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Avian Migration pp 39–51Cite as

Ecology and Evolution of Hummingbird Population Movements and Migration

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Abstract

Hummingbirds are dependent upon a single food item to a degree not found in most other taxa. Schuchmann (1996, 1999) reports that, in general, 90 by mass of food requirements for trochilid species derive from nectar. This level of dependence on a single food type places intense fitness pressure on the individual to locate reliable sources for this item sufficient for survival and/or reproduction throughout the annual cycle. An additional, complicating factor is that the number of nectar-producing plants shows marked seasonal variation (Wolf 1970; Feinsinger 1976; DesGranges and Grant 1980), even in equatorial regions (Hilty 1997), so that hummingbirds must adjust and balance their ability to take advantage of resource concentrations in both space and time to maximize fitness (Schuchmann 1996).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Smithsonian Conservation and Research Center, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, Virginia, 22630, USA

    John H. Rappole

  2. Zool. Forschungsinstitut u. Museum Alexander Koenig, Adenauerallee 150-164, 53113, Bonn, Germany

    Karl-L. Schuchmann

Authors
  1. John H. Rappole
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  2. Karl-L. Schuchmann
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Forschungsstelle für Ornithologie, Vogelwarte Radolfzell Schloss Moeggingen, Schlossallee 2, 78315, Radolfzell, Germany

    Peter Berthold  & Edith Sonnenschein  & 

  2. Max-Planck-Forschungsstelle für Ornithologie, Abteilung Biologische Rhytmen und Verhalten, Von-der-Tann-Straße 3-7, 82346, Andechs, Germany

    Eberhard Gwinner

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© 2003 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Rappole, J.H., Schuchmann, KL. (2003). Ecology and Evolution of Hummingbird Population Movements and Migration. In: Berthold, P., Gwinner, E., Sonnenschein, E. (eds) Avian Migration. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05957-9_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05957-9_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-07780-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-05957-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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