Meeting Abstract

S6.1  Tuesday, Jan. 5  Integrative migration biology: Past, present and an exciting future BOWLIN, MS*; BISSON, I-A; WIKELSKI, M; Lund University; Princeton University; Max Planck Institute for Ornithology melissabowlin@gmail.com

Billions of animals migrate each year and can have enormous effects on the communities and ecosystems they inhabit. To migrate successfully, organisms must integrate many different aspects of genetics, physiology, biomechanics, behavior, and the environment. The phenomenon of migration therefore represents an excellent system in which to study the interplay between these different levels of analysis. However, research on migration has often tended to focus on one narrow aspect of migratory behavior or physiology, largely due to methodological constraints. Integrative migration biology, an emerging discipline, takes aim at the ‘big questions’ in the field such as how and why migration evolves, how migratory populations are regulated, and how environmental change will affect migrants by attempting (1) to examine migration from several different ecological and evolutionary perspectives, (2) to use new technology to measure physiology and behavior in the field, and/or (3) to understand migration within the context of the annual cycle. Ultimately, practicing integrative migration biology will result in a better understanding of costly life history strategies such as migration as well as an increased ability to conserve migrants and the various habitats they depend on.