ניר ספיר - הפקולטה למדעי הטבע

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We study biomechanical, behavioral, physiological and ecological aspects of flight in birds, bats and insects. One main avenue of research is of bird migration, focusing on stopover behavior and eco-physiology, as well as environmental effects on cross-country flight at multiple temporal and spatial scales. We make use of the ATLAS system (see http://move-ecol-minerva.huji.ac.il/page/3) to study animal movement at the Hula Valley in NE Israel and use other tracking devices to study movement at a global scale. In addition, we continue our work on commuting flight in bats and also explore flight kinematics during foraging movements. We are currently developing a research framework investigating the effects of wing morphology on flight performance.

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Movements throughout the full annual cycle of three migratory swift species breeding in the Levant, Bloche, D. A. F., Bloch, I., Meier, C. M. & Sapir, N., Apr 2026, In: Journal of Ornithology. 167, 2, p. 363-375 13 p.
Egyptian Nightjars are residents in the Dead Sea region, showing a high year-round roost fidelity, Wasserlauf, Y., Gancz, A., Dov, A. B., Efrat, R., Sapir, N., Dor, R., Atar, A., Baruchi, E., Mizrahi, A., Sabach, A. & Spiegel, O., Jan 2026, In: Journal of Ornithology. 167, 1, p. 123-130 8 p.
Dispersal and survival of Aquila fasciata (Bonelli’s Eagle) differ across arid, semi-arid, and Mediterranean natal habitats, Mayrose, A., Hatzofe, O., Troupin, D. & Sapir, N., 1 Jan 2026, In: Auk. 143, 1, ukaf051.
First evidence of autumnal southward migration of Sympetrum fonscolombii (Insecta: Odonata) from Europe and West Asia to the Levant using stable hydrogen isotope analysis, Shaish, R., Kusack, J. W., Hobson, K. A. & Sapir, N., 2026, (Accepted/In press) In: Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies.
GNSS spoofing in conflict zones disrupts wildlife tracking and hampers research and conservation efforts, Jiguet, F., Mayrose, A., Piha, M., Efrat, R., Seimola, T., Sapir, N., Timonen, S., Wasserlauf, Y., Besnard, A., Bocher, P., Kölzsch, A., Lehikoinen, A., Monnet, A. C., Procházka, P. & Perlman, Y., Dec 2025, In: Nature Communications. 16, 1, 1199.
The effects of annual cycle stages and life-history traits on feather abrasion, Kiat, Y., Dupriez, Q., Pyo, G., Fox, O. J. L., Paz, R., Eilts, H. J., Talabante, C. & Sapir, N., Dec 2025, In: Scientific Reports. 15, 1, 28067.
Integrating AI into ecology for fully automated monitoring of endangered seabird breeding colonies, Schekler, I., Halabi, E., Sapir, N., Shimshoni, I., Hatzofe, O., Perlman, Y. & Kiat, Y., Nov 2025, In: Ecological Informatics. 91, 103380.
Complementary use of Eulerian and Lagrangian data can improve conservation output: A response to (Hoekstra et al., 2025), Efrat, R., Lehnardt, Y., Berkowic, D., Lesehm, Y., Dor, R., Bragin, A., Bragin, E., Katzner, T. & Sapir, N., Nov 2025, In: Biological Conservation. 311, 111468.
Estimating large birds' radar cross-section for aeroecology studies using T-matrix modelling, Reznikov, K., Melnikov, V. & Sapir, N., 15 Oct 2025, In: Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 22, 231, 20250510.
Protocol to produce diel vertical movement patterns from the BirdScan MR1 vertical-looking biological radar, Werber, Y. & Sapir, N., 19 Sep 2025, In: STAR Protocols. 6, 3, 103986.
