Drivers of animal migration and implications in changing environments

• Published in: Evolutionary ecology Vol. 30; no. 6; pp. 991 - 1007
• Main Author: Shaw, Allison K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2016; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal behavior; Animal Ecology; Animal migration; Automobile drivers; Behavior; Biomedical and Life Sciences; climate; Climate change; Ecology; Ecosystems; Environmental changes; Environmental conditions; environmental factors; Evolutionary Biology; Habitats; Life Sciences; migratory behavior; Migratory species; Ocean currents; Plant Sciences; prediction; Climate change; El Niño-Southern Oscillation index; Life history; Movement ecology; Partial migration; Migration; Evolution
• ISSN: 0269-7653; 1573-8477
• DOI: 10.1007/s10682-016-9860-5

Migratory species are widespread in terrestrial, aquatic and aerial environments, and are important both ecologically and economically. Since migration is an adaptive response to particular conditions, environmental changes (climate or otherwise) will potentially alter the selective pressures on movement behavior. Such changes may also interfere with, or disrupt, a species’ ability to migrate. In either case, environmental changes could lead to the reduction or total loss of a migration, yet we have little understanding of when to expect these outcomes to occur. Here, I argue that an understanding of both the proximate and ultimate drivers of migration is needed if we are to predict the fate of migrations under changing environmental conditions. I review what is currently known about the drivers of animal migration, but show that we also need a more complete synthesis of migratory patterns across diverse ecosystems and taxonomic groups. The current understanding of migration indicates that (1) drivers of migration vary across species and ecosystems, and (2) a species’ ability to adapt to environmental change successfully depends in part on its migration drivers. Together, these findings suggest a way forward for studying and generating predictions of how changing environmental conditions will differentially impact species by taxonomic group and geographic region of the world.