A feather hydrogen isoscape for Mexico

Hobson, Keith A.; Wilgenburg, Steven L. Van; Larson, Keith W.; Wassenaar, Leonard I.

doi:10.1016/j.gexplo.2009.02.002

Cited by 18 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(12 reference statements)

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“…Mexico; Hobson et al, 2009a), but the effort and expense of such an undertaking in Asia and Eastern Europe would be considerable, requiring the acquisition and analysis of hundreds or even thousands of feathers. Some of the background data may be gleaned from other work with feather isotopes in the region (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bird migration and avian influenza: A comparison of hydrogen stable isotopes and satellite tracking methods

Bridge

Kelly

Xiao

et al. 2014

Ecological Indicators

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Satellite-based tracking of migratory waterfowl is an important tool for understanding the potential role of wild birds in the long-distance transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza. However, employing this technique on a continental scale is prohibitively expensive. This study explores the utility of stable isotope ratios in feathers in examining both the distances traveled by migratory birds and variation in migration behavior. We compared the satellite-derived movement data of 22 ducks from 8 species captured at wintering areas in Bangladesh, Turkey, and Hong Kong with deuterium ratios (δD) of these and other individuals captured at the same locations. We derived likely molting locations from the satellite tracking data and generated expected isotope ratios based on an interpolated map of δD in rainwater. Although δD was correlated with the distance between wintering and molting locations, surprisingly, measured δD values were not correlated with either expected values or latitudes of molting sites. However, population-level parameters derived from the satellite-tracking data, such as mean distance between wintering and molting locations and variation in migration distance, were reflected by means and variation of the stable isotope values. Our findings call into question the relevance of the rainfall isotope map for Asia for linking feather isotopes to molting locations, and underscore the need for extensive ground truthing in the form of feather-based isoscapes. Nevertheless, stable isotopes from feathers could inform disease models by characterizing the degree to which regional breeding populations interact at common wintering locations. Feather isotopes also could aid in surveying wintering locations to determine where high-resolution tracking techniques (e.g. satellite tracking) could most effectively be employed. Moreover, intrinsic markers such as stable isotopes offer the only means of inferring movement information from birds that have died as a result of infection. In the absence of feather based-isoscapes, we recommend a combination of isotope analysis and satellite-tracking as the best means of generating aggregate movement data for informing disease models.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bird migration and avian influenza: A comparison of hydrogen stable isotopes and satellite tracking methods

Bridge

Kelly

Xiao

et al. 2014

Ecological Indicators

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“…To date, geographic assignments of birds to molt origins have relied extensively on measurement of stable-hydrogen isotope values ( δ 2 H) in feathers because they reflect amount-weighted long-term average δ 2 H values in precipitation and these patterns are known reasonably well at the continental or global scale [11, 12, 13, 14]. By applying rescaling functions linking precipitation and feather δ 2 H values [15], it is possible to model expected feather δ 2 H isoscapes to be used in assigning individuals or populations to moult origins.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, for Africa, the distribution of precipitation stations that collect water for isotopic measurements under the Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) are generally poor and it is also unclear if rescaling algorithms used to link precipitation and feather δ 2 H derived for North American or European passerines can be applied to Africa [5, 16]. An alternate approach is to derive a feather δ 2 H isoscape directly by collecting feathers from known origins across the continent [17, 13], but little direct information exists about the stable isotope distribution in feathers along the Afrotropical areas. Feather δ 2 H isoscapes created using ground-truthed rescaling functions are therefore required to improve assignment accuracy in these areas [18, 19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a Deuterium Feather Isoscape for Sub-Saharan Africa: Progress, Challenges and the Path Ahead

et al. 2015

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A key challenge to the application of continent-wide feather isoscapes for geographic assignment of migrant birds is the lack of ground-truthed samples. This is especially true for long-distance Palearctic-Afrotropical migrants. We used spatially-explicit information on the δ 2H composition of archived feathers from Green-backed/Grey-backed Camaroptera, to create a feather δ 2H isoscape for sub-Saharan Africa. We sampled from 34 out of 41 sub-Saharan countries, totaling 205 sampling localities. Feather samples were obtained from museum collections (n = 224, from 1950 to 2014) for δ 2H assay. Region, altitude, annual rainfall and seasonal patterns in precipitation were revealed as relevant explanatory variables for spatial patterns in feather δ 2H. Predicted feather δ 2H values ranged from -4.0 ‰ to -63.3 ‰, with higher values observed in the Great Rift Valley and South Africa, and lower values in central Africa. Our feather isoscape differed from that modelled previously using a precipitation δ 2H isoscape and an assumed feather-to-precipitation calibration, but the relatively low model goodness fit (F10,213 = 5.98, p<0.001, R2 = 0.18) suggests that other, non-controlled variables might be driving observed geographic patterns in feather δ 2H values. Additional ground-truthing studies are therefore recommended to improve the accuracy of the African feather δ 2H isoscape.

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“…Thus, methodological improvements would presumably have little impact on rates of assignment. However, previously developed isoscapes [3], [38], [41], [58], [59] and results from studies of genetic population structure in birds [27], [39], [40] in North America often show non-random pattern, suggesting that a Bayesian methodology combining data from genetic and stable isotope markers should have broad applicability and be particularly powerful for improving the spatial resolution in studies of migratory connectivity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in Linking Wintering Migrant Birds to Their Breeding-Ground Origins Using Combined Analyses of Genetic and Stable Isotope Markers

et al. 2012

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An enduring problem in avian ecology and conservation is linking breeding and wintering grounds of migratory species. As migratory species and populations vary in the degree to which individuals from distinct breeding locales mix on stop-over sites and wintering grounds, establishing migratory connectivity informs our understanding of population demography and species management. We present a new Bayesian approach for inferring breeding grounds of wintering birds of unknown origins in North America. We incorporate prior information from analysis of genetic markers into geographic origin assignment based upon stable-hydrogen isotope analysis of feathers (δ2Hf), using the Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus). Likely geographic origins derived from analyses of DNA microsatellites were used as priors for Bayesian analyses in which birds were assigned to a breeding-ground origin using their δ2Hf values. As with most applications of Bayesian methods, our approach greatly improved the results (i.e. decreased the size of the potential area of origin). Area of origin decreased by 3 to 5-fold on average, but ranged up to a 10-fold improvement. We recommend this approach in future studies of migratory connectivity and suggest that our methodology could be applied more broadly to the study of dispersal, sources of productivity of migratory populations, and a range of evolutionary phenomena.

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A feather hydrogen isoscape for Mexico

Cited by 18 publications

References 16 publications

Bird migration and avian influenza: A comparison of hydrogen stable isotopes and satellite tracking methods

Bird migration and avian influenza: A comparison of hydrogen stable isotopes and satellite tracking methods

Toward a Deuterium Feather Isoscape for Sub-Saharan Africa: Progress, Challenges and the Path Ahead

Advances in Linking Wintering Migrant Birds to Their Breeding-Ground Origins Using Combined Analyses of Genetic and Stable Isotope Markers

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