migration

migration
migrational, adj.
/muy gray"sheuhn/, n.
1. the process or act of migrating.
2. a migratory movement: preparations for the migration.
3. a number or body of persons or animals migrating together.
4. Chem. a movement or change of position of atoms within a molecule.
5. Physics. diffusion (def. 3a).
[1605-15; < L migration- (s. of migratio). See MIGRATE, -ION]

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animal
Introduction

      in ethology, the regular, usually seasonal, movement of all or part of an animal population to and from a given area. Familiar migrants include many birds; hoofed animals, especially in East Africa and in the Arctic tundra; bats; whales and porpoises; seals; and fishes, such as salmon.

      Migration can be contrasted with emigration, which involves a change in location not necessarily followed by a return journey; invasion or interruption, both of which involve the appearance and subsequent disappearance of great numbers of animals at irregular times and locations; and range expansion, which tends to enlarge the distribution of a species, particularly its breeding area.

      The migration cycle is often annual and thus closely linked with the cyclic pattern of the seasons. The migration of most birds and mammals and many of the fishes are on a yearly cycle. In many cases (e.g., salmon and eels) animals with a relatively long life-span return to the place of birth in order to reproduce and eventually die. In other cases, as in certain invertebrates, where the animal has a relatively brief life-span and reproduces rapidly, migrations may not occur in every generation. The daily movements of certain fishes and invertebrates have also been called migrations because of their regular occurrence. This type of movement, however, is not to be confused with migration in the strict sense.

      Most migrations involve horizontal travel. The distance traversed may be a few miles or several thousands of miles.

      Some migrations take a vertical direction and involve no appreciable horizontal movement. Certain aquatic animals, for example, move from deep water to the surface according to the season. Certain birds, mammals, and insects migrate altitudinally in mountainous areas, going from the upper zones, where they breed, to the foothills or plains during seasons when the weather is severe and unfavourable. Such vertical travels involve essentially the same type of environmental change as horizontal, or latitudinal, migrations over long distances.

Survey of migratory behaviour in animals

Lower invertebrates (invertebrate)
      Many marine invertebrates travel considerable distances during certain seasons. A large proportion of them, however—particularly planktonic (plankton) organisms, plant and animal aquatic drifters—do not travel deliberately but are carried by ocean currents. Planktonic organisms also travel vertically in a daily rhythm. Very small or microscopic animals remain at great depths during the day and rise at dusk, concentrating in the upper layers of water during the night. Their predators, particularly fishes, follow them in their cycle. The daily activity of pelagic birds (those living on the open sea), such as petrels and shearwaters, which feed on planktonic crustaceans and squids, follows this same rhythm.

      A seasonal change of habitat, analogous to migration, is made by some Polychaeta (polychaete) (sandworms). Along the coast of Europe, clam worms (rag worm) (Nereis) live during the colder months in rock crevices and among algae. During the summer, however, they become planktonic and swim out some distance from the coast, where reproduction occurs. In the South Pacific, near Samoa and Fiji, the palolo worm (Palola siciliensis) lives among coral reefs, where it develops posterior segments filled with genital (reproductive) cells. These are cast off, and the worm rises to the surface. The phenomenon occurs regularly on the first day of the last quarter of the October–November moon.

      Some of the best-known migrations among the invertebrates occur in crustaceans (crustacean) during the reproductive period, when some of them travel as far as 240 kilometres (150 miles). Generally in the crabs (crab), females move into shallow coastal waters to mate and to lay their eggs. After the eggs have been laid, the females return to deep water.

      Some fresh water crabs, such as the Chinese crab (Eriocheir sinensis), after remaining for three to five years in fresh water, migrate to brackish water, where mating occurs. Females with eggs externally attached then travel to the sea and remain a few miles offshore for several months during winter. The following spring they enter shallower water near the shore. Here the eggs hatch. Young crabs spend a year in brackish water and migrate upstream the following spring, settling in fresh water and growing to maturity.

      Some crabs, such as robber crabs (robber crab) (Birgus) and land crabs (land crab) of tropical regions (Geocarcinus), have adapted to life on land. They migrate to the sea to reproduce and then return inland and are followed at a later time by the young.

Insects (insect)
      Migration among the insects is best known in locusts (locust) and butterflies; (butterfly) a great number of other insects, however, including some of the smallest, are migrants. Broadly speaking, insect migration is of three types—some insects emigrate on one-way journeys to breed; others migrate from a breeding area to a feeding area; still others migrate from breeding areas to hibernation sites.

      In the first type, adults with a life-span limited to a single season emigrate from their breeding site, deposit their eggs, and die. Such migratory flights can be very short or very long but, because they are always one-way journeys, cannot be regarded as migration in its strictest sense. The best-known examples of such flights are those of locusts, particularly the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), a species found in tropical and subtropical countries of the Old World. The migratory, gregarious form arises from the solitary form as a result of various conditions—e.g., lack of food, crowding.

      The desert locusts breed only when and where seasonal rains permit; as a consequence of climatic conditions, therefore, the insects migrate from one breeding area to another. If the available food decreases and the numbers of insects increase too drastically in a particular area, migratory locusts develop. They differ from nonmigratory forms in colour, structure, behaviour, and physiology. Swarms numbering up to 10,000,000,000 individuals periodically invade territories in Africa, southwestern Asia, and southern Europe, covering areas as large as 1,000 square kilometres (400 square miles).

      Other migrant insects travel beyond the limits of their breeding range and either die or return to the breeding range. The painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui) “migrates” in the spring, when its population becomes too large for local conditions, from the peninsula of Lower California in Mexico to the Mojave Desert in Southern California. Eggs are laid in the desert region, but the species does not become permanently established there and makes no return flight. Such movements are known in about 250 species of butterflies.

      In the second type of migration—migration in the strict sense—insects migrate from a breeding area to a feeding area. In the feeding area the females develop mature ovaries and then return to lay their eggs in the place from which they came or a similar region.

