nonmigrating

Nonmigrating is an adjective describing individuals, populations, or species that do not undertake long-distance seasonal movements between breeding and non-breeding areas. It is contrasted with migratory populations, which perform regular annual migrations.

In ecology and zoology, nonmigrating populations are often called resident or sedentary. Causes include stable resource distributions, predictable climates, territorial behavior, and genetic predispositions. Some species may remain in suitable habitats year-round because the costs of migration outweigh the benefits, or because barriers or landscapes make migration less feasible. Individuals in nonmigrating populations may still engage in short-distance movements or local dispersal in response to weather or local disturbances, but they do not participate in the pronounced, regular long-distance journeys characteristic of true migrants.

Examples across taxa show that migration is not universal. In birds, many populations are resident in milder regions, such as Canada geese with substantial resident groups, and numerous passerines like the house sparrow and certain corvids that do not undertake wide seasonal migrations. Plants do not migrate in the biological sense, though their ranges can shift over time due to climate and other environmental factors. In fish and mammals, nonmigrating or resident populations may persist in rivers, lakes, or coastal zones rather than undertaking large-scale movements to different ecosystems.

Ecological and conservation implications include local adaptation and genetic differentiation, altered population dynamics, and increased vulnerability to habitat loss or climate extremes. The term is context-dependent and widely used in ecology, zoology, fisheries, and human geography to describe the absence of, or resistance to, long-distance seasonal movement.