Flexibility and constraints in animal movement patterns: ecology, evolution and annual cycles

2010-2014. The Research Council of Norway [Grant 196451/V40 to Nils Chr. Stenseth. L. Fusani is Project Co-ordinator for Italy] The research project addresses a central issue in ecology and life-history evolution – namely, animal strategies in the non-breeding season in order to survive until reproduction. For many species this involves movement in response to seasonal environmental fluctuations. In order to understand movement decisions and their consequences, we need to address the flexibility in annual cycles and how this is constrained by factors such as environmental variability, changing selection pressures, ecological interactions, population structure and individual movement strategies and life histories. Hence, we will adopt an integrative approach to the analysis of bird movement patterns and the flexibility of annual cycles, making use of long-term data being collected across Europe and bridging gaps between biological research traditions.