      Cockchafers (cockchafer) (Melolontha melolontha), a species of beetle, leave the site where they emerge as adults and move to a feeding area, generally in a forested region, where maturation of the eggs takes place. They then return to the area where they developed from eggs and lay their own eggs. This process may be repeated several times during the life of the insect. Although the distances covered by the cockchafer may not be great, the regularity of the phenomenon is characteristic of true migration.

      In the third type of migration, insects travel from their breeding areas to places where they hibernate or estivate—i.e., pass the summer in a dormant state. The place of hibernation or estivation may be outside the zone where climate permits breeding. The following season, they return to the breeding place and lay their eggs. This type of migration, which can involve great distances, is made by insects with unusually long life-spans. The lives of these insects include a diapause, or period of dormancy during which development is suspended.

      In warm countries the coccinellids (ladybird beetle), a family of beetles, and certain moths leave the hot lowlands and migrate to the mountains, where they estivate and later hibernate. In spring they return to the breeding areas.

      One coccinellid, the convergent ladybug (Hippodamia convergens), lives in valley regions of California, where the eggs hatch in March or April and develop into adults one month later. In early summer they migrate to the mountains, particularly to the Sierra Nevada, where they may lay eggs if food is abundant and the weather warm. Generally, however, the adults gather in clusters and remain inactive until October, when rains initiate a period of activity, after which they travel to lower altitudes and hide in forest litter, passing the winter in a state of dormancy. As many as 30,000,000 ladybugs may congregate on a quarter acre. In spring they mate, fly back to the valleys, lay their eggs, and die.

      The flight before diapause of some insect groups may cover thousands of miles. In North America, the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a well-known example of a wide-range migrant with an extensive breeding range. The number of generations varies with the latitude; as many as five generations may occur each year in the south and only one in the north. In summer the insects travel northward to Hudson Bay. Individuals of the last generation of the year migrate southward in autumn to Florida, Texas, and California, where they hibernate after travelling nearly 3,200 kilometres (2,000 miles). They gather in sheltered sites, particularly on trees where they cluster on trunks and big branches. In spring part of the populations migrate back to the northern breeding areas. Some of the returning butterflies are members of the first generation that develops from the overwintered insects; others represent successive generations that develop as the insects progress toward more northern latitudes. The recapture of marked butterflies has revealed that they travel as much as 130 kilometres (80 miles) in one day. The longest distance recorded thus far for the complete flight of a migrant monarch butterfly is 3,010 kilometres (1,870 miles).

      Many species of fish wander annually through a particular area of the ocean. Some are true migrants, travelling regularly over great distances. Young fish usually leave the spawning grounds for areas where they develop into juveniles, before joining the adult stock at the feeding grounds. Adults move to the spawning grounds, then return to the feeding grounds. Migratory patterns of fish are related to oceanographic factors and to currents. Eggs, larvae, and young drift passively with the current, although migration of adult fish toward breeding grounds is usually against the current. Adult movements thus are directional rather than passive, and the fish respond to environmental conditions—e.g., climate.

      Three categories of migratory fishes can be distinguished: oceanodromous, anadromous, and catadromous.

Oceanodromous fish
      Oceanodromous fish, which occur widely throughout the world's oceans, live and migrate wholly in the sea. They differ mainly from one another by the method and extent of their migration.

       herring (Clupea harengus), extensively studied because of their economic importance, are the best known of the oceanodromous type and can be classified into several populations, or local races, which do not mix freely. In addition, each has a particular migratory behaviour. In the North Sea, distinct groups spawn in different seasons and on different grounds: Buchan herring spawn in August and September off the coast of Scotland and migrate to the coast of southwestern Norway; Dogger Bank herring spawn in September and October in the central part of the North Sea and along the English coast and then migrate to the Skagerrak, an arm of the North Sea between Denmark and Norway; Downs herring spawn from November to January off the French coast, mainly between Dunkirk and Fécamp, then feed in summer in the middle and northern parts of the North Sea, sharing the feeding grounds with other populations. The diversity of migration and of reproductive seasons is closely connected with the annual cycle of oceanographic conditions in the North Sea.

       cod (Gadus morhua) have migration patterns similar to those of herring. The migrations of other fish cover even greater distances; in the Atlantic, for example, white tuna (albacore) (Germo alalunga) are found in winter around the Azores and the Canary Islands, where they spawn in spring. They then migrate northward to the Gulf of Gascogne and afterward to the waters around Iceland, arriving there in July. Populations of red tuna (Thunnus thynnus) occur throughout the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic. In May and June they spawn in the western Mediterranean. During summer they spread northward to feed, finally reaching the Arctic Ocean. Similar migrations occur along the North American coast in the Atlantic and throughout the Pacific.

Anadromous fish
      Anadromous fish live in the sea and migrate to fresh water to breed. Their adaptations to conditions of different habitats are precise, particularly with regard to salinity of the water.

       salmon (Salmo, Oncorhynchus) spawn in the cold, clear waters of lakes or upper streams. Eggs are laid in gravel beds. The young of the Atlantic salmon remain in fresh water for two to three years, sometimes as long as six; Pacific salmon sometimes migrate to the sea in their first year. Adult fish usually remain in the sea for two or three winters, but sometimes only one. Then, as grilse (adolescents) or as adults, they return to fresh water and spawn, after changes occur in colour and other external features. Some Atlantic salmon die in fresh water after a single spawning; others return to the sea.

      The tagging of salmon has shown that European types may cross from Norway to Scotland, as well as the reverse. Pacific salmon are probably distributed over the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, between latitudes 45° N and 65° N with surface waters of 2° to 11° C (36° to 52° F).

      Experiments in Canada and the United States, in which young salmon migrating to the Pacific have been tagged, have shown that a high proportion of the fish return to the river where they hatched. Tagging of Atlantic salmon has shown that a few survivors have migrated two or even three times to a particular river in successive years. Adults reared from experimentally transplanted eggs return to the stream where they were hatched or grew, not to the stream where the eggs were laid. Aside from other means of orientation, such as reference to celestial features, topographical features are believed to play an important part in recognition of the original habitat. The sense of smell, or olfaction, however, has the most important role. Experiments have shown that migrating salmon are attracted to the waters of the stream in which they are going to spawn. Experiential imprinting at an early stage of development enables a grown fish to respond to waters that contain substances with a particular odour or that have a characteristic temperature.