Age-dependent response to anthropogenic habitat during migration of an endangered raptor, Efrat, R., Lehnardt, Y., Bragin, A., Bragin, E., Avgar, T., Katzner, T. & Sapir, N., 8 Sep 2025, In: Current Biology. 35, 17, p. 4301-4308.e3
Perceived and observed biases within scientific communities: a case study in movement ecology, Shaw, A. K., Fouda, L., Mezzini, S., Kim, D., Chatterjee, N., Wolfson, D., Abrahms, B., Attias, N., Beardsworth, C. E., Beltran, R. S., Binning, S. A., Blincow, K. M., Chan, Y. C., Fronhofer, E. A., Hegemann, A., Hurme, E. R., Iannarilli, F., Kellner, J. B., Mccoy, K. D. & Rafiq, K. & 28 others, Saastamoinen, M., Sequeira, A. M. M., Serota, M. W., Sumasgutner, P., Tao, Y., Torstenson, M., Yanco, S. W., Beck, K. B., Bertram, M. G., Beumer, L. T., Bradarić, M., Clermont, J., Ellis-Soto, D., Faltusová, M., Fieberg, J., Hall, R. J., Kölzsch, A., Lai, S., Lee-Cruz, L., Loretto, M. C., Loveridge, A., Michelangeli, M., Müller, T., Riotte-Lambert, L., Sapir, N., Scacco, M., Teitelbaum, C. S. & Cagnacci, F., 23 Jul 2025, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 292, 2051, 20250679.
Active navigation and meteorological selectivity drive insect migration patterns through the Levant, Werber, Y., Adin, E., Chapman, J. W., Reynolds, D. R. & Sapir, N., 25 Jun 2025, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 292, 2049, 20250587.
Radar-measured passerine vertical speeds reveal a migratory switch near a major barrier, Werber, Y. & Sapir, N., 21 Feb 2025, In: iScience. 28, 2, 111892.
Using GPS tracking data to validate the conservation value of bird migration counts, Efrat, R., Lehnardt, Y., Berkowic, D., Leshem, Y., Dor, R., Bragin, A., Bragin, E., Katzner, T. & Sapir, N., Feb 2025, In: Biological Conservation. 302, 110959.
Combining radio-telemetry and radar measurements to test optimal foraging in an aerial insectivore bird, Bloch, I., Troupin, D., Toledo, S., Nathan, R. & Sapir, N., 27 Jan 2025, In: eLife. 13
Cellular network measurements can unravel spatiotemporal properties of bird movement to enhance basic and applied knowledge globally, Moshe, D. B., Messer, H., Werber, Y. & Sapir, N., Nov 2024, In: Ornithological Applications. 126, 4, duae035.
Redistribution of songbirds within a migratory stopover site as a response to sylviid warbler song playback, Lehnardt, Y. & Sapir, N., Oct 2024, In: Ibis. 166, 4, p. 1184-1198 15 p.
Contrasting seasonal responses to wind in migrating songbirds on a globally important flyway, Schekler, I., Levi, Y. & Sapir, N., 17 Jul 2024, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 291, 2027, 20240875.
Breeding performance and nest-site selection of Woodchat Shrikes Lanius senator near the southern edge of their breeding distribution, Bloche, D. A. F. & Sapir, N., Jul 2024, In: Journal of Ornithology. 165, 3, p. 691-701 11 p.
Risk-sensitive response of soaring birds to crosswind over dangerous sea highlights age-specific differences in migratory performance, Santos, C. D., Sapir, N., Becciu, P., Granadeiro, J. P. & Wikelski, M., 29 May 2024, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 291, 2023, 20240454.
Bonelli's Eagle electrocution risk in Israel can be reduced by 80% by insulating only 4% of the pylons, Mayrose, A., Haviv, E., Hatzofe, O., Troupin, D., Elroy, M. & Sapir, N., 1 May 2024, In: Ornithological Applications. 126, 2, duae004.
Tracking data highlight the importance of human-induced mortality for large migratory birds at a flyway scale, Serratosa, J., Oppel, S., Rotics, S., Santangeli, A., Butchart, S. H. M., Cano-Alonso, L. S., Tellería, J. L., Kemp, R., Nicholas, A., Kalvāns, A., Galarza, A., Franco, A. M. A., Andreotti, A., Kirschel, A. N. G., Ngari, A., Soutullo, A., Bermejo-Bermejo, A., Botha, A. J., Ferri, A. & Evangelidis, A. & 141 others, Cenerini, A., Stamenov, A., Hernández-Matías, A., Aradis, A., Grozdanov, A. P., Rodríguez, B., Şekercioğlu, Ç. H., Cerecedo-Iglesias, C., Kassara, C., Barboutis, C., Bracebridge, C., García-Ripollés, C., Kendall, C. J., Denac, D., Schabo, D. G., Barber, D. R., Popov, D. V., Dobrev, D. D., Mallia, E., Kmetova-Biro, E., Álvarez, E., Buechley, E. R., Bragin, E. A., Cordischi, F., Zengeya, F. M., Monti, F., Mougeot, F., Tate, G., Stoyanov, G., Dell'Omo, G., Lucia, G., Gradev, G., Ceccolini, G., Friedemann, G., Bauer, H. G., Kolberg, H., Peshev, H., Catry, I., Øien, I. J., Alanís, I. C., Literák, I., Pokrovsky, I., Ojaste, I., Østnes, J. E., de la Puente, J., Real, J., Guilherme, J. L., González, J. C., Fernández-García, J. M., Gil, J. A., Terraube, J., Poprach, K., Aghababyan, K., Klein, K., Bildstein, K. L., Wolter, K., Janssens, K., Kittelberger, K. D., Thompson, L. J., AlJahdhami, M. H., Galán, M., Tobolka, M., Posillico, M., Cipollone, M., Gschweng, M., Strazds, M., Boorman, M., Zvidzai, M., Acácio, M., Romero, M., Wikelski, M., Schmidt, M., Sarà, M., McGrady, M. J., Dagys, M., Mackenzie, M. L., Al Taq, M., Mgumba, M. P., Virani, M. Z., Kassinis, N. I., Borgianni, N., Thie, N., Tsiopelas, N., Anglister, N., Farwig, N., Sapir, N., Kleven, O., Krone, O., Duriez, O., Spiegel, O., Al Nouri, O., López-López, P., Byholm, P., Kamath, P. L., Mirski, P., Palatitz, P., Serroni, P., Raab, R., Buij, R., Žydelis, R., Nathan, R., Bowie, R. C. K., Tsiakiris, R., Hatfield, R. S., Harel, R., Kroglund, R. T., Efrat, R., Limiñana, R., Javed, S., Marinković, S. P., Rösner, S., Pekarsky, S., Kapila, S. R., Marin, S. A., Krejčí, Š., Giokas, S., Tumanyan, S., Turjeman, S., Krüger, S. C., Ewing, S. R., Stoychev, S., Nikolov, S. C., Qaneer, T. E., Spatz, T., Hadjikyriakou, T. G., Mueller, T., Katzner, T. E., Aarvak, T., Veselovský, T., Nygård, T., Mellone, U., Väli, Ü., Sellis, U., Urios, V., Nemček, V., Arkumarev, V., Getz, W. M., Fiedler, W., Van den Bossche, W., Lehnardt, Y. & Jones, V. R., May 2024, In: Biological Conservation. 293, 110525.
The spatiotemporal properties of artificial feeding schemes influence the post-fledging movement of Egyptian Vultures, Reznikov, K., Efrat, R., Berger-Tal, O. & Sapir, N., 2024, In: Ornithological Applications. 126, 3, duae010.
Early and accumulated experience shape migration and flight in Egyptian vultures, Efrat, R., Hatzofe, O., Mueller, T., Sapir, N. & Berger-Tal, O., 18 Dec 2023, In: Current Biology. 33, 24, p. 5526-5532.e4
Soaring migrants flexibly respond to sea-breeze in a migratory bottleneck: using first derivatives to identify behavioural adjustments over time, Becciu, P., Troupin, D., Dinevich, L., Leshem, Y. & Sapir, N., Dec 2023, In: Movement Ecology. 11, 1, 44.
A telemetry study shows that an endangered nocturnal avian species roosts in extremely dry habitats to avoid predation, Wasserlauf, Y., Gancz, A., Ben Dov, A., Efrat, R., Sapir, N., Dor, R. & Spiegel, O., Dec 2023, In: Scientific Reports. 13, 1, 11888.
Automatic detection of migrating soaring bird flocks using weather radars by deep learning, Schekler, I., Nave, T., Shimshoni, I. & Sapir, N., Aug 2023, In: Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 14, 8, p. 2084-2094 11 p.
