摘要
The timing of migration is fundamental for species exploiting seasonally variable environments. For ungulates, earlier spring migration is expected with earlier vegetation green-up. However, other drivers, such as access to agricultural farmland and variation in local conditions, are also known to affect migration. We investigated the timing of spring migration for 96 male and 201 female red deer (Cervus elaphus) using a long-term dataset (2005–2020). Overall, the timing of migration was mainly characterized by large individual variability between and within years (95% range 6 April to 18 June). The spring migration timing was, as expected, later with colder winter and spring conditions (North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) winter and April indices) and later peak vegetation green-up (NDVI), with a five-day delay in green-up causing a migration delay of 1.2 days. Timing was also influenced by local conditions in summer and winter home ranges. Red deer with greater access to farmland and a more variable topography (hence variable plant phenology) in winter delayed migration. Similarly, individuals with higher-elevation summer ranges (with delayed onset of plant growth) also delayed migration. Our analyses highlight that the timing of red deer migration is determined by multiple drivers affecting foraging conditions in the landscape, indicative of considerable phenotypic plasticity.
摘要译文
迁徙的时机是物种利用季节性多变环境的基础。 对于有蹄类动物，预计春季迁徙较早，植被绿化较早。 然而，已知其他因素，如获得农田和当地条件的变化，也会影响移徙。 我们使用长期数据集（2005-2020）研究了96只雄性和201只雌性马鹿（Cervus elaphus）的春季迁徙时间。 总体而言，迁移时间的主要特征是年之间和年内的个体变异性较大（95%范围为4月6日至6月18日）。 正如预期的那样，春季迁徙时间较晚，冬季和春季条件较冷（北大西洋涛动（NAO）冬季和4月指数）和较晚的植被绿化高峰（NDVI），绿化延迟5天导致迁徙延迟1.2天。 夏季和冬季家牧场的时机也受到当地条件的影响。 冬季马鹿进入农田和地形多变（因此植物物候多变）推迟了迁徙。 同样，具有较高海拔的夏季范围（延迟植物生长开始）的个体也延迟迁移。 我们的分析强调，马鹿迁徙的时间是由影响景观中觅食条件的多种驱动因素决定的，这表明马鹿具有相当大的表型可塑性。
Tilde Katrina Slotte Hjermann; Inger Maren Rivrud; Erling L. Meisingset;Atle Mysterud. Multiple drivers of spring migration timing for red deer over the past 16 years in northern Europe[J]. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 2025,292(2038)