Catadromous fish
      Catadromous fish spend most of their lives in fresh water, then migrate to the sea to breed. This type is exemplified by eels (eel) of the genus Anguilla, numbering 16 species, the best-known of which are the North American eel (A. rostrata) and the European eel (A. anguilla).

      European eels and North American eels spawn in warm saline waters of the Atlantic, at depths of 400 to 700 metres (about 1,300 to 2,300 feet), in an area centred near latitude 26° N longitude 55° W called the Sargasso Sea. The pelagic eggs develop into leptocephali—transparent, leaflike forms with relatively small heads—that are carried by the Gulf Stream to the shallow waters of the continental shelves. When they are about two and one-half years old and about eight centimetres long (a little more than three inches), a metamorphosis occurs. The leptocephali are transformed into so-called elvers, which are bottom-dwelling, pigmented, and cylindrical in form. They arrive in coastal waters as glass eels and begin to swim upstream in freshwater streams in spring. Their migration upstream is spectacular, as the young fish gather by millions, forming a dense mass several miles long. In freshwater the eels grow to full size, becoming yellow eels. They live as such for 10 to 15 years before changing into silver eels, with enlarged eyes; they swim downstream to the sea, return to the spawning grounds (Sargasso Sea), and die.

      The migration of these eels is not entirely understood, particularly their return to the Sargasso Sea. It may be that European eels and North American eels belong to the same species.

Reptiles (reptile) and amphibians (amphibian)
      The range of seasonal movements of most reptiles and amphibians is probably very limited. Generally incapable of travelling any great distance, they respond to unfavourable conditions by lapsing into a state of lethargy. This type of response makes it possible for them to remain in a particular area for the entire length of the year.

      The only migration-like movements of reptiles and amphibians are made during the reproductive period. Frogs and toads then concentrate in particular areas such as ponds and lakes; thousands travel toward these sites from year to year. After reproduction, the animals disperse and again settle over their usual range.

      The South American river turtle, or arrau (Podocnemis expansa), migrates along rivers in large masses that may impede the passage of boats. The turtles gather on sandbars of large rivers to lay their eggs. In the Galápagos Islands, giant land tortoises (Testudo elephantopus) stay chiefly in the upper humid zone, where food is abundant, but go down to the dry zone to lay their eggs. Despite their great body weight and slow pace, they travel some 50 kilometres (30 miles) across rough country.

      Sea turtles (sea turtle), on the other hand, migrate over long distances, lay their eggs on special beaches, and then disperse over a wide area. Green turtles (Chelonia mydas), which deposit their eggs on the coast of Costa Rica in Central America, disperse through the Gulf of Mexico and the West Indies. Green turtles that have been tagged on Ascension Island, halfway between Africa and South America, have been recovered on the coast of Brazil, 2,300 kilometres (1,400 miles) away.

Birds (bird)
      Migration is most evident among birds. Most species, because of their high metabolic rate, require a rich, abundant supply of food at frequent intervals. Such a situation does not always prevail throughout the year in any given region. Birds have thus evolved a highly efficient means for travelling swiftly over long distances with great economy of energy.

      The characteristics of migratory birds do not differ greatly from those of nonmigratory forms; many intermediate types exist between the two groups. All transitional forms, in fact, may be manifested in a single species or in a single local population, which is then said to undergo partial migration.

      In addition to regular migration, nomadic flights may also occur. This phenomenon takes place, for example, among birds of the arid zones of Australia, where ducks, parrakeets, and seedeaters appear in a locality following infrequent and unpredictable rains, breed, and then move to other areas. Nomadism (migration) is a response to irregular ecological conditions.

In Europe
      The populations of many northern and eastern European species of birds have pronounced migratory tendencies; the populations of western Europe, on the other hand, are more sedentary.

      Some birds are nomadic in winter, others spend the colder months in the southwestern part of the continent or in the Mediterranean region. Many migrant populations migrate to Africa south of the Sahara. Geographical conditions determine several main routes. The Alps are an important barrier to migratory birds. About 150 species travel westward and southwestward; others travel southeastward.

      Tits (titmouse) (Parus), goldfinches (goldfinch) (Carduelis carduelis), and blackbirds (Turdus merula) are usually sedentary in western Europe; they are usually migratory, however, in northern Europe, where their flights resemble a short migration. Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are sedentary in western Europe, where large numbers gather from eastern Europe. Large flocks also pass the winter in North Africa.

      Insectivorous (insect-eating) species, such as warblers (warbler), flycatchers (flycatcher), and wagtails (wagtail), are highly migratory and spend the winter in the tropics, chiefly in Africa. They migrate to Sierra Leone on the west coast, Tanzania on the east coast, and all the way southward to the tip of the continent. Most of these migrants use different routes to cross the Mediterranean, chiefly in the western portion, although some migrate only southeastward. Golden orioles (Oriolus oriolus) and red-backed shrikes (Lanius collurio) go to East Africa by way of Greece and Egypt. Swallows (swallow)—particularly barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) and house martins (Delichon urbica)—and swifts (swift) (Apus apus) pass the winter in Africa south of 20° N latitude, particularly in South Africa, in the Congo River region, and in some coastal areas of West Africa.

      Among nonpasserines—i.e., nonperching birds—one of the best known migrants is the stork (Ciconia ciconia), which migrates to tropical Africa along two well-defined flyways. The stork population nesting west of a line that follows the Weser River in Germany flies southwestward through France and Spain, past the Strait of Gibraltar, and reaches Africa by way of West Africa; the eastern population, by far more numerous, takes a route over the straits of the Bosporus, through Turkey and Israel, to east Africa. These well-separated routes are probably a result of the stork's aversion to long flights over water.

