Premium
MIGRATING BIRDS STOP OVER LONGER THAN USUALLY THOUGHT: COMMENT
Author(s) -
Efford Murray G.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.1890/04-1401
Subject(s) - citation , library science , history , ecology , computer science , biology
The seasonal long-distance movements of migratory birds are punctuated by periods of rest and refueling termed stopovers. The duration of these periods is an important variable in the biology of migratory species. Capture-recapture provides data for the estimation of stopover duration in the many species for which individual tracking is not feasible. Schaub et al. (2001) proposed a new method for the analysis of such data. This note suggests that the method leads to erroneous estimates of mean stopover duration. Estimation of stopover duration in the absence of mortality is mathematically identical to estimation of life expectancy in the absence of emigration. Life expectancy at birth is defined as