Muda y estructura del plumaje en aves de montaña del límite occidental del Paleártico

Abstract

Trade-offs between costly life activities have been shaping the life strategies of organisms to ensure their biological efficiency. These trade-offs can therefore help understand evolutionary trajectories and phenotypic variation in natural populations. Moult is an important milestone in the life cycle of birds that interacts with other processes (reproduction, migration) and provides feathers that can be useful for monitoring various aspects of bird biology. Several studies support the existence of adjustments during the moult of bird plumage in response to the requirements associated with migration but our knowledge remains very scarce. Morphological adaptations to migration have been studied mainly in a latitudinal contexts, with the selection of many traits being considered as programmed responses to increased resource seasonality and severe weather pressures in unstable, higher latitude areas. This may also be occurring at the altitudinal level, where similar seasonality is assumed but at regional scales. Mountain birds face numerous challenges caused by environmental seasonality due to elevation, which can affect their morphology, behaviour and organisation of seasonal events. Mountain regions are therefore complex ecosystems of great conservation value and could be key areas for understanding the processes that determine the diversification of bird populations...