BATScan: A radar classification tool reveals large-scale bat migration patterns, Werber, Y., Sextin, H., Yovel, Y. & Sapir, N., Jul 2023, In: Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 14, 7, p. 1764-1779 16 p.
Drone-mounted audio-visual deterrence of bats: implications for reducing aerial wildlife mortality by wind turbines, Werber, Y., Hareli, G., Yinon, O., Sapir, N. & Yovel, Y., Jun 2023, In: Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation. 9, 3, p. 404-419 16 p.
Time constraints may pace the ontogeny of movement behaviour, Hertel, A. G., Efrat, R., Reznikov, K., Sapir, N., Berger-Tal, O. & Mueller, T., 12 Apr 2023, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 290, 1996, 20222429.
היכן עוצרות הציפורים הנודדות בישראל – אפיון ובחינת הגורמים המשפיעים על בחירת בית גידול בין שני מחסומים אקולוגיים גדולים: [חזית המחקר], ⁨שקלר, ע.⁩, ⁨סמולינסקי, ג.⁩, ⁨טרופין, ד.⁩, ⁨בולר, ג.⁩ & ⁨ספיר, נ.⁩, 2023, In: אקולוגיה וסביבה.
TrackUSF, a novel tool for automated ultrasonic vocalization analysis, reveals modified calls in a rat model of autism, Netser, S., Nahardiya, G., Weiss-Dicker, G., Dadush, R., Goussha, Y., John, S. R., Taub, M., Werber, Y., Sapir, N., Yovel, Y., Harony-Nicolas, H., Buxbaum, J. D., Cohen, L., Crammer, K. & Wagner, S., Dec 2022, In: BMC Biology. 20, 1, 159.
Autumn migrating passerines at a desert edge: Do birds depart for migration after reaching a threshold fuel load or vary it according to the rate of fuel deposition?, Zinßmeister, D., Troupin, D. & Sapir, N., 17 Aug 2022, In: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 10, 874923.
Understanding the ecological and evolutionary function of stopover in migrating birds, Schmaljohann, H., Eikenaar, C. & Sapir, N., Aug 2022, In: Biological Reviews. 97, 4, p. 1231-1252 22 p.
Postrelease survival of captive-bred Egyptian Vultures is similar to that of wild-hatched Egyptian Vultures and is not affected by release age or season, Efrat, R., Hatzofe, O., Miller, Y., Mueller, T., Sapir, N. & Berger-Tal, O., 5 May 2022, In: Ornithological Applications. 124, 2, duab065.
Biological Earth observation with animal sensors, Supporting authors, 1 Apr 2022, In: Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 37, 4, p. 293-298 6 p.
Bird Migration at the Edge – Geographic and Anthropogenic Factors but Not Habitat Properties Drive Season-Specific Spatial Stopover Distributions Near Wide Ecological Barriers, Schekler, I., Smolinsky, J. A., Troupin, D., Buler, J. J. & Sapir, N., 21 Mar 2022, In: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 10, 822220.
Empirical Study on the Effect of Birds on Commercial Microwave Links, Moshe, D. B., Messer, H., Nathan, R. & Sapir, N., 1 Jan 2022, In: IEEE Access. 10, p. 103819-103826 8 p.
Groping in the Fog: Soaring Migrants Exhibit Wider Scatter in Flight Directions and Respond Differently to Wind Under Low Visibility Conditions, Becciu, P., Panuccio, M., Dell’Omo, G. & Sapir, N., 29 Oct 2021, In: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 9, 745002.
BirdScan Community Reference Dataset, Haest, B., Schmid, B., Hertner, F., Aschwanden, J., Früh, D., Kleger, D., Dieter, P., Sapir, N., Troupin, D., Werber, Y., Yovel, Y. & Liechti, F., 2021, In: Zenodo.
