Data from: Short distance migrants travel as far as long distance migrants in lesser black-backed gulls Larus fuscus

Migration strategies differ greatly among and within avian populations.
The associated trade-offs and fitness consequences of diverse strategies
and how they persist are pertinent questions in migration research.
Migration is a costly endeavour, presumably compensated for by better
survival conditions in the non-breeding area. One way to assess the cost
of alternative strategies is to investigate the investment in movement
across the entire annual cycle, an assessment made increasingly feasible
with improvements in tracking technology. Our study focuses on lesser
black-backed gulls, generalist seabirds that exploit a broad range of
resources, exhibit diverse migration strategies and have potentially
altered migration strategies in response to human activities and climate
change. We used GPS tracking to quantify lesser black-backed gulls’
movement throughout their annual cycle and compare trade-offs among four
migration strategies. The annual cumulative distance travelled by long
distance migrants wintering in west Africa, over 4000 km from their
breeding colony, did not differ significantly from individuals of the same
breeding colony wintering only a few hundred kilometres away in Great
Britain. Short distance migrants returned to the colony first, and long
distance migrants returned last. Sex and wing length were not correlated
with maximum range, cumulative distance travelled or timing. Individuals
spent only a small proportion of their time in flight and spent on average
17% of their time at sea throughout an annual cycle, suggesting a reliance
on inland resources for many individuals. Analysing movement throughout
the annual cycle can change our perspective and understanding of
consequences of different migration strategies. Our study shows that a
range of migration strategies coexists and we propose that the long term
costs and benefits of these strategies balance out. Diversity in migration
strategies may contribute to the resilience of this species in the face of
ongoing anthropogenic impact on the environment.