      Ducks (duck), geese, and swans (swan) also are migrants. These birds winter partly in western Europe and partly in tropical Africa. In Africa they are likely to spend the winter in lake and river regions from Senegal in western Africa to the Sudan in eastern Africa, where thousands of garganeys (Anas querguedula) and pintails (pintail) (A. acuta) congregate annually. Some ducks leave their breeding grounds to molt (a process by which old feathers are replaced) in areas where they are most secure from predators during the time they are unable to fly; this is known as a molt migration. After molting, the ducks fly to their final winter quarters. Wading birds (shorebirds (shorebird)) also are typical migrants, most of them nesting in tundra of the Arctic region and wintering along the seacoasts from western Europe to South Africa.

      North American birds must endure the same hazards of winter as European species. The geographical arrangement of the continent determines the main routes of migration, which run from north to south and include the Atlantic oceanic route, the Atlantic Coast route, the Mississippi flyway, the central flyway, the Pacific flyway, and the Pacific oceanic route. A great many birds pass the winter in the Gulf States, but the principal wintering area extends through Mexico and Central America to Panama, which has the greatest density of winter bird residents in the world.

      The ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) nests in southern Canada and winters in Central America as far south as Panama. Some of these birds fly nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico. Because of their food requirements, many American flycatchers (tyrant flycatcher) (Tyrannidae), which are mainly insectivorous, have the same migratory behaviour as the hummingbirds. Others, like the phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), spend the winter in the Gulf States. Birds such as the American robin (Turdus migratorius) and several species of grackles assemble in the Gulf States in enormous flocks. The seasonal flights of the American wood warblers (wood warbler) (Parulidae) are among the most spectacular on the North American continent. Some spend the winter in the Gulf States and in the West Indies; others, such as the blackpoll warbler (Dendroica striata), travel to Guiana, Brazil, and Peru by way of the West Indies. The spring migration routes of the Canada goose span the Continent of North America in an east–west direction from Hudson Bay as far south as Chesapeake Bay.

      South America is winter quarters for several tanagers, such as the scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea) and the bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus); these birds migrate through the eastern United States and past Cuba to the swampy regions of Bolivia, southern Brazil, and northern Argentina. This area of South America is also winter quarters for the American golden plover (Pluvialis dominica dominica), which travels in an enormous loop over much of the New World. After nesting in the tundras of Alaska and Canada, the plover assemble in Labrador in easternmost Canada and then fly to Brazil over an oceanic route (the shortest possible route) about 3,900 kilometres (2,400 miles) long. Their return flight traverses South America, Central America, and the Gulf of Mexico, then follows the Mississippi Valley.

In intertropical regions
      Birds of tropical regions migrate according to the rhythmic succession of wet and dry seasons—a profoundly influential factor on the annual cycle of animals and plants alike.

      The migratory behaviour of birds has a unique regularity in Africa, where life zones are arranged symmetrically by latitudes away from the Equator. Some migrants never cross the Equator. The standard-wing nightjar (Macrodipteryx longipennis), which nests in a belt extending from Senegal in the west to Kenya in the east along the equatorial forest, migrates northward to avoid the wet season. The plain nightjar (Caprimulgus inornatus), on the other hand, nests in a dry belt from Mali in the west to the Red Sea and Kenya in the east during the rains and then migrates southward to Cameroon and the northern Congo region during the dry season.

      Other birds migrate across the Equator to their alternate seasonal grounds. Abdim's stork (Sphenorhynchus abdimii) nests in a belt extending from Senegal to the Red Sea; after the wet season, it winters from Tanzania through most of southern Africa. The pennant-wing nightjar (Cosmetornis vexillarius), in contrast, nests in the Southern Hemisphere south of the Congo forests during the austral, or Southern Hemisphere, summer, then starts north with the onset of the rainy season. It spends its winters in savannas from Nigeria to Uganda.

In coastal and pelagic regions
      Among the migrating seabirds, a distinction must be made between the coastal and the pelagic, or open-sea, species. Birds such as guillemots, auks, cormorants, gannets, and gulls—all common to the seashore—stay in the zone of the continental shelf. Except during the breeding season, they are dispersed over a vast area, often preferring specific directions of travel. Gannets (gannet) (Sula bassana) nesting around the British Isles spread in winter along the Atlantic coast of Europe and Africa to Senegal, the young travelling farther than the adults. Pelagic birds, most of which belong to the order Procellariiformes (procellariiform) (petrels (petrel) and albatrosses (albatross)), cover much greater distances and, from a few small nesting areas, roam over a large part of the oceans.

      Wilson's petrels (Oceanites oceanicus), which nest in the western sector of the Antarctic (South Georgia Island, Shetland Islands, and South Orkney Islands), spread rapidly northward in April along the coasts of North and South America and stay in the North Atlantic during the summer. In September they leave the western Atlantic, travelling east, then southeast, along the coasts of Europe and Africa toward South America and their Antarctic breeding grounds, arriving there in November. These petrels thus travel in a great loop through the whole Atlantic Ocean, in a flight pattern correlated with the direction of prevailing winds. The same pattern is used by other seabirds normally carried by the winds. Albatrosses, such as the wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) that nests on small Antarctic islands, circle the globe during their migrations. One such bird, banded as a chick at Kerguelen Island in the southern Indian Ocean and recovered at Patache, Chile, travelled in less than 10 months at least 13,000 kilometres (8,100 miles)—perhaps as much as 18,000 kilometres (11,200 miles)—by drifting with the prevailing winds.

      In the Pacific, short-tailed shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris) nest in enormous colonies along the coasts of southern Australia and in Tasmania, then migrate across the western Pacific to Japan, remaining in the North Pacific and the Arctic Ocean from June to August. On the return migration they go east and southeast along the Pacific coast of North America, then fly diagonally across the Pacific to Australia.

      Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea), whose breeding range includes the northernmost coast of Europe, Asia, and North America, spend the winter in the extreme southern Pacific and Atlantic, chiefly along Antarctic pack ice 17,600 kilometres (11,000 miles) from their breeding range. American populations of the Arctic tern first cross the Atlantic from west to east, then follow the coast of western Europe. Arctic terns thus travel further than any other bird species.

Modes of migration
      The migration flights of birds follow specific routes, sometimes quite well defined over long distances. The majority of bird migrants, however, travel along broad airways. A single population of migrants may be scattered over a vast territory so as to form a broad front hundreds of miles in width. Such routes are determined not only by geographical factors—e.g., river systems, valleys, coasts—and ecological conditions but are also dependent upon meteorological conditions; i.e., birds change their direction of flight in accordance with the direction and force of the wind. Some routes cross oceans. Small passerine (passeriform) (perching) birds migrate across 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) or more of sea in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean Sea, and the North Sea. American golden plover, wintering in the Pacific, fly directly from the Aleutian Islands (southwest of Alaska) to Hawaii, the 3,300-kilometre (2,050-mile) flight requiring 35 hours and more than 250,000 wing beats.

      The speed of migratory flights depends largely on the species and the type of terrain covered. Birds in migration go faster than otherwise. Rooks (rook) (Corvus frugilegus) have been observed migrating at speeds of 51 to 72 kilometres (32 to 45 miles) per hour; starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) at 69 to 78 kilometres (43 to 49 miles) per hour; skylarks (Alauda arvensis) at 35 to 45 kilometres (22 to 28 miles) per hour; and pintails (Anas acuta) at 50 to 82 kilometres (31 to 51 miles) per hour. Although the speeds would permit steadily flying migrants to reach their wintering grounds in a relatively short time, the journeys are interrupted by long stops, during which the birds rest and hunt for food. The redbacked shrike (Lanius collurio) covers an average of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) in five days as follows: two nights for migration, three nights for rest, five days for feeding.

      Most migrations occur at relatively low altitudes. Small passerine birds often fly at less than 60 metres (200 feet). Some birds, however, fly much higher. Migrating passerines, for example, have been observed at altitudes as great as 4,000 metres (14,000 feet). The highest altitude recorded thus far for migrating birds is 9,000 metres (29,500 feet) for geese near Dehra Dūn in northwest India.

      Pelicans, storks, birds of prey, swifts, swallows, and finches are diurnal (daytime) migrants. Waterbirds, cuckoos, flycatchers, thrushes, warblers, orioles, and buntings are mostly nocturnal (nighttime) migrants. Studies of nocturnal migrants using radar on telescopes focussed on the Moon show that most migratory flights occur between 10 PM and 1 AM, diminishing rapidly to a minimum at 4 AM.

      Most birds are gregarious during migration, even those that display a fierce individualism at all other times, such as many birds of prey and insectivorous passerines. Birds with similar habits sometimes travel together, a phenomenon observed among various species of shorebirds. Flocks sometimes show a remarkable cohesion; the most characteristic migratory formation of geese, ducks, pelicans, and cranes is a “V” with the point turned in the direction of flight.

Mammals (mammal)
      Seasonal movements are not widespread among terrestrial species of mammals, because walking speed is relatively slow and energy consumption great. Marine and flying mammals have a much greater tendency to migrate, a tendency that is directly related to their locomotive powers.

Terrestrial mammals
      True migration among mammals occurs mostly among large artiodactyls (artiodactyl) (even-toed ungulates) living in habitats with wide fluctuations of climatic and biotic conditions.

      In North American Arctic regions, herds of caribou (Rangifer tarandus (reindeer)) settle during the summer in the barrens—rather flat wasteland with little vegetation. In July the animals begin to move irregularly southward and spend the winter in the taiga, or northern forests, through which they wander freely with no general directional trend. Each herd seems to move in accordance with local conditions and without a well-defined pattern. The caribou again move northward as early as late February and return to the barrens. These migrations follow the same routes from year to year.

 In former times, American bison (Bison bison; see photograph—>) migrated regularly through the Great Plains. Herds of as many as 4,000,000 animals moved from north to south in fall and returned when spring rains brought fresh grass to the northern part of their range. Bison travelled over more or less circular routes and spent the winter in areas 320 to 640 kilometres (200 to 400 miles) from the summer range. Other North American mammals, such as elk (Cervus canadensis), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and dall sheep (Ovis dalli), still migrate regularly in areas undisturbed by man.

      Large African mammals migrate in accordance with the succession of wet and dry seasons, which can greatly modify the habitat. Some antelope remain in small areas throughout the year, but many species undertake seasonal movements over a large range. In the Serengeti region of Tanzania, plains animals, particularly wildebeests (Connochaetes (wildebeest) taurinus) and zebras (zebra), travel more than 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) in their seasonal migrations. Herds spread outward during the rains and concentrate during the dry season around water holes. Elephants (elephant) (Loxodonta africana) wander great distances in search of the best food and water supply.

      In southern Africa, hundreds of thousands of springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) once migrated according to the rhythm of rainfall over their vast range. They moved in herds so dense that any animal encountered was either trampled or forced along with the herd. These huge migrations often resulted in enormous losses from starvation, drowning, or disease—natural methods for controlling overpopulation. Such movements, involving lesser numbers, still occur in parts of Namibia and in Botswana.

Flying mammals (bats (bat))
      A few bats native to Europe and Asia make short flights to winter quarters. Others, such as the common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) and the particoloured bat (Vespertilio murinus (frosted bat)), withdraw to hibernating places at some distance from their summer range. In Germany the large mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) leaves its winter quarters in Brandenburg in March or April and travels as much as 260 kilometres (160 miles) to its summer habitat in northern Germany. It regularly returns to the same winter locale. Schreiber's long-fingered bat (Miniopterus schreibersii) changes its habitat in winter and moves more than 160 kilometres (100 miles) in a complex pattern. These local movements represent an adjustment to winter conditions and the search for more habitable caves.

