Early-life sicknesses as drivers of animal movement later in life

Movement, including migration and dispersal, is fundamental for life. Large variation in movement between individuals is well documented.

Yet, what causes this variation is largely unknown, and this represent a major knowledge gap in our understanding of the ecology and evolution of animals.

Infections, common during early life, have been proposed as drivers of migration ontogeny and natal dispersal, but unequivocal evidence is lacking. I will change that by combining research on movement ecology and eco-physiology.

More specifically, I will address how early-life sicknesses, via changes in physiology, affect movement across different scales of space and time.

Recent advances in tracking technologies, combined with my expertise in eco-physiology and a fine-tuned combination of field and lab experiments will enable me toa) evaluate how early-life sickness drives the ontogeny of movement;b) quantify true natal dispersal, determine when and where juveniles die, and identify the underlying physiological predictors;c) uncover if early-life sicknesses modify individual costs of movement later in life to unravel if movement behaviour is based on strategic adaptive decisions or physiological constraints.Thus, this project will generate a new understanding of the drivers of movement across an animal’s life span and the consequences for fitness.

This improved understanding of movement ecology will have major implications for population ecology, global change biology and conservation.