Dataset Information

Within-Site Variation in Feather Stable Hydrogen Isotope (?2Hf) Values of Boreal Songbirds: Implications for Assignment to Molt Origin.

ABSTRACT: Understanding bird migration and dispersal is important to inform full life-cycle conservation planning. Stable hydrogen isotope ratios from feathers (?2Hf) can be linked to amount-weighted long-term, growing season precipitation ?2H (?2Hp) surfaces to create ?2Hf isoscapes for assignment to molt origin. However, transfer functions linking ?2Hp with ?2Hf are influenced by physiological and environmental processes. A better understanding of the causes and consequences of variation in ?2Hf values among individuals and species will improve the predictive ability of geographic assignment tests. We tested for effects of species, land cover, forage substrate, nest substrate, diet composition, body mass, sex, and phylogenetic relatedness on ?2Hf from individuals at least two years old of 21 songbird species captured during the same breeding season at a site in northeastern Alberta, Canada. For four species, we also tested for a year × species interaction effect on ?2Hf. A model including species as single predictor received the most support (AIC weight = 0.74) in explaining variation in ?2Hf. A species-specific variance parameter was part of all best-ranked models, suggesting variation in ?2Hf was not consistent among species. The second best-ranked model included a forage substrate × diet interaction term (AIC weight = 0.16). There was a significant year × species interaction effect on ?2Hf suggesting that interspecific differences in ?2Hf can differ among years. Our results suggest that within- and among-year interspecific variation in ?2Hf is the most important source of variance typically not being explicitly quantified in geographic assignment tests using non-specific transfer functions to convert ?2Hp into ?2Hf. However, this source of variation is consistent with the range of variation from the transfer functions most commonly being propagated in assignment tests of geographic origins for passerines breeding in North America.

SUBMITTER: Nordell CJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5091831 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Within-Site Variation in Feather Stable Hydrogen Isotope (δ2Hf) Values of Boreal Songbirds: Implications for Assignment to Molt Origin.

Nordell Cameron J CJ Haché Samuel S Bayne Erin M EM Sólymos Péter P Foster Kenneth R KR Godwin Christine M CM Krikun Richard R Pyle Peter P Hobson Keith A KA

PloS one 20161102 11

Understanding bird migration and dispersal is important to inform full life-cycle conservation planning. Stable hydrogen isotope ratios from feathers (δ2Hf) can be linked to amount-weighted long-term, growing season precipitation δ2H (δ2Hp) surfaces to create δ2Hf isoscapes for assignment to molt origin. However, transfer functions linking δ2Hp with δ2Hf are influenced by physiological and environmental processes. A better understanding of the causes and consequences of variation in δ2Hf values ...[more]

PMID: 27806037

Similar Datasets

Project description:Edge effects represent an inevitable and important consequence of habitat loss and fragmentation. These effects include changes in microclimate, solar radiation, or temperature. Such abiotic effects can, in turn, impact biotic factors. They can have a substantial impact on species, communities, and ecosystems. Here we examine clinal variations in stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values for trees along an edge-interior gradient in the dry deciduous forest at Ankarafantsika National Park. We predicted that soil respiration and differences in solar irradiance would result in stratified ?¹³C values where leaves collected close to the forest floor would have lower ?¹³C values than those growing higher up in the canopy. We also anticipated that plants growing at the savannah-forest boundary would have higher ?¹³C and ?¹?N values than plants growing in the forest interior. As expected, we detected a small but significant canopy effect. Leaves growing below 2 m from the forest floor exhibit ?¹³C values that are, on average, 1.1‰ lower than those growing above this threshold. We did not, however, find any relationship between foliar ?¹³C and distance from the edge. Unpredictably, we detected a striking positive relationship between foliar ?¹?N values and increasing distance into the forest interior. Variability in physiology among species, anthropogenic influence, organic input, and rooting depth cannot adequately explain this trend. Instead, this unexpected relationship most likely reflects decreasing nutrient or water availability, or a shift in N-sources with increasing distance from the savannah. Unlike most forest communities, the trees at Ampijoroa are growing in nutrient-limited sands. In addition to being nutrient poor, these well-drained soils likely decrease the amount of soil water available to forest vegetation. Continued research on plant responses to edge effects will improve our understanding of the conservation biology of forest ecosystems in Madagascar.

Dataset Information

Within-Site Variation in Feather Stable Hydrogen Isotope (?2Hf) Values of Boreal Songbirds: Implications for Assignment to Molt Origin.

Publications

Within-Site Variation in Feather Stable Hydrogen Isotope (δ2Hf) Values of Boreal Songbirds: Implications for Assignment to Molt Origin.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets