Migratory birds accumulate experience and improve their behavior

A new study shows that migrating animals improve their behavior as they age, suggesting that experiential learning is an important part of successful migration. The researchers said in the study, which was published on March 4 in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,” that genetics and social behavior are important factors in shaping animal migration, but information gained through the individual experience of the animal also seems to help. In shaping migration movements.

Migratory species mean those that travel every year to reproduce and search for food, crossing seas and continents, sometimes traveling thousands of miles. Migratory species play a key role in maintaining global ecosystems, often participating in pollinating plants, transporting essential nutrients, preying on pests, and helping to store carbon.

Spatial memory of birds

Study participant Ellen Aikins - an assistant professor in the College of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming - explains that migratory species - especially birds - are able to practice true navigation, which is defined as the ability to return to a known destination after moving to an unknown place without relying on Familiar surroundings, signals originating from destinations, or information collected during trips away from habitats.

Aikins added in an interview with Al Jazeera Net that birds gain more experience with the length of their travels and their advanced age, which prevents them at an advanced stage of life from exploring new places, and then they resort to relying on previous experiences from their trips to choose shorter routes to reach habitats or places. Food and reproduction.

The researcher points out that the rapid movement of these creatures leads to the expenditure of more energy during the migration journey, which is the main reason that prompts them to form what is known as spatial memory acquired from repeated trips to help them cross the road in a shorter time during spring migrations.

Advanced tracking technology

The study included technically advanced tracking of more than 250 white storks spread across five breeding areas in southern Germany and Austria between 2013 and 2020. The tracking data collected by the researchers not only determined the migratory routes of storks, but also measured the timing and pace of individual storks' migration as well as estimated the amount of energy used during flight.

The team found that while young storks take their time exploring new places during migration, their migrations become faster as they age.

The researchers say individual storks gradually straightened their migration paths to find more direct routes to travel between destinations during their spring migration to summer breeding and nesting areas, and these findings could have implications for a variety of other species of migratory animals, according to the accompanying press release . To study.

The research team points out that although information is largely ignored as a currency that shapes migration behavior, obtaining information and using it to gradually improve migration behavior through learning can play an important role in saving energy and time.