Stopover hotspots for migratory birds in North and Central America

Authors

  • Shi Feng Zhejiang universty
  • Qinmin Yang Zhejiang university
  • Huijie Qiao Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • Luis E. Escobar Virginia Tech
  • Xuan Yan Independent researcher

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17161/bi.v19i.23641

Abstract

Despite the large body of literature on avian migratory behavior, there is little information about stopover sites during bird movement, including the population-level drivers of breeding grounds and wintering grounds. Stopovers play an essential role in bird migratory site chains for energy supply and rest. There is an urgent need to detect and protect stopover sites to secure the long-term sustainability of migratory network connectivity and robustness. To address this challenge, we reconstructed a migration network and identified geographic hotspots denoted as stopover sites by analyzing the high-density population movements of 52 focal migratory bird species with observation data from eBird through PageRank algorithm. Furthermore, potential alternative stopover sites were explored using a word embedding technique based on geo-functional similarity. Our study was conducted in North and Central America during a three-year period and revealed three key areas, including Florida peninsula and its inland, the region of Central America, and the region near Puget Sound. Results from this study can be used for conservation prioritization guidance.

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Author Biographies

  • Shi Feng, Zhejiang universty

    State Key Laboratory of Industrial Control Technology, College of Control Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, PhD candidate

  • Qinmin Yang, Zhejiang university

    State Key Laboratory of Industrial Control Technology, College of Control Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University,Professor

  • Huijie Qiao, Chinese Academy of Sciences

    Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor

  • Luis E. Escobar, Virginia Tech

    Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, 1015 Life Science Cir, Virginia Tech, Professor

  • Xuan Yan, Independent researcher

    Independent researcher

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Published

2025-06-06

Issue

Section

Articles (peer-reviewed)

How to Cite

Feng, Shi, Qinmin Yang, Huijie Qiao, Luis E. Escobar, and Xuan Yan. 2025. “Stopover Hotspots for Migratory Birds in North and Central America”. Biodiversity Informatics 19 (June). https://doi.org/10.17161/bi.v19i.23641.