April 2021

Icelandic whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus islandicus) migrate seasonally between the breeding grounds in Iceland, and a wintering location in a temperate, arid or tropical region.

Individuals migrating longer distances spend the winter at sites where their energetic balance is more positive, due to a higher daily energetic intake rate and lower thermoregulatory costs. However, despite clear differences in energetic balance achieved at different wintering sites, whimbrels do not show carry-over effects to breeding phenology, which is related to breeding success, or to breeding investment.

Photo by Camilo Carneiro. Full gold open access paper here

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