Backtracking the movements of a migratory bird: a case study of a white‐fronted goose (<i>Anser albifrons</i>)

Horacek, Micha

doi:10.1002/rcm.5209

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Horacek, 2011; Peterson and Williams, 2008; Whitworth et al, 2007), but there have been few attempts to evaluate the utility of this method. Yohannes, et al (2008) found that they could predict the prevalence of malaria in Great Reed Warblers ( Acrocephalus arundinaceus ) based on feather isotopes.…”

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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“…Combining isotopic signatures of feathers with knowledge of moult patterns has allowed the reconstruction of migration routes (Ramos et al 2009a), provided information on the possible transmission of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza (Chang et al 2008; Horacek 2011), and revealed variation in habitat preferences both within and between species during the nonbreeding period (Cherel et al 2006; Phillips et al 2009). This has enabled the migratory patterns and habitat selection of individuals during the winter to be linked to subsequent condition and breeding performance (Marra et al 1998; Furness et al 2006; Inger et al 2008) and identifies the geographical origins of pollutant burdens carried by seabirds (Leat et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying variation in δ 13C and δ 15N isotopes within and between feathers and individuals: Is one sample enough?

et al. 2015

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Studies of avian migration increasingly use stable isotope analysis to provide vital trophic and spatial markers. However, when interpreting differences in stable isotope values of feathers, many studies are forced to make assumptions about the timing of moult. A fundamental question remains about the consistency of these values within and between feathers from the same individual. In this study, we examine variation in carbon and nitrogen isotopes by sub-sampling feathers collected from the wings of adults of two small congeneric petrel species, the broad-billed Pachyptila vittata and Antarctic prion P. desolata. Broad-billed prion feather vane material was enriched in 15N compared to feather rachis material, but there was no detectable difference in δ13C. Comparison of multiple samples taken from Antarctic prion feathers indicated subtle difference in isotopes; rachis material was enriched in 13C compared to vane material, and there were differences along the length of the feather, with samples from the middle and tip of the feather depleted in 15N compared to those from the base. While the greatest proportion of model variance was explained by differences between feathers and individuals, the magnitude of these within-feather differences was up to 0.5 ‰ in δ15N and 0.8 ‰ in δ13C. We discuss the potential drivers of these differences, linking isotopic variation to individual-level dietary differences, movement patterns and temporal dietary shifts. A novel result is that within-feather differences in δ13C may be attributed to differences in keratin structure within feathers, suggesting further work is required to understand the role of different amino acids. Our results highlight the importance of multiple sampling regimes that consider both within- and between-feather variation in studies using stable isotopes. Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00227-015-2618-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…) and various mixtures of organic solvents, including acetone (Hilton et al . ; Horacek ), petroleum ether (Chang et al . ), chloroform‐ether 2 : 1 (Hobson & Wassenaar ; Cherel, Hobson & Weimerskirch ; Cherel et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of methods for stable isotope ratio (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ²H, δ¹⁸O) measurements of feathers

et al. 2014

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Summary1. Natural variations in the stable isotope ratios of bioelements in bird feathers are being increasingly used by animal ecologists to investigate different aspects of bird life. However, to ensure reliability of the data, a critical and very delicate aspect is the preparatory phase (cleaning, drying and subsampling) and the proper analysis, mainly in relation to d 2 H and d 18O, respectively, for the presence of exchangeable Hs and of nitrogen and sulphur in keratin. 2. With respect to determination of the isotope ratios of C, N, O and H, in this work, we compare the cleaning mixture most commonly used in the literature (chloroform : methanol 2 : 1) with diethylether : methanol 2 : 1, which avoids the use of the carcinogenic solvent chloroform. We also compared oven-drying with airdrying of samples, as well as subsampling of feathers by cutting with surgical scissors or cryogenic pulverization. Finally, we investigated whether stable isotope ratios varied along the vane and between the rachis and vane. 3. The different methods compared in the three preparatory stages showed no differences performance-wise and can therefore be used interchangeably. Variability in stable isotope ratios can be considerable, both along the vane and between rachis and vane, which is because their compositions register changes in diet, area and climate. However, in this specific study, when the parts of the feather closest to the calamus were removed, the delta values were clearly more homogeneous. Finally, we demonstrate that a casein with a known d O, the use of a longer gas chromatography-GC column, its frequent change and the use of a linear equation built with matrix match equivalent reference materials seems to reduce the drift of GC column performance due to the presence of nitrogen and the accumulation of sulphur.

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Backtracking the movements of a migratory bird: a case study of a white‐fronted goose (Anser albifrons)

Cited by 5 publications

References 32 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

Quantifying variation in δ 13C and δ 15N isotopes within and between feathers and individuals: Is one sample enough?

Comparison of methods for stable isotope ratio (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ²H, δ¹⁸O) measurements of feathers

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Backtracking the movements of a migratory bird: a case study of a white‐fronted goose (Anser albifrons)

Cited by 5 publications

References 32 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

Quantifying variation in δ 13C and δ 15N isotopes within and between feathers and individuals: Is one sample enough?

Comparison of methods for stable isotope ratio (δ13C, δ15N, δ2H, δ18O) measurements of feathers

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Comparison of methods for stable isotope ratio (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ²H, δ¹⁸O) measurements of feathers