| Literature DB >> 24832806 |
Abstract
Using an 18-year dataset of arrival dates of 65 species of Maine migratory breeding birds, I take a deeper view of the data to ask questions about the shapes of the distribution. For each year, most species show a consistent right-skewed pattern of distribution, suggesting that selection is stronger against individuals that arrive too early compared to those that arrive later. Distributions are consistently leptokurtic, indicating a narrow window of optimal arrival dates. Species that arrive earlier in the spring show higher skewness and kurtosis values. Nectarivorous species showed more pronounced skewness. Wintering area did not explain patterns of skewness or kurtosis. Deviations from average temperatures and the North Atlantic Oscillation index explained little variation in skewness and kurtosis. When arrival date distributions are broken down into different medians (e.g., 5% median and 75% median), stronger correlations emerge for portions of the distribution that are adjacent, suggesting species fine-tune the progress of their migration. Interspecific correlations for birds arriving around the same time are stronger for earliest migrants (the 25% median) compared to the true median and the 75% median.Entities:
Year: 2013 PMID: 24832806 PMCID: PMC3960881 DOI: 10.3390/biology2020742
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Biology (Basel) ISSN: 2079-7737
Figure 1Map of Biophysical Regions of Maine, based on [22]. Map from the Maine Office of Geographic Information Systems (MEGIS).
Foraging types, skewness, kurtosis and major migration period of the 65 species used in this study. The skewness and kurtosis values are the mean of the 18 yearly values. An asterisk after particular skewness or kurtosis values indicates that the value is significantly different from zero in Wilcoxon rank tests using the Bonferroni correction to insure an experiment-wise p-value of 0.05.
| Species | Foraging Type | Skewness | Kurtosis | Migration Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ring-necked Duck ( | Aquatic | 0.240 | 3.354 * | April |
| Great Blue Heron ( | Aquatic | 0.620 * | 4.667 * | April |
| Turkey Vulture ( | Scavenger | 0.509 * | 3.757 * | March/April |
| Osprey ( | Raptor | 0.699 * | 4.687 * | April |
| Broad-winged Hawk ( | Raptor | −0.390 | 4.249 * | April |
| American Kestrel ( | Raptor | 0.449 * | 4.001 * | April |
| Killdeer ( | Ground predator | 0.873 * | 4.392 * | March/April |
| Spotted Sandpiper ( | Ground predator | 0.161 | 2.965 * | May |
| Wilson's Snipe ( | Ground predator | 0.476 * | 2.861 * | April |
| American Woodcock ( | Ground predator | 1.231 * | 5.490 * | March/April |
| Chimney Swift ( | Aerial | 0.523 | 3.863 * | May |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird ( | Nectarivore | 0.108 | 6.901 * | May |
| Belted Kingfisher ( | Aquatic | −0.636 | 5.357 * | April |
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker ( | Scansorial | 1.479 * | 3.578 * | April |
| Northern Flicker ( | Scansorial | −0.783 | 7.253 * | April |
| Eastern Wood-Pewee ( | Aerial | −0.729 | 6.373 * | May |
| Least Flycatcher ( | Aerial | 0.283 | 3.745 * | May |
| Eastern Phoebe ( | Aerial | 1.907 * | 5.463 * | March/April |
| Great Crested Flycatcher ( | Aerial | 0.582 | 4.525 * | May |
| Eastern Kingbird ( | Aerial | −0.518 | 6.045 * | May |
| Blue-headed Vireo ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.478 | 3.832 * | April/May |
| Warbling Vireo ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.533 * | 2.883 * | May |
| Red-eyed Vireo ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.335 | 5.247 * | May |
| Tree Swallow ( | Aerial | 0.945 * | 4.166 * | April |
| Barn Swallow ( | Aerial | 0.173 | 3.037 * | May |
| House Wren ( | Ground predator | 0.277 | 3.239 * | May |
| Winter Wren ( | Ground predator | 0.627* | 2.792* | April |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.454 | 3.725 * | April/May |
| Eastern Bluebird ( | Ground predator | 0.225 | 3.708 * | April |
| Veery ( | Ground predator | −0.181 | 3.808 * | May |
| Hermit Thrush ( | Ground predator | 0.301 | 4.693 * | May |
| Wood Thrush ( | Ground predator | 0.175 | 3.891 * | May |
| Gray Catbird ( | Ground predator | −0.637 | 8.439 * | May |
| Brown Thrasher ( | Ground predator | 0.217 | 3.579 * | May |
| Ovenbird ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.216 | 5.452 * | May |
| Northern Waterthrush ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.367 | 3.585 * | May |
