Moving away from home: Early life movements and space use in juvenile Montagu’s Harriers (Circus pygargus) from central Italy
Assessing individual differences and variability in animal movement patterns is essential to improve our understanding of the evolution and ontogeny of migratory strategies. In long-distance migratory species, fledged juveniles often rely on an extremely restricted time span to learn the essential s...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Avian Research |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716625000180 |
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| author | Giampiero Sammuri Guido Alari Esposito Giuseppe Anselmi Francesco Pezzo Vincenzo Rizzo Pinna Andrea Sforzi Flavio Monti |
| author_facet | Giampiero Sammuri Guido Alari Esposito Giuseppe Anselmi Francesco Pezzo Vincenzo Rizzo Pinna Andrea Sforzi Flavio Monti |
| author_sort | Giampiero Sammuri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Assessing individual differences and variability in animal movement patterns is essential to improve our understanding of the evolution and ontogeny of migratory strategies. In long-distance migratory species, fledged juveniles often rely on an extremely restricted time span to learn the essential skills for survival and to prepare for migration, possibly the most risky phase of their lives. Collecting detailed information on the dynamics of the movements during the crucial pre-migratory phase is hence essential to understand the solutions developed by migratory species in different environmental contexts. Here, we used high-resolution GPS/GSM transmitters to collect information on the movement ecology of seven juvenile Montagu's Harriers (Circus pygargus) born in central Italy, investigating their early life stages, namely the post-fledging dependence period (PFDP) and the pre-migratory phase (PMP), until autumn migration. After fledging, individuals showed high variability (both in space and time) in home range size, daily distances covered (6.88 ± 11.44 km/day), distance from the nest (1.45 ± 2.8 km) and PFDP length (23.3 ± 5.3 days). Residence time at the natal site significantly decreased, while time interval between revists in the natal area significantly increased, as the PFDP progressed. During the PMP, explored areas and distance from the nest (max value up to 320.8 km) varied among individuals, despite daily distances covered (27 ± 40 km/day) and time allocation between traveling (60.7%) and foraging (39.3%) were similar across individuals. The PMP lasted 38 ± 14 days. Land cover composition of foraging locations was mostly represented by agricultural lands (∼78.2%), though habitat use differed among individuals. More than 76% of such locations were outside protected areas. This individual-based tracking study represents a novel approach that improves previous knowledge based on field studies on the early life stages of the Montagu's Harrier. High inter-individual variability in movement patterns, broad-range exploratory movements and foraging locations outside the protected area network make the application of standard conservation measures difficult, raising concerns about the long-term preservation of this vulnerable migratory species in Italy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-56ef66c6e1b8476388f77b85df29bb3b |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2053-7166 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
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| series | Avian Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-56ef66c6e1b8476388f77b85df29bb3b2025-08-20T03:14:19ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Avian Research2053-71662025-06-0116210023910.1016/j.avrs.2025.100239Moving away from home: Early life movements and space use in juvenile Montagu’s Harriers (Circus pygargus) from central ItalyGiampiero Sammuri0Guido Alari Esposito1Giuseppe Anselmi2Francesco Pezzo3Vincenzo Rizzo Pinna4Andrea Sforzi5Flavio Monti6Tuscan Archipelago National Park, Locality Enfola, 57037, Portoferraio, ItalyMaremma Natural History Museum, Strada Corsini 5, 58100, Grosseto, ItalyAlcedo APS, Via Don Minzoni 30, 58100, Grosseto, ItalyItalian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Via Ca’ Fornacetta 9, Ozzano dell’Emilia, 40064, ItalyMaremma Natural History Museum, Strada Corsini 5, 58100, Grosseto, ItalyMaremma Natural History Museum, Strada Corsini 5, 58100, Grosseto, ItalyInstitute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council (CNR), Campus Ecotekne, 73100, Lecce, Italy; Corresponding author.Assessing individual differences and variability in animal movement patterns is essential to improve our understanding of the evolution and ontogeny of migratory strategies. In long-distance migratory species, fledged juveniles often rely on an extremely restricted time span to learn the essential skills for survival and to prepare for migration, possibly the most risky phase of their lives. Collecting detailed information on the dynamics of the movements during the crucial pre-migratory phase is hence essential to understand the solutions developed by migratory species in different environmental contexts. Here, we used high-resolution GPS/GSM transmitters to collect information on the movement ecology of seven juvenile Montagu's Harriers (Circus pygargus) born in central Italy, investigating their early life stages, namely the post-fledging dependence period (PFDP) and the pre-migratory phase (PMP), until autumn migration. After fledging, individuals showed high variability (both in space and time) in home range size, daily distances covered (6.88 ± 11.44 km/day), distance from the nest (1.45 ± 2.8 km) and PFDP length (23.3 ± 5.3 days). Residence time at the natal site significantly decreased, while time interval between revists in the natal area significantly increased, as the PFDP progressed. During the PMP, explored areas and distance from the nest (max value up to 320.8 km) varied among individuals, despite daily distances covered (27 ± 40 km/day) and time allocation between traveling (60.7%) and foraging (39.3%) were similar across individuals. The PMP lasted 38 ± 14 days. Land cover composition of foraging locations was mostly represented by agricultural lands (∼78.2%), though habitat use differed among individuals. More than 76% of such locations were outside protected areas. This individual-based tracking study represents a novel approach that improves previous knowledge based on field studies on the early life stages of the Montagu's Harrier. High inter-individual variability in movement patterns, broad-range exploratory movements and foraging locations outside the protected area network make the application of standard conservation measures difficult, raising concerns about the long-term preservation of this vulnerable migratory species in Italy.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716625000180DispersalHabitat useMigrationPost-fledging dependence periodProtected areasRaptor |
| spellingShingle | Giampiero Sammuri Guido Alari Esposito Giuseppe Anselmi Francesco Pezzo Vincenzo Rizzo Pinna Andrea Sforzi Flavio Monti Moving away from home: Early life movements and space use in juvenile Montagu’s Harriers (Circus pygargus) from central Italy Avian Research Dispersal Habitat use Migration Post-fledging dependence period Protected areas Raptor |
| title | Moving away from home: Early life movements and space use in juvenile Montagu’s Harriers (Circus pygargus) from central Italy |
| title_full | Moving away from home: Early life movements and space use in juvenile Montagu’s Harriers (Circus pygargus) from central Italy |
| title_fullStr | Moving away from home: Early life movements and space use in juvenile Montagu’s Harriers (Circus pygargus) from central Italy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moving away from home: Early life movements and space use in juvenile Montagu’s Harriers (Circus pygargus) from central Italy |
| title_short | Moving away from home: Early life movements and space use in juvenile Montagu’s Harriers (Circus pygargus) from central Italy |
| title_sort | moving away from home early life movements and space use in juvenile montagu s harriers circus pygargus from central italy |
| topic | Dispersal Habitat use Migration Post-fledging dependence period Protected areas Raptor |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716625000180 |
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