Salinization is having a major impact on wetlands and its biota worldwide. Specifically, many migratoryanimals that rely on wetlands are increasingly exposed to elevated salinity on their nonbreedinggrounds. Experimental evidence suggests that physiological challenges associated with increasingsalinity may disrupt self-maintenance processes in these species. Nonetheless, the potential role ofsalinity as a driver of ecological carry-over effects remains unstudied. Here, we investigated the extentto which the use of saline wetlands during winter – inferred from feather stable isotope values – inducesresidual effects that carry over and influence physiological traits relevant to fitness in black-tailedgodwits Limosa limosa limosa on their northward migration. Overwintering males and females weresegregated by wetland salinity in West Africa, with females mostly occupying freshwater wetlands.The use of these wetlands along a gradient of salinities was associated with differences in immuneresponsiveness to phytohaemagglutinin and sized-corrected body mass in godwits staging in southernEurope during northward migration – 3,000 km from the nonbreeding grounds – but in males only.These findings provide a window onto the processes by which wetland salinity can induce carry-overeffects and can help predict how migratory species should respond to future climate-induced increasesin salinity.
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