wintering further north also produce larger clutches and fledge more young. These findings describe an important process in the evolution of migratory divides, new migration routes, and wintering quarters. Temporal segregation of breeding is a way in which subpopulations of vertebrates may become isolated in sympatry.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1115661