A global dataset of directional migration networks of migratory birds

The migration of birds plays a crucial role in connecting different ecosystems, facilitating the spread of diverse pathogens, which poses a significant threat to public health. At present, the realtime monitoring of bird migration is growing. However, the extent of connectivity between migratory areas of birds remains uncertain. Herein, we conducted a systematic review of Chinese and English literature published between 1990 and 2024 to extract spatiotemporal information on various bird species, which allowed us to identify migration times, breeding grounds, non-breeding grounds, and flyover areas of them at a subnational level, resulting in the creation of a global dataset of bird migration networks encompassing 93,401 geo-referenced records. These records cover 267 bird species and their 10,993 migratory routes across 170 countries or territories. Our dataset provides a overview of the global distribution of bird migrations across different species, revealing the geographical patterns of diverse migration routes. This facilitates further investigations into the underlying drivers of bird migration, as well as alterations in migration routes and their impacts on ecosystems.

鸟类迁徙在连接不同生态系统方面发挥着关键作用，同时也促进了多种病原体的传播，这对公共健康构成重大威胁。目前，鸟类迁徙的实时监测正在不断发展。然而，鸟类迁徙区域之间的连通程度仍不明确。在此，我们对1990年至2024年间发表的中英文文献进行了系统综述，以提取多种鸟类的时空信息。这使我们能够在国家以下层面确定这些鸟类的迁徙时间、繁殖地、非繁殖地及过境区域，最终构建了一个包含93401条地理参考记录（geo-referenced records）的全球鸟类迁徙网络数据集。这些记录涵盖了170个国家或地区的267种鸟类及其10993条迁徙路线。我们的数据集概述了不同物种鸟类迁徙的全球分布，揭示了多样迁徙路线的地理模式。这为进一步研究鸟类迁徙的潜在驱动因素、迁徙路线的变化及其对生态系统的影响提供了便利。