NEW PAPER: Releases of Asian #Houbara must respect genetic & geographic origin to preserve inherited #migration behaviour

From @DrRJBurnside, @buchanding, @PaulDolman3, Nigel Collar and myself. @SustainHoubara

In @royalsociety Open Science: https://bit.ly/2Uhx4Wv 

Evidence from a translocation experiment- a collaboration between @uniofeastanglia and @BirdLife_News.

@ueaceec @ueaenv @RSocPublishing @UEAResearch @birdlife_me @RSPBScience @IBIS_journal @_OSME

Maintaining appropriate migratory strategies is important in #conservation. Translocations of migrating animals may alter local #migration behaviours of recipient populations if these are different and heritable- it’s important to explore this.

We used satellite telemetry & experimental translocations to quantify differences & assess heritability in #migration behaviours between three migratory #houbara breeding populations (across eastern, central and western Uzbekistan).

#ornithology #scicomm

Eastern adults migrated 2x as far as the west population & had less variation in migration distance than the centre birds. West and centre populations wintered further north, & the centre population further west than the east population.

#ornithology #scicomm

Translocated, #captivereared birds from the east migrated further than adults from either west or central recipient populations, continuing past suitable wintering grounds, despite having to negotiate mountain obstacles.

#ornithology #migrationstudies

Surviving translocated individuals returned to their release site- continued translocations could lead to introgression of the heritable component and risk altering recipient migration patterns!

#ornithology #scicomm @SustainHoubara

TAKE HOME: Our results show genetic basis to #migration behaviour of @IUCNRedList threatened Houbara #Bustards with local population adaptation. Interventions incl. #CaptiveBreeding release for migratory populations MUST consider the genetics behind migratory behaviour! #scicomm