| Black-and-white Warbler ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.653 | 3.838 * | April/May |
| Nashville Warbler ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.804 * | 4.546 * | May |
| Common Yellowthroat ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.928 * | 5.056 * | May |
| American Redstart ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.448 | 5.434 * | May |
| Northern Parula ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.098 | 5.056 * | May |
| Magnolia Warbler ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.262 | 3.562 * | May |
| Blackburnian Warbler ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.628 | 4.514 * | May |
| Yellow Warbler ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.470 | 4.187 * | May |
| Chestnut-sided Warbler | Leaf-gleaner | 0.629 | 4.823 * | May |
| Black-throated Blue Warbler ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.652 * | 3.838 * | May |
| Palm Warbler ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.579 | 3.824 * | April |
| Pine Warbler( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.651 | 4.208 * | April |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler ( | Leaf-gleaner | −0.835 | 8.506 * | April/May |
| Black-throated Green Warbler ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.667 * | 4.061 * | May |
| Canada Warbler ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.320 | 3.429 * | May |
| Chipping Sparrow ( | Granivore | −0.254 | 4.446 * | April |
| Savannah Sparrow ( | Granivore | 0.014 | 3.676 * | April |
| Song Sparrow ( | Granivore | −0.792 | 8.560 * | Mar/April |
| Swamp Sparrow ( | Granivore | 0.094 | 3.426 * | April |
| White-throated Sparrow ( | Granivore | −1.986 * | 7.842 * | April |
| Scarlet Tanager ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.651 * | 3.746 * | May |
| Rose-breasted Grosbeak ( | Granivore | 0.764 | 6.092 * | May |
| Indigo Bunting ( | Granivore | 0.157 | 3.026 * | May |
| Bobolink ( | Ground predator | 0.605 | 7.210 * | May |
| Red-winged Blackbird ( | Ground predator | 1.483 * | 6.222 * | Mar |
| Eastern Meadowlark ( | Ground predator | 1.992 | 2.583 * | April |
| Common Grackle ( | Ground predator | 1.426 * | 7.179 * | Mar |
| Baltimore Oriole ( | Leaf-gleaner | 0.010 | 7.857 * | May |
Figure 2Distribution of first arrival dates for American Woodcock for 1994. The distribution is right-skewed with some leptokurtosis (more pronounced peak and thinner tails than seen in a normal distribution).
Relationship of foraging type on kurtosis. A Kruskal-Wallis rank test indicated significant differences among feeding types.
| Foraging type | Skewness | Kurtosis |
|---|---|---|
| Aerial insectivore | 0.38 | 4.65 |
| Aquatic feeder | 0.35 | 3.09 |
| Gleaner | 0.45 | 4.59 |
| Granivore | 0.32 | 5.48 |
| Ground predator | 0.31 | 4.41 |
| Nectarivore | 0.06 | 7.38 |
| Piscivore | 0.22 | 4.13 |
| Raptor | 0.03 | 4.90 |
| Scansorial predator | 0.35 | 5.42 |
| Scavenger | 0.51 | 3.76 |
The relationship of migration period on skewness and kurtosis. Means are provided. Migration period had significant effects on both measurements in Kruskal-Wallis rank tests.
| Migration period | Skewness | Kurtosis |
|---|---|---|
| March | 1.45 | 6.73 |
| March/April | 0.57 | 4.65 |
| April | 0.26 | 4.38 |
| April/May | 0.24 | 4.57 |
| May | −0.29 | 4.83 |
Figure 3Box plots showing the percentage of interspecific significant correlations (p < 0.05) using the 25% median, 50% median and 75% median. Data for March are not presented because only two species arrive then (Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle). The box plot for April–May is based on only six species, accounting for its collapsed appearance.
March–April (10 species)
| 5% | 10% | 25% | 50% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 100 | |||
| 25% | 50 | 80 | ||
| 50% | 20 | 50 | 10 | |
| 75% | 20 | 30 | 40 | 100 |
April (16 species)
| 5% | 10% | 25% | 50% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 88 | |||
| 25% | 38 | 81 | ||
| 50% | 25% | 43 | 88 | |
| 75% | 25 | 31 | 44 | 69 |
April–May (6 species)
| 5% | 10% | 25% | 50% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 83 | |||
| 25% | 50 | 67 | ||
| 50% | 17 | 17 | 83 | |
| 75% | 0 | 0 | 17 | 67 |
May (31 species)
| 5% | 10% | 25% | 50% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 87 | |||
| 25% | 58 | 84 | ||
| 50% | 26 | 55 | 77 | |
| 75% | 6 | 16 | 32 | 94 |