Animal Migration

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Animal Migration
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Fun Facts about Migrating Animals

• The whale that migrates the longest is the Gray
  Whale, which migrates about 12,500 miles.
• The insect that migrates the longest is the
  desert locust, which travels about 2,800 miles.
• The butterfly that migrates the longest is the
  Monarch, which migrates up to 2,000 miles.
• The land animal that migrates the longest is the
  caribou, which travels about 700 miles.

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What is Migration?
Migration is the regular movement of animals from
one location to another.

• Prerequisites for migration
• Sustained movement
• Physical endurance
• Mechanisms for storing energy
• Designated food sources on the migration route
• Migration ensures animals will have adequate food
  supplies will be able to reproduce.

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Types of Migration

• Migration may occur
• As a round trip
• As a return migration
• Corresponds with the seasons
• Some require a lifetime to complete
• Ex Pacific salmon
• Born in freshwater streams
• Travel to the ocean
• Return to the stream where they were born
• Spawn and then die

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Knowing When to Migrate

• How do animals know when it is time to migrate?
• Internal signals
• Hormones trigger an overwhelming urge to
• eat, mate reproduce
• External signals (clues)
• Temperature change
• Daylight hours
• Scarce food supply

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Migration Destinations

• How do animals know where to go?
• Specialized abilities to navigate
• External forces
• Ex. wind water currents
• Landmarks
• Ex. coastlines, mountain ranges, river valleys
  distinctive odors
• Sun
• Track the passage of days and months
• Track their position in relationship to the sun

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Migration Destinations (cont.)

• Internal Clues
• Are sensitive to a mineral known as magnetite
• Found in many animals, including humans
• Allows animals to use the earths magnetic field
  as a guide.
• Ex. Gray whales
• Large amount of magnetite in their retinas
• Helps them navigate their 10,000 mile journey

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Migration Behavior or Instinct?

• Monarch butterfly
• Migration is instinctive
• Fly without guidance or previous experience
• Use little or no directional clues

• Learning migration behaviors for most animals is
  critical to their survival.

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Migration Behaviors

• Most animals must learn their migratory routes.

• Older members of the group teach the younger
  animals
• The route traveled
• Valuable strategies and/or behaviors
• Humans teach younger animals, too.
• Ultra-light aircraft
• Taught various species of cranes their migration
  routes

• Animals who are not taught these behaviors will
  not likely survive.

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Why Migrate?

• Most animals migrate for two reasons
• Food water
• Will migrate to find these resources
• Reproduction
• Safe environment for bearing nursing offspring.
  
• Abundant food sources

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Hazards of Migration

• Two categories
• Natural hazards
• Climate changes
• Drought
• Food Supply
• Predators
• Physical demands of migration
• Man-made hazards
• Barriers (fences, dams, skyscrapers)
• Water, aircraft, fishing practices

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• African Elephant It migrates to find food during
  the wet and drys seasons.
• American Buffalo The American Buffalo is the
  heaviest land animal in North America.
• American Golden Plover The American Golden
  Plover is a medium-sized shorebird.
• Arctic Tern A small bird that flies from the
  Arctic to the Antarctic and back again each year.
• Basking Shark A huge filter feeder and the
  second largest fish.
• Bat Bats are the only flying mammal. Some bats,
  like the Red bat, migrate.
• Beluga Whale A small, white, toothed whale that
  lives mostly in cold, Arctic waters.
• Birds Many birds, like the bobolink, the Arctic
  tern, and the Golden Plover, migrate.
• Blue Shark A sleek, fast-swimming shark with
  blue skin.
• Bowhead Whale A baleen whale rich in blubber.
• Bull Shark A blunt-nosed, dangerous, gray shark
  can that live in fresh water rivers and lakes.
• Canada Goose The Canada goose is a large North
  American bird that honks.
• Caribou Caribou are herbivores that live in
  Arctic regions.
• Cockatoo Cockatoos are birds with a large,
  feathery crest and a hooked bill.

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Crab A crab is an animal with a shell. Many
crabs migrate to reproduce. Dogfish Shark A
small, very common, relatively harmless shark
found worldwide. Dolphin A dolphin is a small,
toothed whale, a marine mammal. Earthworm An
earthworm is a little animal with a long, soft
body and no legs. Elephant There are two types
of elephants, the Indian elephant and the African
elephant. Frog Frogs are amphibians that migrate
back to the pond, marsh, or lake where they
hatched as tadpoles, and lay their own eggs
there. Fruit Bat Fruit bats are large bats that
eat fruits and flowers. Hammerhead Shark Large
predators with a hammer-shaped head. Gnu The gnu
is a fast-running, herding, grass-eater from
eastern Africa. Goose The Canada goose is a
large North American bird that honks. Gray Whale
A baleen whale that is a bottom feeder it
migrates long distances. Great White Shark An
enormous, ferocious predator found
worldwide. Greenland Shark A large,
slow-swimming shark with glow-in-the-dark
eyes. Hammerhead Shark Large predators with a
hammer-shaped head. Hummingbird Hummingbirds are
tiny birds that eat flower nectar.
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Ladybug Tiny flying insects that eat garden
pests. Some ladybugs migrate. Mako Shark Large
predators that are the fastest swimming
fish! Mallard Duck The Mallard is a common wild
duck that is the ancestor of most domestic
ducks. Manatee Manatees are gentle,
slow-swimming, aquatic mammals. Salmon Salmon
are fish that live in the sea and spawn in fresh
water. Nightingale A small songbird that sings
beautiful, complex songs, often at night. Oriole
The Baltimore Oriole is a black and orange bird
that eats fruit and nectar. Reindeer Reindeer
are herbivores that live in Arctic regions. Sea
Turtle Sea turtles are large marine
turtles. Snow Goose Snow Geese are migratory
birds from North America. Swordfish The
swordfish is a large fish with a long, sharp
bill. Tiger Shark Large predators found
worldwide in warm seas. Toad Toads are
amphibians with poison glands. Toads migrate back
to the pond, marsh, or lake where they hacthed as
tadpoles, and lay their own eggs there. Tuna A
large, bony fish that migrates thousands of miles
across the oceans.
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Umbrellabird A bird with a large tuft of
feathers on its head. Wildebeest The wildebeest
is a fast-running, herding, grass-eater from
eastern Africa. Also known as the gnu. Zebra
Zebras are hoofed mammals that have black and
white stripes.