Moving in the Anthropocene: Global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements, Tucker, M. A., Böhning-Gaese, K., Fagan, W. F., Fryxell, J. M., Van Moorter, B., Alberts, S. C., Ali, A. H., Allen, A. M., Attias, N., Avgar, T., Bartlam-Brooks, H., Bayarbaatar, B., Belant, J. L., Bertassoni, A., Beyer, D., Bidner, L., Van Beest, F. M., Blake, S., Blaum, N. & Bracis, C. & 95 others, Brown, D., De Bruyn, P. J. N., Cagnacci, F., Calabrese, J. M., Camilo-Alves, C., Chamaillé-Jammes, S., Chiaradia, A., Davidson, S. C., Dennis, T., DeStefano, S., Diefenbach, D., Douglas-Hamilton, I., Fennessy, J., Fichtel, C., Fiedler, W., Fischer, C., Fischhoff, I., Fleming, C. H., Ford, A. T., Fritz, S. A., Gehr, B., Goheen, J. R., Gurarie, E., Hebblewhite, M., Heurich, M., Hewison, A. J. M., Hof, C., Hurme, E., Isbell, L. A., Janssen, R., Jeltsch, F., Kaczensky, P., Kane, A., Kappeler, P. M., Kauffman, M., Kays, R., Kimuyu, D., Koch, F., Kranstauber, B., LaPoint, S., Leimgruber, P., Linnell, J. D. C., López-López, P., Markham, A. C., Mattisson, J., Medici, E. P., Mellone, U., Merrill, E., De MirandaMourão, G., Morato, R. G., Morellet, N., Morrison, T. A., Díaz-Muñoz, S. L., Mysterud, A., Nandintsetseg, D., Nathan, R., Niamir, A., Odden, J., O'Hara, R. B., Oliveira-Santos, L. G. R., Olson, K. A., Patterson, B. D., De Paula, R. C., Pedrotti, L., Reineking, B., Rimmler, M., Rogers, T. L., Rolandsen, C. M., Rosenberry, C. S., Rubenstein, D. I., Safi, K., Saïd, S., Sapir, N., Sawyer, H., Schmidt, N. M., Selva, N., Sergiel, A., Shiilegdamba, E., Silva, J. P., Singh, N., Solberg, E. J., Spiegel, O., Strand, O., Sundaresan, S., Ullmann, W., Voigt, U., Wall, J., Wattles, D., Wikelski, M., Wilmers, C. C., Wilson, J. W., Wittemyer, G., Ziȩba, F., Zwijacz-Kozica, T. & Mueller, T., 26 Jan 2018, In: Science. 359, 6374, p. 466-469 4 p.
Breeding biology of Desert Owl in Israel, Ben Dov, A., Atar, A., Baruchi, E., Levi, K. & Sapir, N., 2017, In: Dutch Birding . 39, p. 285-307
Mass seasonal bioflows of high-flying insect migrants, Hu, G., Lim, K. S., Horvitz, N., Clark, S. J., Reynolds, D. R., Sapir, N. & Chapman, J. W., 23 Dec 2016, In: Science. 354, 6319, p. 1584-1587 4 p.
Scaling up the understanding of animal movement, Sapir, N., Åkesson, S. (Editor) & Hansson, L.-A. (Editor), 2014, Animal movement across scales / edited by Lars-Anders Hansson and Susanne Åkesson.. First edition. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 2850-2851
Multi-year tracking of White storks (Ciconia ciconia): how the environment shapes the movement and behavior of a soaring-gliding inter-continental migrant, Sapir, N., Rotics, S., Kaatz, M., Davidson, S., Zurell, D., Eggers, U., Jeltsch, F., Nathan, R. & Wikelski, M., 2013, Integrative and Comparative Biology : Proceedings of the 2013 meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. Vol. 53.
The effect of weather on migrating bee-eaters studied by radio-telemetry and numeric atmospheric model, Sapir, N., Nathan, R., Wikelski, M. & Avissar, R., 2010, Integrative and Comparative Biology: Proceedings of the 2010 meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. 1 ed. Vol. 50.
Heart-rates of European bee-eaters migrating over southern Israel, Sapir, N., Nathan, R. & Wikelski, M., 2009, Integrative and Comparative Biology : Proceedings of the 2009 meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. Vol. 49.
Stopover of autumn migrating passerines in a heterogeneous habitat: Factors affecting habitat use, Sapir, N., 2001, In: Israel Journal of Zoology. 47, p. 192-193
Diet, aggression and aggregation patterns in a stopover passerines community during the autumn migration, Sapir, N., 2001, Proceedings of the 38-th Animal Behavior Society meeting. USA: University of Oregon

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