Daily movements of the Common Crane (Grus grus) during the premigration period

In the premigration period, weather plays a role in the ability of animals to accumulate energy stores before the onset of migration, affecting survival. In the context of rapidly changing climate, our goal was to study the effect of short-term weather conditions on the Common Crane (Grus grus) movement in the premigration period. We analyzed the daily distances and the maximum displacements using GPS telemetry data. We studied the relationship between weather conditions (average daily temperature, daily precipitation, and wind speed), age, the presence of offspring, and crane daily movements. The study was conducted at premigration staging areas in the European part of Russia. We found no differences in daily movement distance between adults with and without chicks and subadult individuals. A positive relationship between daily distances and maximum displacements and wind speed, and a negative relationship with average daily temperature and precipitation was observed. The influence of weather conditions on movement patterns can further affect the quality of migration in the rapidly changing climate.

Automated summary

This study aimed to investigate the impact of short-term weather conditions on the movement of Common Crane during the premigration period, and found that temperature, precipitation, and wind speed have significant effects on their daily distances and maximum displacements.