Application of isoscapes to determine geographic origin of terrestrial wildlife for conservation and management

Zanden, Hannah B. Vander; Nelson, David M.; Wunder, Michael B.; Conkling, Tara J.; Katzner, Todd E.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2018.10.019

Cited by 37 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 134 publications

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“…One class of potentially useful markers that have been underutilized to date are intrinsic biomarkers such as stable isotopes, genetic loci and trace elements. Biomarkers offer advantages such as absence of bias to site of marking (i.e., biased due to banding at one location), relatively low cost, a lack of impact on behavior, and small sample-size requirements ( Hobson et al., 2019a ; Vander Zanden et al., 2018 ). However, relative to the use of such approaches to document migratory behavior of birds ( Norris & Marra, 2007 ; Irwin, Irwin & Smith, 2011 ; Hobson et al, 2014 ; Nelson et al, 2015 ), the use of biomarkers to track migration in migratory bats is relatively unexplored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using trace elements to identify the geographic origin of migratory bats

Wieringa

Nagel

Nelson

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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The expansion of the wind energy industry has had benefits in terms of increased renewable energy production but has also led to increased mortality of migratory bats due to interactions with wind turbines. A key question that could guide bat-related management activities is identifying the geographic origin of bats killed at wind-energy facilities. Generating this information requires developing new methods for identifying the geographic sources of individual bats. Here we explore the viability of assigning geographic origin using trace element analyses of fur to infer the summer molting location of eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis). Our approach is based on the idea that the concentration of trace elements in bat fur is related through the food chain to the amount of trace elements present in the soil, which varies across large geographic scales. Specifically, we used inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry to determine the concentration of fourteen trace elements in fur of 126 known-origin eastern red bats to generate a basemap for assignment throughout the range of this species in eastern North America. We then compared this map to publicly available soil trace element concentrations for the U.S. and Canada, used a probabilistic framework to generate likelihood-of-origin maps for each bat, and assessed how well trace element profiles predicted the origins of these individuals. Overall, our results suggest that trace elements allow successful assignment of individual bats 80% of the time while reducing probable locations in half. Our study supports the use of trace elements to identify the geographic origin of eastern red and perhaps other migratory bats, particularly when combined with data from other biomarkers such as genetic and stable isotope data.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using trace elements to identify the geographic origin of migratory bats

Wieringa

Nagel

Nelson

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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“…Use of endogenous markers such as genetic fingerprints and naturally occurring stable isotopes in animal tissues have become an important tool in the study of wildlife conservation and management, including enforcement of legislation for both hunted and endangered species 4,5 . Other endogenous markers, such as concentrations of trace elements (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographical assignment of polar bears using multi-element isoscapes

Koehler

Kardynal

Hobson

2019

Sci Rep

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Wide-ranging apex predators are among the most challenging of all fauna to conserve and manage. This is especially true of the polar bear ( Ursus maritimus ), an iconic predator that is hunted in Canada and threatened by global climate change. We used combinations of stable isotopes ( 13 C, 15 N, 2 H, 18 O) in polar bear hair from > 1000 individuals, sampled from across much of the Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic, to test the ability of stable isotopic profiles to ‘assign’ bears to (1) predefined managed subpopulations, (2) subpopulations defined by similarities in stable isotope values using quadratic discriminant analysis, and (3) spatially explicit, isotopically distinct clusters derived from interpolated (i.e. ‘kriged’) isotopic landscapes, or ‘isoscapes’, using the partitioning around medoids algorithm. A four-isotope solution provided the highest overall assignment accuracies (~80%) to pre-existing management subpopulations with accuracy rates ranging from ~30–99% (median = 64%). Assignment accuracies of bears to hierarchically clustered ecological groups based on isotopes ranged from ~64–99%. Multivariate assignment to isotopic clusters resulted in highest assignment accuracies of 68% (33–77%), 84% (47–96%) and 74% (53–85%) using two, three and four stable isotope groups, respectively. The resulting spatial structure inherent in the multiple stable isotopic compositions of polar bear tissues is a powerful forensic tool that will, in this case, contribute to the conservation and management of this species. Currently, it is unclear what is driving these robust isotopic patterns and future research is needed to evaluate the processes behind the pattern. Nonetheless, our isotopic approach can be further applied to other apex mammalian predators under threat, such as the large felids, providing that isotopic structure occurs throughout their range.

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“…Isotopes have also been used to ascribe a local or non‐local catchment area to wildlife killed at renewable energy facilities (Vander Zanden et al. ). Similarly, combinations of genetic markers and isotope techniques have been used to identify the catchment area and origin of bats (Pylant et al.…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing population‐level consequences of anthropogenic stressors for terrestrial wildlife

et al. 2020

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Human activity influences wildlife. However, the ecological and conservation significances of these influences are difficult to predict and depend on their population-level consequences. This difficulty arises partly because of information gaps, and partly because the data on stressors are usually collected in a count-based manner (e.g., number of dead animals) that is difficult to translate into rate-based estimates important to infer population-level consequences (e.g., changes in mortality or population growth rates). However, ongoing methodological developments can provide information to make this transition. Here, we synthesize tools from multiple fields of study to propose an overarching, spatially explicit framework to assess population-level consequences of anthropogenic stressors on terrestrial wildlife. A key component of this process is using ecological information from affected animals to upscale from count-based field data on individuals to rate-based demographic inference. The five steps to this framework are (1) framing the problem to identify species, populations, and assessment parameters; (2) field-based measurement of the effect of the stressor on individuals; (3) characterizing the location and size of the populations of interest; (4) demographic modeling for those populations; and (5) assessing the significance of stressor-induced changes in demographic rates. The tools required for each of these steps are well developed, and some have been used in conjunction with each other, but the entire group has not previously been unified together as we do in this framework. We detail these steps and then illustrate their application for two species affected by different anthropogenic stressors. In our examples, we use stable hydrogen isotope data to infer a catchment area describing the geographic origins of affected individuals, as the basis to estimate population size for that area. These examples reveal unexpectedly greater potential risks from stressors for the more common and widely distributed species. This work illustrates key strengths of the framework but also important areas for subsequent theoretical and technical development to make it still more broadly applicable.

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Application of isoscapes to determine geographic origin of terrestrial wildlife for conservation and management

Cited by 37 publications

References 134 publications

Using trace elements to identify the geographic origin of migratory bats

Using trace elements to identify the geographic origin of migratory bats

Geographical assignment of polar bears using multi-element isoscapes

Assessing population‐level consequences of anthropogenic stressors for terrestrial wildlife

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