干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The estimation of fuel load and the potential flight ranges of migrant birds are crucial to understanding the ecological and evolutionary signilicance of bird migration strategies. The movement of migrant birds between Iberia and the rest of Western Europe is thought to be shaped by the Pyrenees and nearby seas. Because of this area’s unique geography, the routes of migrants that move to (autumn migration) or from (spring migration) Iberia tend to pass through the western and eastern edges of the Pyrenees. Fuel-load analyses and the assessment of potential flight ranges from these edges can provide insights about the extent of lberia’s use as a consistent stopover and fuelling area. Using data obtained over a period of six years (2004-2009), we calculated fuel load and potential flight ranges for ten common passerines (pre-Saharan, i.e. that overwinter mainly within the circum-Mediterranean region: Robin Erithacus rubecula, Bluethroat Luscinia svecica, Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita, Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla; sub-Saharan, i.e. that overwinter in tropical Africa: Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus, Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta, Willow Warbler Phyllosco pus trochilus, Garden Warbler Sylvia born, Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis that stopover at Txingudi marshlands, at the western edge of the Pyrenees. The fuel load for the 25% heaviest fraction of caught birds ranged from 10.6% over lean body mass to 25.5% (mean: 18.3%) in spring and from 6.7% to 39.7% (mean: 25.2%) in autumn. Thus, potential flight ranges tended to be longer during autumn than during spring, particularly for the sub-Saharan species. All pre-Saharan species except one (Bluethroat) had sufficient fuel to arrive in southern Iberia or northern Aftica, and three sub-Saharan species (Sedge Warbler, Garden Warbler, Common Whitethroat) had sufficient fuel to reach the north of the Sahara Desert but not its southern border. The potential flight ranges in spring were rather similar among species (ca. 1000 km from Txingudi).