      Other bats travel even greater distances. In the United States the red bat (Lasiurus borealis), the large hoary bat (L. cinereus), and the silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans)—three species that roost primarily in trees and shrubs—are true migrants with strong powers of flight. They summer in the northern United States and in Canada and winter in Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and probably also in the southwestern states. The southward movement is made from mid-August to November. Migration flights occur at night and, under favourable conditions, during the day. Large numbers follow the coast some distance from land, and all three species are found at sea far from the coast and in Bermuda. Fruit bats (fruit bat) and flying foxes (flying fox) (Pteropus) native to the tropical regions of the Old World make regular mass migrations, following the seasons for fruit ripening.

Marine mammals
      Antarctic whales migrate regularly to the tropics, a fact long known to whalers. By systematically marking whales by shooting into them steel tubes engraved with a serial number, man has obtained evidence of actual movements. A young fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) marked in February in the Antarctic at latitude 65° S was captured two years later, in July, off the coast of South Africa, 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) north. During the austral (Southern Hemisphere) winter, whales migrate to areas rich in food, particularly the northwestern coast of Africa, the Gulf of Aden, and the Bay of Bengal. Antarctic whales—particularly humpbacks (Megaptera novaeangliae (humpback whale)), a highly migratory species—can be divided into five distinct populations around Antarctica; each population migrates separately, and individuals usually return to their respective zones, though interchange may occur. The Antarctic population does not, however, migrate entirely into warm waters during the winter, and a segment of the population seems to stay behind at about latitude 50° S.

      Northern whales have the same migratory habits as Antarctic whales. Northern blue whales (blue whale) (Balaenoptera musculus) migrate northward along the east coast of the United States, then through Davis Strait to Baffin Bay (north of Canada) or Spitsbergen to the waters off northern Scotland or the coast of Norway. They are believed to migrate southward along the same routes. Part of the North Pacific stocks of the northern blue whale winters in the Indian Ocean and in the seas bordering Indonesia.

      Smaller cetaceans (cetacean) (porpoises (porpoise) and dolphins (dolphin)) migrate in the same way, as indicated by population fluctuations within a particular area; but little is known about their distribution and migration.

      Noteworthy migratory habits occur among the pinnipeds (pinniped) (seals (seal) and walrus), some of which disperse over wide areas at times other than the breeding season. The harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) lives in summer in northernmost Arctic waters but reproduces in the White Sea (an arm of the Arctic Ocean extending southward into the Russian landmass), in the eastern North Atlantic, and around Newfoundland, where young are born between January and April. The seal then returns to more northern latitudes. Northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) reproduce only on the Pribilof Islands, off southwestern Alaska, from May to November, and the colonies then disperse into the open seas. The males stay in the Gulf of Alaska and off the Aleutian Islands; the females go farther south, to southern California, some 4,800 kilometres (3,000 miles) away.

Navigation and orientation
      Migrants often return to breed in the exact locality where they were hatched or born. This journey homeward, particularly that of birds, may cover thousands of miles.

       homing experiments have demonstrated the ability of animals to orient themselves geographically. Such experiments involve removing animals from a specific point (usually the nest), transporting them for various distances, and analyzing their speed and degree of success in returning. Starlings have returned to their nests after being transported 800 kilometres (500 miles); swallows have returned a distance of more than 1,800 kilometres (1,100 miles). A Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) returned from Massachusetts to Britain, 4,900 kilometres (3,050 miles) across the Atlantic, in 12 1/2 days. Laysan albatrosses (Diomedea immutabilis) returned to Midway Island in the Pacific after being released at Whidbey Island, Washington; the journey covered 5,100 kilometres (3,200 miles) and took 10.1 days. Experiments with certain fishes and mammals have demonstrated similar homing ability.

      It is apparent that homing animals use familiar landmarks; both random and oriented searches have been observed in birds and fish. Homing experiments with gannets observed from aircraft have demonstrated that, after release, the birds explore the region and hesitate as they apparently look for landmarks. Landmarks vary from topographical (for example, mountain systems, river systems, and coastlines) to ecological (such as vegetation zones) to climatic (e.g., air masses differing in temperature and humidity, prevailing winds). Fishes may orient themselves by using similar clues in the same way. Passive drifting is an important factor in the movements of larvae and young fishes, such as those of the eel, cod, herring, and plaice, and even in adult fishes that are passive after spawning, such as herring and cod. As a result of drifting with the current, the movements of such fishes are similar from year to year.

      Familiar landmarks and exploration do not, however, explain how migrants find their way along routes covering many hundreds or thousands of miles nor do the results of most homing experiments.

Birds (bird)
      A compass sense has been demonstrated in birds; that is, they are able to fly in a particular constant direction, regardless of the position of the release point with respect to the bird's home area. It has also been shown that birds are capable of relating the release point to their home area and of determining which direction to take, then maintaining that direction in flight. The navigational ability of birds has long been understood in terms of a presumed sensitivity to both the intensity and the direction of the Earth's magnetic field. It has also been suggested that birds are sensitive to forces produced by the rotation of the Earth (Coriolis force); however, no sense organ or physiological process sensitive to such forces has yet been demonstrated to support this hypothesis.

      Experiments have shown that the orientation of birds is based on celestial bearings. The Sun is the point of orientation during the day, and birds are able to compensate for the movement of the Sun throughout the day. A so-called internal clock (biological rhythm) mechanism in birds involves the ability to gauge the angle of the Sun above the horizon. Similar mechanisms are known in many animals and are closely related to the rhythm of daylight, or photoperiodism (see above). When the internal rhythm of birds is disturbed by subjecting them first to several days of irregular light–dark sequences, then to an artificial rhythm that is delayed or advanced in relation to the normal rhythm, corresponding anomalies occur in the homing behaviour.

      Two theories have been formulated to explain how birds use the Sun for orientation. Neither, however, has so far been substantiated with proof. One theory holds that birds find the right direction by determining the horizontal angle measured on the horizon from the Sun's projection. They correct for the Sun's movement by compensating for the changing angle and thus are able to maintain the same direction. According to this theory, the Sun is a compass that enables the birds to find and maintain their direction. This theory does not explain, however, the manner in which a bird, transported and released in an experimental situation, determines the relationship between the point at which it is released and its goal.

