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Circadian control of nocturnal songbird migration

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Abstract

Bird migration has evolved under the influence of annual and daily fluctuations in resource availability. Numerous passerine migrants migrate exclusively by night, maximizing the time available for foraging and feeding during the day. When held in captivity, and in total absence of environmental cues, nocturnal migrants typically show rhythms of night-time restlessness (Zugunruhe), which persist with a periodicity of about 24 h. Experimental evidence suggests that these circadian rhythms of Zugunruhe may either result from a “redefinition” of the diurnal clock or from changes in the phase relationship between independent endogenous oscillators. The role of melatonin in this control system remains ambiguous. Lowered levels of circulating melatonin found during migratory nights could either be the positive stimulus, a permissive factor or a side effect of nocturnal wakefulness. Although the nutritional state of a migrant is known to strongly influence the incidence of migratory activity, the physiological link between the circadian clock controlling Zugunruhe and the metabolic/hormonal path-ways that regulate the incidence of migration is uncertain. A functional genetic approach promises to bring behavioural and physiological knowledge together. Determining the mechanisms that are involved in the day-to-day scheduling of migration is crucial for understanding the overall control of migration, as the sum of migratory nights determines for how long, and how far, a migrant potentially travels.

Zusammenfassung

Der Vogelzug ist unter dem Einfluss von jährlichen und tageszeitlichen Fluktuationen in der Ressourcenverfügbarkeit entstanden. Zahlreiche Singvögel ziehen ausschließlich nachts, wodurch sie die tagsüber zur Nahrungssuche und -aufnahme verfügbare Zeit maximieren. In Gefangenschaft zeigen Nachtzieher in völliger Abwesenheit von Umweltreizen typischerweise Rhythmen nächtlicher Aktivität (Zugunruhe), die mit einer Periodizität von etwa 24 Stunden andauern. Experimentelle Befunde lassen vermuten, dass diese circadianen Zugrhythmen entweder durch eine “Umdefinierung“ der tageszeitlichen Uhr oder durch eine Phasenverschiebung zwischen unabhängigen, endogenen Oszillatoren verursacht werden. Die Rolle des Hormons Melatonin bleibt dabei unklar. In Zugnächten reduzierte Melatoninkonzentrationen könnten der positive Stimulus, ein permissiver Faktor oder eine Folge nächtlicher Wachheit sein. Obwohl bekannt ist, dass der Ernährungszustand eines Zugvogels einen starken Einfluss auf das Auftreten von Zugunruhe hat, ist der physiologische Zusammenhang zwischen der circadianen Zuguhr und den metabolischen/hormonellen Regulationsmechanismen von Zugereignissen unbekannt. Ein funktionell-genetischer Ansatz verspricht die Lücke zwischen verhaltensbiologischem und physiologischem Wissen zu schließen. Die Aufklärung der Mechanismen, die bei der täglichen Zeitplanung des Zugs beteiligt sind, ist entscheidend für das übergeordnete Verständnis der Steuerung des Vogelzugs, da die Summe der Zugnächte bestimmt, wie lange und wie weit ein Individuum zu ziehen vermag.

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Acknowledgments

This review was stimulated by a centenary symposium on bird migration held April 2010 in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, and by an invitation to the 12th Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (SRBR) held May 2010 in Sandestin, FL, USA. Two anonymous referees provided helpful comments on a previous version of the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Ornithology, Institute of Applied Ecology (IfAÖ), Alte Dorfstraße 11, 18184, Neu Broderstorf, Germany

    Timothy Coppack

  2. Institute of Avian Research “Vogelwarte Helgoland”, An der Vogelwarte 21, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany

    Franz Bairlein

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Correspondence to Timothy Coppack.

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Communicated by C. G. Guglielmo.

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Coppack, T., Bairlein, F. Circadian control of nocturnal songbird migration. J Ornithol 152 (Suppl 1), 67–73 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0708-z

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