For the first time, the Chinese and foreign research team accurately revealed the law of the migration of Swift in Beijing

【Technological frontier】

Our newspaper, Beijing, June 30 (Reporter Xu Tan) Beijing Swift, the APUS APUS Pekinensis, is the only wild migratory bird named after "Beijing". Studies have shown that each year, Swift arrives in Beijing to build nests from southern Africa to build nests. At the end of July and early August, it returns to southern Africa to overwinter. However, the road to and from nearly 30,000 kilometers of migration is specifically passed through, whether there is a stop point, and how the climate along the way has been known for a long time. Recently, a follow -up research results for the migration behavior of Beijing Swift were officially published in the international journal "Sports Ecology".

According to Liu Yang, a communication author of the paper and a professor at the School of Ecology of Sun Yat -sen University, the research project was from the scientific researchers and China from Beijing Normal University, Sun Yat -sen University, Sweden's Longde University, the British "Swift Action" team and the Royal Research Institute of Belgian Natural Sciences and China. Biological diversity protection and the green development foundation of the Bird Watch Professional Committee jointly implemented. From 2014 to 2018, the research team worn a miniature light -sensitivity positioner for 66 Beijing Swift in the Pavilion in Beijing Summer Palace. With this recorded light intensity and low -consumption recycling equipment with a positioning and tracking rules of day and night, scientific researchers have successfully obtained the light intensity data of 25 individuals.

Data show that most of the autumn migrations of Swift began in mid -July. They left Beijing, entered Mongolia northwest, and then entered the northern part of Xinjiang to the west. In central Africa, 40 days of short -distance movement in the Congo basin or nearby areas. Subsequently, the Swift Swift slowly went south, and finally arrived in the winter of the winter place in early November -the South African Plateau with an altitude of about 1,000 meters. After ending the wandering life of 100 days after the wintering period, the Swift Swift began to move north in mid -February in mid -February of the following year, staying in the east of the Congo Basin for nearly 1 month. Subsequently, they turned to the northeast, left Africa in early April, and returned to Beijing in late April. The whole journey was 13,572 kilometers, and it took 64 days. Throughout the round -trip migration, Beijing Swift flew through 37 countries in Asia and Africa.

In the past, people believed that Swift would go straight to the destination during the migration and stop in the middle of the way. However, the results of the research showed that this was not the case. Beijing Swift Movement is usually more than 250 kilometers. If the movement distance of less than 500 kilometers within 3 days is regarded as a stop, then the Beijing Swift Migration Autumn Migration stops 2 to 6 times in the middle of the midway, stops 71 days, the average speed is 134 kilometers per day, and the middle migration is stopped 1 to 2 times in the middle of the spring. The average speed is 217 kilometers/day. The Congo Basin and the surrounding areas, the south bank of the Red Sea, and the Hainan Shore of the Congo are the three most important rest areas. Combining the flight trajectory judgment, Beijing Swift may adopt a more direct migration route and faster flying speed in spring.

It is worth mentioning that the Beijing Swift showed adaptation to the habitat of semi -arid areas at the stage of life. The annual precipitation of the breeding areas and the wintering area was significantly lower than that of ordinary swallows distributed in Europe. In addition to the Congo Basin and surrounding areas, the migration route of Swift has crossed the desert. In this study, the Beijing Swift has a length of about 123 days in a region with an annual rainfall of about 123 days, accounting for 46.1%of the non -breeding period. In the opinion of the first author of the paper and assistant researcher at the Guangxi Academy of Sciences, the amount of precipitation may affect the migration law and strategy of migrant birds by changing the abundance and distribution of food resources. In July, Swift chose to leave one after another.

In the future, the scientific research team will use genome sequencing technology to decipher the genetic password behind the miracle of Beijing Swift Migration. "I believe that through these efforts, the secrets behind the extraordinary exercise ability of Beijing Swift will gradually be revealed." Zhao Xinru, author of the common communication author and associate professor of Beijing Normal University.

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