Dataset Information

Identifying the African wintering grounds of hybrid flycatchers using a multi-isotope (?2H, ?13C, ?15N) assignment approach.

ABSTRACT: Migratory routes and wintering grounds can have important fitness consequences, which can lead to divergent selection on populations or taxa differing in their migratory itinerary. Collared (Ficedula albicollis) and pied (F. hypoleuca) flycatchers breeding in Europe and wintering in different sub-Saharan regions have distinct migratory routes on the eastern and western sides of the Sahara desert, respectively. In an earlier paper, we showed that hybrids of the two species did not incur reduced winter survival, which would be expected if their migration strategy had been a mix of the parent species' strategies potentially resulting in an intermediate route crossing the Sahara desert to different wintering grounds. Previously, we compared isotope ratios and found no significant difference in stable-nitrogen isotope ratios (?15N) in winter-grown feathers between the parental species and hybrids, but stable-carbon isotope ratios (?13C) in hybrids significantly clustered only with those of pied flycatchers. We followed up on these findings and additionally analyzed the same feathers for stable-hydrogen isotope ratios (?2H) and conducted spatially explicit multi-isotope assignment analyses. The assignment results overlapped with presumed wintering ranges of the two species, highlighting the efficacy of the method. In contrast to earlier findings, hybrids clustered with both parental species, though most strongly with pied flycatcher.

SUBMITTER: Veen T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4029901 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Identifying the African wintering grounds of hybrid flycatchers using a multi-isotope (δ2H, δ13C, δ15N) assignment approach.

Veen Thor T Hjernquist Mårten B MB Van Wilgenburg Steven L SL Hobson Keith A KA Folmer Eelke E Font Laura L Klaassen Marcel M

PloS one 20140521 5

Migratory routes and wintering grounds can have important fitness consequences, which can lead to divergent selection on populations or taxa differing in their migratory itinerary. Collared (Ficedula albicollis) and pied (F. hypoleuca) flycatchers breeding in Europe and wintering in different sub-Saharan regions have distinct migratory routes on the eastern and western sides of the Sahara desert, respectively. In an earlier paper, we showed that hybrids of the two species did not incur reduced w ...[more]

PMID: 24847717

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Project description:Expanding populations of North American midcontinent lesser snow geese (Anser caerulescens caerulescens) have potential to alter ecosystems throughout the Arctic and subarctic where they breed. Efforts to understand origins of harvested lesser snow geese to better inform management decisions have traditionally required mark-recapture approaches, while aerial photographic surveys have typically been used to identify breeding distributions. As a potential alternative, isotopic patterns that are metabolically fixed within newly grown flight feathers following summer molting could provide inferences regarding geographic breeding origin of individuals, without the need for prior capture. Our objective was to assess potential to use four stable isotopes (?13C, ?15N, ?34S, ?2H) from feather material to determine breeding origins. We obtained newly grown flight feathers from individuals during summer banding at three Arctic and two subarctic breeding colonies in 2014 (n = 56) and 2016 (n = 45). We used linear discriminant analyses to predict breeding origins from models using combinations of stable isotopes as predictors and evaluated model accuracy when predicting colony, subregion, or subpopulation levels. We found a strong inverse relationship between ?2H values and increasing latitude (R2 = 0.83), resulting in differences (F4, 51 = 90.41, P < 0.0001) among sampled colonies. No differences in ?13C or ?15N were detected among colonies, although ?34S in Akimiski Island, Baffin Island, and Karrak Lake were more enriched (F4, 51 = 11.25, P < 0.0001). Using ?2H values as a predictor, discriminant analyses improved accuracy in classification level as precision decreased [model accuracy = 67% (colony), 88% (subregion), 94% (subpopulation)]. Application of the isotopic methods we describe could be used to provide an alternative monitoring method of population metrics, such as overall breeding population distribution, region-specific productivity and migratory connectivity that are informative to management decision makers and provide insight into cross-seasonal effects that may influence migratory behavior.

Dataset Information

Identifying the African wintering grounds of hybrid flycatchers using a multi-isotope (?2H, ?13C, ?15N) assignment approach.

Publications

Identifying the African wintering grounds of hybrid flycatchers using a multi-isotope (δ2H, δ13C, δ15N) assignment approach.

Similar Datasets

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