Ecology of Intercontinental Avian Migrants

长距离迁徙是许多动物生活史中不可或缺的一部分，包括超过一半的北美地鸟。与迁徙相关的死亡率很高，一岁以下的迁徙比成年个体的死亡率更高。这项研究项目比较了一岁的和成年的新热带土鸟候鸟的行为生态，并研究了年龄对候鸟如何满足迁徙的能源需求的影响。当鸟类必须跨越地理障碍时，与长途迁徙相关的许多适应是至关重要的。因此，研究新热带土鸟迁徙的停留生态学的最佳地点和时间是在它们穿越墨西哥湾之前或之后。墨西哥湾北部沿岸的研究地点为研究迁徙物种提供了一个独特的机会。生境丧失是与全球环境变化相关的最严重的生态问题之一。这些大规模影响的程度和时间可能会产生重大的生态影响，除非人们能够评估物种生命周期的每个阶段，否则很难衡量这些影响。摩尔博士对关键中途停留阶段的研究为更高级别的生态动力学的物种层面效应提供了新的见解。新热带土鸟候鸟数量的减少是一个严重的保护问题；这与越冬地栖息地的丧失和森林繁殖栖息地的碎片化有关。移民人口的状况还受到是否有合适的中途停留栖息地以及移民对途中事件的反应的影响。因此，在对种群变化的任何分析和为新热带土鸟候鸟制定全面的保护“战略”时，必须考虑与候鸟的中途停留生物学有关的因素。目前的研究项目结合了观察和实验研究，以比较一岁鸟和成年鸟的中途停留生物学，并应对保护新热带土鸟迁徙做出可衡量的贡献。

Long-distance migration is an integral part of the life history of many animals, including over half of all North American landbirds. The mortality associated with migration is substantial, and yearling migrants suffer greater mortality than adult individuals. This research project compares the behavioral ecology of yearling and adult Neotropical landbird migrants and examines the consequences of age in relation to how migrants meet the energy demands of migration. Many of the adaptations that have evolved in association with long-distance migration are critical when birds must cross geographic barriers. Hence, the best place and time to study the stopover ecology of Neotropical landbird migrants is immediately before or after they cross the Gulf of Mexico. Study sites along the northern Gulf coast provide a unique opportunity to work with populations of migratory species. Habitat loss is one of the most critical ecological problems associated with global environmental change. The degree and timing of these large-scale effects can have significant ecological repercussions that are hard to measure unless one can assess each stage of a species' life cycle. Dr Moore's research into the critical stopover stage promises new insight into species-level effects of higher-order ecological dynamics. Decline in populations of Neotropical landbird migrants is a serious conservation problem; one linked to habitat loss on the wintering grounds and fragmentation of forested breeding habitat. The status of migrant populations is also affected by the availability of suitable stopover habitat and the response of migrants to en route events. Consequently, factors associated with the stopover biology of migrants must figure in any analysis of population change and in the development of a comprehensive conservation "strategy" for Neotropical landbird migrants. The current research project combines observational and experimental studies to compare stopover biology of yearling and adult birds and should contribute measurably to the conservation of Neotropical landbird migrants.