DOI: 10.5061/dryad.9cnp5hqzh
title: Data from: Correction: ‘Revisiting Perdeck’s massive avian migration experiments debunks alternative social interpretations’ (2024), by Pot et al.

description: Whether avian migrants can adapt to their changing world depends on the
 relative importance of genetic and environmental variation for the timing
 and direction of migration. In the classic series of field experiments on
 avian migration, A.C. Perdeck discovered that translocated juveniles
 failed to reach goal areas, whereas translocated adults performed
 ‘true-goal navigation’. His translocations of &gt; 14,000 common
 starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) suggested that genetic mechanisms guide
 juveniles into a population-specific direction, i.e., ‘vector navigation’.
 However, alternative explanations involving social learning after release
 in juveniles could not be excluded. By adding historical data from
 translocation sites, data that was unavailable in Perdeck’s days, and by
 integrated analyses including the original data, we could not explain
 juvenile migrations from possible social information upon release. Despite
 their highly social behaviour, our findings are consistent with the idea
 that juvenile starlings follow inherited information and independently
 reach their winter quarters. Similar to more solitarily migrating
 songbirds, starlings would require genetic change to adjust the migration
 route in response to global change.
description: # Data from: Correction: ‘Revisiting Perdeck’s massive avian migration
 experiments debunks alternative social interpretations’ (2024), by Pot et
 al. Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.9cnp5hqzh](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9cnp5hqzh) ##
 Description of the data and file structure Whether avian migrants can
 adapt to their changing world depends on the relative importance of
 genetic and environmental variation for the timing and direction of
 migration. In *the* classic series of field experiments on avian
 migration, A.C. Perdeck discovered that translocated juveniles failed to
 reach goal areas, whereas translocated adults performed ‘true-goal
 navigation’. His translocations of &gt; 14,000 common starlings (*Sturnus
 vulgaris*) suggested that genetic mechanisms guide juveniles into a
 population-specific direction, i.e., ‘vector navigation’. However,
 alternative explanations involving social learning after release in
 juveniles could not be excluded. By adding historical data from
 translocation sites, data that was unavailable in Perdeck’s days, and by
 integrated analyses including the original data, we could not explain
 juvenile migrations from possible social information upon release. Despite
 their highly social behaviour, our findings are consistent with the idea
 that juvenile starlings follow inherited information and independently
 reach their winter quarters. Similar to more solitarily migrating
 songbirds, starlings would require genetic change to adjust the migration
 route in response to global change. ### Files and variables #### File:
 Code_Potea_BiolLett.R **Description:**  #### File:
 datafile_Potea_BiolLett_1.csv **Description:** ringing and recovery data
 of common starlings (*Sturnus vulgaris*) from the Dutch, Swiss and Spanish
 ringing schemes that are relevant for displacement experiments performed
 by A.C. Perdeck. ##### Variables * Ring_1: Individual identifier *
 Scheme_c: Name of ringing scheme at first capture * Date_c: Date of first
 capture (DD-MM-YYYY) * Month_c: Month of first capture (1 = January, 2 =
 February, etc) * Year_c: Year of first capture * Julian_c:  Day of the
 year of first capture * Season_c: Season of first capture *
 DateAcc_c: Accuracy of first capture date according to EURING code (0 = to
 the day, 1 = to to within one day, 2 = to within 3 days, 3 = to within 1
 week, 4 = to within two weeks, 5 = to within six weeks, 6 = to within
 three months, 7 = to within six months, 8 = to within some years, 9 =
 unknown) * Latitude_c: Latitude of first capture (in degrees) *
 Longitude_c: Longitude of first capture (in degrees) *
 Circumstance_c: Circumstance at first capture according to EURING code
 (see [www.euring.org/data_and_codes/euring_code_list/index.html](http://www.euring.org/data_and_codes/euring_code_list/index.html)) * AgeS_c: Age at first capture according to EURING code (0 = unknown, 1 = pullus, 2 = full grown, 3 = first year, 4 = after first year) * disp_c: Experimentally displaced yes or no * release.site_c: Release site * disp_date_c: Date of displacement * Condition_c: Condition at first capture according to EURING code (see [www.euring.org/data_and_codes/euring_code_list/index.html](http://www.euring.org/data_and_codes/euring_code_list/index.html)) * group.composition_c: Group composition of juvenile starlings when displaced * Scheme_r: Name of ringing scheme at recovery * Date_r: Date of recovery (DD-MM-YYYY) * Month_r: Month of recovery (1 = January, 2 = February, etc) * Year_r: Year of recovery * Julian_r: Day of the year of recovery * Season_r: Season of recovery * DateAcc_r: Accuracy of recovery date according to EURING code  (0 = to the day, 1 = to to within one day, 2 = to within 3 days, 3 = to within 1 week, 4 = to within two weeks, 5 = to within six weeks, 6 = to within three months, 7 = to within six months, 8 = to within some years, 9 = unknown) * Latitude_r: Latitude of recovery (in degrees) * Longitude_r: Longitude of recovery (in degrees) * Circumstance_r: Circumstance of recovery according to EURING code (see [www.euring.org/data_and_codes/euring_code_list/index.html](http://www.euring.org/data_and_codes/euring_code_list/index.html)) * AgeS_r: Age at recovery (0 = unknown, 1 = pullus, 2 = full grown, 3 = first year, 4 = after first year) * Condition_r: Condition of recovery according to EURING code (see [www.euring.org/data_and_codes/euring_code_list/index.html](http://www.euring.org/data_and_codes/euring_code_list/index.html)) * nYear: Number of years between first capture and recovery * n_days: Number of days between first capture and recovery * country: Country of first capture * Age: juvenile (first calendar year) or adult (&gt; first calendar year) * trtmnt: ConNL58a = Dutch control group Switzerland experiment (autumn recoveries), ConNL58b = Dutch control group Switzerland experiment (winter recoveries), ConNL64a = Dutch control group Spain experiment (autumn recoveries), ConNL64b = Dutch control group Spain experiment (winter recoveries), ConCH1 = Swiss control group (autumn recoveries of breeding birds), ConCH2 = Swiss control group (winter recoveries of breeding birds), ConCH3 = Swiss control group (autumn recoveries of autumn captures), ConCH4 = Swiss control group (winter recoveries of autumn captures), ConEs1 = Spanish control group (autumn recoveries of autumn captures), ConEs2 = Spanish control group (winter recoveries of autumn captures), Exp58a = experimentals Switzerland experiment (autumn recoveries), Exp58b = experimentals Switzerland experiment (winter recoveries), Exp64a = experimentals Spain experiment (autumn recoveries), Exp64b = experimentals Spain experiment (winter recoveries) NA = not available/applicable ## Code/software R version 4.4.2