      The second theory, proposed by British ornithologist G.V.T. Matthews, is based on other aspects of the Sun's position, the most important of which is the arc of the Sun—i.e., the angle made by the plane through which the Sun is moving in relation to the horizontal. Each day in the Northern Hemisphere, the highest point reached by the Sun lies in the south, thus indicating direction; the highest point is reached at noon, thus indicating time. In its native area a bird is familiar with the characteristics of the Sun's movement. Placed in different surroundings, the bird can project the curve of the Sun's movement after watching only a small segment of its course. By measuring maximum altitude (the Sun's angle in relation to the horizontal) and comparing it with circumstances in the usual habitat, the bird obtains a sense of latitude. Details of longitude are provided by the Sun's position in relation to both the highest point and position it will reach—as revealed by a precise internal clock.

      Migrant birds that travel at night are also capable of directional orientation. Studies have shown that these birds use the stars (star) to determine their bearings. In clear weather, captive migrants head immediately in the right direction using only the stars. They are even able to orient themselves correctly to the arrangement of night skies projected on the dome of a planetarium; true celestial navigation is involved because the birds determine their latitude and longitude by the position of the stars. In a planetarium in Germany, blackcaps (blackcap) (Sylvia atricapilla) and garden warblers (S. borin), under an artificial autumn sky, headed “southwest,” their normal direction; lesser whitethroats (S. curruca) headed “southeast,” their normal direction of migration in that season.

      It is known, then, that birds are able to navigate by two types of orientation. One, simple and directional, is compass orientation; the second, complex and directed to a point, is true navigation, or goal orientation. Both types apparently are based on celestial bearings, which provide a navigational “grid.”

Other animals
      The methods of directional orientation used by birds are similar to those used by other animals. Orientation to the Sun has been demonstrated in various crustaceans, particularly in the sand flea (Talitrus saltator). Various insects, particularly bees (bee) and certain beetles (coleopteran) (families Scarabaeidae (scarab beetle), Tenebrionidae (darkling beetle), and Carabidae (ground beetle)), use the Sun to plot their course with remarkable accuracy.

      Fishes also are able to use celestial bearings; salmon presumably use the Sun. Experiments with the parrot fish (Scarus) have demonstrated a Sun compass reaction that may also occur in other fishes. Localization of the Sun is, however, much more difficult in water than in the air, because of the characteristics of light rays passing through water. Experiments suggest that topographical clues are also used by fishes to recognize their range, particularly their spawning grounds. Visual bearings in this respect have great importance. It is possible that chemical substances also provide clues.

      Visible landmarks are used by mammals, at least for orientation within short distances. Scented trails are probably helpful within a limited area, proportionate to the size of the animal; olfaction plays an important role in the life of mammals. Some mammals, however, migrate over enormous distances and are able to return after being taken far away from their home territory; bats, for example, have returned 265 kilometres (165 miles) to their caves. Random exploration plays a part in such movements, but it is possible that some type of true navigation is involved in certain of these movements.

Physiological stimulus of migration
      Migration, like reproduction and other phases (as molting in birds), is part of the life cycle and depends on a complex internal rhythm that affects the whole organism, particularly the endocrine glands (glands of internal secretion) and the gonads. Migration must thus be viewed in relation to the entire annual cycle.

      Each year birds return to particular areas to breed, and remain there until the members of the brood can care for themselves. There is no relation between the reproductive and migratory stimuli, yet the two phenomena, although independent, are nevertheless stimulated by the same factor.

      A physiological study of certain migrants has revealed that metabolic patterns usually change prior to migration, and fats accumulate in the body tissues. The whitethroat (Sylvia communis) weighs an average of 12 to 13 grams (about 0.4 ounce) during the breeding season, 16 to 19 grams (about 0.6 ounce) in the autumn, and 20 to 24 grams (about 0.8 ounce) in the winter. Food consumption increases with the autumn molt, reaching a peak at the beginning of the migration season. These fundamental physiological changes, chiefly under the control of the thyroid gland, are correlated with migratory activity. Such fluctuations are not observed in nonmigratory species.

      Variations in metabolism and related phenomena are controlled by an endocrine (endocrine system) gland, namely the pituitary gland, which is located in the lower part of the brain and acts as a command post, sending out instructions in the form of secretions called hormones (hormone). That the pituitary has a cycle independent of environmental factors is demonstrated by the regularity with which phases such as reproduction occur from year to year in the lives of some birds, and by the diverse response of various species and populations to the same environmental factors. That the pituitary is, however, influenced by environmental factors, such as variations in day length and the intensity of the Sun, has been demonstrated experimentally.

      Gonadal (gonad) development and the deposition of fat, for example, are influenced by the pituitary, which responds to increasing day length in springtime by accelerating the rate of gonadal development. The pituitary thus governs the development of gonads and, in addition, affects all metabolic processes, including development of the thyroid gland, so as to prepare the animal physiologically for migration. If only the pituitary and variations in day length were involved, migration would be triggered at definite times, because the pituitary cycle is fixed, and photoperiodism is a highly predictable phenomenon; such a lack of flexibility, however, would inevitably cause migrant populations to suffer catastrophes because ecological conditions are irregular—meteorological events, such as the arrival of spring, and biological phenomena, such as flowering, foliation, hatching of insects, and availability of food, are highly variable from year to year. The pituitary thus serves only to prepare the bird for flight; the proper ecological conditions, on the other hand, are necessary to initiate it. The availability of food is an important factor. Temperature and weather conditions also have an influence—a sudden period of cold weather during autumn may induce the immediate departure of many migrants.

      Sensitivity to changes in the weather and other environmental conditions varies markedly among species. Some, such as the woodcock, snipe, lapwing, starling, and lark, rely on surrounding conditions to initiate their spring and autumn migrations, and the patterns of their flight depend on temperature and barometric pressure. Others, such as the swift, cliff swallow, Baltimore oriole, and short-tailed petrel, are less weather dependent, and, since the dates of their arrival and departure are not regulated by the weather, they occur with remarkable regularity each year.

