Meeting Abstract

P3.10  Friday, Jan. 6  Pre migratory activity in free living migratory and sedentary European blackbirds Turdus merula FUDICKAR, A. M.*; PARTECKE, J.; Max Planck Institute for Ornithology; Max Planck Institute for Ornithology afudickar@orn.mpg.de

Seasonal migration by songbirds is accomplished by the integration of a suite of highly specialized physiological and behavioral traits. A common behavior among migratory songbirds includes a transition from diurnal to nocturnal activity around the time of migration. Partial migration, when only a fraction of a breeding population is migratory, is an intermediate stage between obligate migratory and sedentary life histories. Thus, the occurrence of both migratory and sedentary individuals breeding in the same population provides researchers with a model system to study the evolution of migration. Using automated radio telemetry we compared the pre migratory activity of migratory and sedentary free living European blackbirds Turdus merula in a single breeding population in southwestern Germany. By comparing the seasonal transitions of migratory and sedentary individuals, we hope to provide insight into the physiological and behavioral transitions adaptive to a migratory life history.