For herbivores, plant phenology is a primary factor that shapes the resource landscape ( Aikens et al., 2017). One of the key functions of seasonal migration is to facilitate access to optimal foraging habitats ( Aikens et al., 2017 Avgar et al., 2015 Schindler et al., 2013), thus enabling the acquisition of energy and nutrients that are critical for survival, growth, and reproduction ( Barboza & Parker, 2008 Ben-David, 1997 Monteith et al., 2014).
#Songbird academy chicago driver#
Spatially heterogeneous and temporally dynamic resource distribution is a critical driver of species movement patterns ( Fagan et al., 2013), which serve to maximize resource acquisition ( Albon & Langvatn, 1992 Deacy et al., 2018 Middleton et al., 2018). Migration-or seasonal movement behavior-is an important ecological process ( Fryxell & Sinclair, 1988) widely found in both terrestrial and marine systems ( Avgar et al., 2014 Bailey et al., 2009). These novel insights into giant panda foraging and movement ecology not only enhance our understanding of its ability to adapt to nutritionally poor dietary resources but also provide important information for the development of resource utilization-based protection and management strategies. Our results indicated that pandas utilize spatial memory to locate reliable food resources, as evidenced by their annual return to the same or similar winter and summer home ranges and the consistently maintained percentage of home range overlap. Our results revealed a compelling pattern of seasonal migrations that facilitated the ability of the pandas to forage at the appropriate time and place to maximize nutritional intake. Here, we used GPS tracking collars to monitor the movements of six giant pandas over a 12-year period across different elevations, and performed statistical analysis of seasonal migration directions, routes, habitat revisitation, home range overlap, first arrival events, and stability.
The conservation-dependent giant panda ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca) displays seasonal movement patterns however, the key factor driving these seasonal migration patterns remains poorly understood. Seasonally mediated resource fluctuations may influence animal movements, enabling them to track changing resource distributions, resulting in annual migration patterns.
A critical function of animal movement is to maximize access to essential resources in temporally fluctuating and spatially heterogeneous environments.
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