Avian migration timing advances linked to season-dependent population benefits
Jin Liu · Wenjing Xu · Richard A. Fuller · Thomas Mueller · Qi Yang · Shaopeng Wang
期刊Nature Ecology & Evolution / Nat Ecol Evol
类型Article
发表2026-10-02 (online)
收录2026-10-10
被浏览…
关键词bird migration timingclimate changepopulation trendspre-breeding migrationpost-breeding migrationbody sizepopulation declinemigratory species conservationphenological shifts
标签—
While migratory species can adjust their migration timing in response to climate change, it remains unclear whether these shifts can insulate them from population decline. Here we compiled a global database pairing 4,351 population-level estimates of migration timing across 549 avian species with corresponding population trends and rates of climate change at breeding and non-breeding grounds, coupled with a full-annual-cycle theoretical model. Building on evidence for an accelerating advancement in bird migration over the past century (cumulatively advanced 13.86 days from 1970 to 2019), we show that rapidly advancing migration is beneficial for bird abundance during pre-breeding migration but detrimental during post-breeding migration. The net demographic benefit depends on pre-breeding advancement outpacing that during post-breeding migration. This benefit is more pronounced in large-bodied species. Our findings highlight that population benefits of rapidly shifted migratory behaviour are season dependent, underscoring the importance of full-annual-cycle perspectives for understanding and conserving migratory species under global change. Analysing a global database of migration timing for 549 bird species together with a full annual cycle theoretical model, the authors show that migration has advanced by >13 days since 1970 and that this has been beneficial in terms of abundance only in the pre-breeding migratory period.

@article{liu2026,
author = {Jin Liu and Wenjing Xu and Richard A. Fuller and Thomas Mueller and Qi Yang and Shaopeng Wang},
title = {Avian migration timing advances linked to season-dependent population benefits},
journal = {Nature Ecology \& Evolution},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1038/s41559-026-03198-9},
publisher = {Springer Science and Business Media LLC},
}· END ·