Altitudinal Migration Patterns in Avian Species
Summary
Altitudinal migration describes the seasonal movement of birds up and down mountain slopes in response to changes in climate, food availability and breeding requirements. Unlike long-distance latitudinal migrations, many species undertake relatively short vertical shifts that can span hundreds or thousands of metres. These movements influence community assembly, interspecific interactions and ecosystem function by connecting habitats at different elevations. Drivers of altitudinal migration include fluctuations in temperature, precipitation and resource phenology, while phylogenetic history and dietary preferences shape which species migrate and the direction of their movements. Understanding these patterns is critical for conserving mountain biodiversity under climate change, as warming may disrupt the ecological connectivity that enables birds to track favourable conditions through the year.
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Altitudinal Migration Patterns in Avian Species publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in altitudinal migration patterns in avian species across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Altitudinal migration: Seasonal vertical movement of birds between high and low elevations in mountainous terrain.
Elevational gradient: A continuous slope or change in altitude used to study how ecological variables vary with elevation.
Ecological connectivity: The degree to which landscapes facilitate movement of organisms and the flow of ecological processes across habitats.
Phylogenetic logistic regression: A statistical approach that accounts for shared evolutionary history when modelling binary ecological outcomes.
References
- Citizen science data reveal altitudinal movement and seasonal ecosystem use by hummingbirds in the Andes Mountains. Ecography (2023).
- Seasonal variation in community composition and distributional ranges of birds along a subtropical elevation gradient in China. Diversity and Distributions (2021).
- Evolution of altitudinal migration in passerines is linked to diet. Ecology and Evolution (2020).
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