GPS-tracking provides novel insights into the age-specific migration behaviour of an endangered migrant seabird in the Afro-Palearctic flyway

GPS-tracking provides novel insights into the age-specific migration behaviour of an endangered migrant seabird in the Afro-Palearctic flyway | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article GPS-tracking provides novel insights into the age-specific migration behaviour of an endangered migrant seabird in the Afro-Palearctic flyway Joan Estrada, Liam P. Langley, Ulrik Lötberg, Susanne Åkesson This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9277819/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Migration is a complex behaviour, requiring individuals to integrate genetic, environmental and social information to reach distant goals, with important consequences for individuals, populations and communities. However, despite its ecological importance, our understanding of the development of migration behaviour across an organism’s lifetime is lacking for most taxa. Recently, developments in bio-logging have enabled us to track juveniles of many species during their first migrations, improving our understanding of migration ontogeny. The Baltic Lesser Black-backed Gull ( L. f. fuscus ) is a long-distance migratory seabird inhabiting the eastern Afro-Palearctic flyway that has undergone recent, dramatic declines. However, determining the drivers of these trends is hindered by poor understanding of fine-scale space use, particularly during the non-breeding period. Methods Here we fitted GPS-tags to a total of 70 adult and 39 juvenile Baltic gulls from 19 Swedish colonies to examine age-related differences in movement behaviour during autumn migration. Results We observed clear differences in the autumn migration behaviour of adult and juvenile Baltic Gulls. Adults tended to migrate further than juveniles, with a much higher probability of crossing the Sahara. They also completed their migrations faster despite similar flight speeds between age classes, with observed differences in overall migration speeds resulting from longer and more frequent stopovers in juveniles. Moreover, migration routes showed equivalent directness between age classes, with a notable lack of exploratory movements by juveniles. Conclusions GPS-tracking of adult and juvenile Baltic Gulls revealed little evidence of exploratory behaviour, providing limited support for the exploration-refinement hypothesis during neonatal migration. Combined with latitudinal differences in migration destinations between age classes, our work suggests that learning and development of this long-distance migration requires multiple annual cycles to complete. Additionally, we identify several key stopover and wintering sites used by Baltic Gulls during the non-breeding period, facilitating the identification of potential threats across the species’ life cycle. autumn migration bio-logging Lesser Black-backed Gull non-breeding movements ontogeny of migration stopover behaviour Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 31 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 31 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 31 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9277819","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":627586044,"identity":"77df1be6-c6f6-4afa-8b29-dbc3305275b1","order_by":0,"name":"Joan Estrada","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABDklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgY4M4HxQYKBhByIeeABYS0GIC3MBh8qbIzBWhIIWwbWwiY540xaItgMfFqY25ufPfjw508+f3vyA2netsPp88MOPwTaYien24BdC2PPMXPDmW0GljPOPDMwBmrJ3Xg7zQCoJdnY7AAOLTMSzKR5GwwMGG4kGCSDtcxOAGk5kLgNp5b0b9J//hgYyN9I/3AY5DDD2ekfCGjJMZNmYDMwMLiRY9gI9H6CvHQOAVt6zpRJ9rYZGxieeVPMAAxkww3SOQUHgI7E6RfD9vZtEj/+yBnIHU/f/gMYlfLys9M3f/hQYSeHU0sDuogBWKUBduUgII8pgmHIKBgFo2AUjHQAAE5maG6YpF6IAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Lund University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Joan","middleName":"","lastName":"Estrada","suffix":""},{"id":627586045,"identity":"ff69026f-44b6-406c-9b62-427758393bda","order_by":1,"name":"Liam P. 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However, despite its ecological importance, our understanding of the development of migration behaviour across an organism\u0026rsquo;s lifetime is lacking for most taxa. Recently, developments in bio-logging have enabled us to track juveniles of many species during their first migrations, improving our understanding of migration ontogeny. The Baltic Lesser Black-backed Gull (\u003cem\u003eL. f. fuscus\u003c/em\u003e) is a long-distance migratory seabird inhabiting the eastern Afro-Palearctic flyway that has undergone recent, dramatic declines. However, determining the drivers of these trends is hindered by poor understanding of fine-scale space use, particularly during the non-breeding period.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eHere we fitted GPS-tags to a total of 70 adult and 39 juvenile Baltic gulls from 19 Swedish colonies to examine age-related differences in movement behaviour during autumn migration.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe observed clear differences in the autumn migration behaviour of adult and juvenile Baltic Gulls. Adults tended to migrate further than juveniles, with a much higher probability of crossing the Sahara. They also completed their migrations faster despite similar flight speeds between age classes, with observed differences in overall migration speeds resulting from longer and more frequent stopovers in juveniles. Moreover, migration routes showed equivalent directness between age classes, with a notable lack of exploratory movements by juveniles.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eGPS-tracking of adult and juvenile Baltic Gulls revealed little evidence of exploratory behaviour, providing limited support for the exploration-refinement hypothesis during neonatal migration. Combined with latitudinal differences in migration destinations between age classes, our work suggests that learning and development of this long-distance migration requires multiple annual cycles to complete. 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