title: Reed warblers migrating through Portugal: climatic influence on stopover ecology over the last decade.
abstract: The arrival and breeding dates of small migrant birds have advanced throughout Europe. This study evaluates the hypothesis of a faster migration along the migratory route, which should lead to a decrease in stopover duration in staging areas over the last decades. Several climatic predictors were analysed as proxies to understand the stopover ecology of reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus migrating through Central Portugal. The minimum stopover duration of migratory reed warblers decreased significantly over the last decade during both the spring and autumn migrations. Warmer conditions en route should increase food availability, increasing the body condition of departing birds and the quality of departing sites en route to Portugal, such that migrants will reduce the stopover duration at Portuguese reedbeds.
authors.affiliation: MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address: mmiguelinhu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Pedro M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Araújo
authors.affiliation: MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Luís P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Vitor H
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: Paiva
authors.affiliation: MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Jaime A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ramos
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D057231:Climate Change; D046109:Passeriformes / Q000502:physiology*; D011174:Portugal
keywords: Autumnal migration; Climate change; Ecological barriers; Migration; Spring migration