      The factors that stimulate migration in animals other than birds are not yet well understood. Ecological conditions play a great part in the migratory activity of mammals, who react to general food shortage by moving to another region. Whale, for example, leave the Antarctic region as winter modifies the oceanographic conditions. Seals (seal) disperse when the food supply in the area of their breeding colonies is depleted. Environmental factors are of primary importance in the migration of fishes and marine invertebrates. Annual movements of water masses change physical conditions such as temperature and salinity; biotic conditions are influenced accordingly.

Origin and evolution of migration
      The origins of migration remain in the realm of pure conjecture; neither observation nor experiment has resolved the matter. The explanation, however, must be related to geographical and climatological factors that have prevailed since the Tertiary Period, which ended some 2,500,000 years ago. The great Quaternary ice ages (ice age), which came later, were very important in altering the distribution of animals over a large part of the world, but migrations occurred long before.

      Migration, as it is now known among modern birds and mammals, probably appeared gradually by stages. Some animals changed their habitat only slightly, never leaving the same general region. The movements of other animals were more erratic, their dispersal being oriented toward the most favourable places. Such movements are the first stages of true migration—a phenomenon characterized by elaborate mechanisms—which gradually acquired stability through natural selection. At first, many populations must have perished rather than attempt to flee from unfavourable conditions. Only a fraction of such populations probably sought more favourable conditions elsewhere, but natural selection favoured the “migrants,” and migratory tendencies were retained.

      In some cases, original habitats were in present-day wintering areas, and animals developed a tendency to leave in spring in order to breed in other territories. Seasonal changes of weather and food supply in these newly settled regions forced the animals to migrate in fall, and they thus retreated to their former range. Among birds nesting in the Northern Hemisphere, hummingbirds, tyrant flycatchers, tanagers, orioles, bee-eaters, and swifts have distinct tropical affinities; in recent geological times these birds gradually spread northward as glacial ice receded and the continent became warmer. Other birds, such as plover, ducks, and geese, originally lived in what is now their breeding area. Gradual climatic changes forced them to spend their winters in regions far to the south. Migrations thus appear to be the consequence of invasions or emigrations, during which animals settle in new areas during a segment of the annual cycle.

      Migratory birds use the routes by which their ancestors first invaded new regions after the glacial recession. The yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava) and the wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) settled in Alaska; they migrate annually into other parts of the Western Hemisphere but spend their winters in the warm regions of southeastern Asia and even Africa, probably following the migratory route of their ancestors. A typically North American species, the gray-cheeked thrush (Hylocichla minima), which has extended its breeding area to northeastern Siberia, returns to spend the winter in the central regions of South America.

Ecological significance of migration
      There are many ecological implications of migration. The food resources of some regions would not be adequately exploited without moving populations. The sequence of migratory movement is closely integrated in the annual cycle of ecosystems characterized by productivity fluctuations. Migratory behaviour concerns only species located at specific trophic levels (zones of food availability) where maximal fluctuations occur both in breeding areas and in wintering regions. Migrant birds avoid equatorial forests where productivity is constant throughout the year, and food surpluses do not occur. They do congregate, on the other hand, in savannas where productivity varies with the seasons.

      Such a coordinated sequence is particularly apparent in the case of birds migrating from the northern Arctic regions to tropical winter regions; both life zones are characterized by broad fluctuations in productivity. In the Arctic, vegetal and animal production is very high during the summer; ducks and waders nest in great numbers, exploiting these resources. As winter comes, food becomes scarce, and water birds migrate to the tropics, where the rainy season has caused food production to increase to optimal levels. Ducks and wading birds concentrate in the most favourable areas, remaining until spring, when productivity is lowest. By then the condition of breeding areas is again favourable for the birds. The life cycles of these birds are closely attuned with the cycles of their various habitats, and the sizes of bird populations are controlled by the capacity of both areas to sustain them.

      Migration, then, has considerable ecological significance. It enables fast-moving animals to exploit fluctuating resources and to settle in areas where life would not be tenable for animals incapable of rapid travel. On the other hand, peaks of food production would be unexploited without the periodic presence of migratory populations.

Jean P. Dorst Ed.

Additional Reading
Works that cover many aspects of animal migratory behaviour include François Bourlière, The Natural History of Mammals, 3rd ed. rev. (1964; originally published in French, 1951), a review of mammal biology with a chapter on migration; Robert T. Orr, Animals in Migration (1970), a review of migration patterns among animals; and Talbot H. Waterman, Animal Navigation (1989), a splendid introduction to the subject of animal navigation for the lay reader. Texts dealing specifically with bird migration are A. Landsborough Thomson, Bird Migration, 3rd ed. (1949), a classic book, still useful; Jean Dorst, The Migrations of Birds (1962; originally published in French, 1956), a review of all aspects; Donald R. Griffin, Bird Migration (1964, reissued 1974), a useful summary with a good chapter on orientation; G.V.T. Matthews, Bird Navigation, 2nd ed. (1968), an original attempt to explain bird orientation; R. Robin Baker, Bird Navigation: The Solution of a Mystery? (1984), a well-written introduction to bird orientation and navigation for scientifically literate readers; and Joanna Burger and Bori L. Olla (eds.), Shorebirds: Migration and Foraging Behavior (1984), a collection of reviews directed at professionals in ethology, ornithology, and vertebrate zoology. Works examining the migration of other animals include classic texts by Carrington B. Williams, The Migration of Butterflies (1930), still of value; and by Glover Morrill Allen, Bats (1939, reissued 1967), on bat biology with a chapter on migration; and the more recent works by F.R. Harden Jones, Fish Migration (1968), a standard book, with many classic references; and by E.J. Slijper, Whales, 2nd ed. (1979; originally published in Dutch, 1958), a review of whale biology, including a chapter on migration.

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Universalium. 2010.

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