Stable-hydrogen isotope turnover in red blood cells of two migratory thrushes: application to studies of connectivity and carry-over effects

McKinnon, Emily A.; Fraser, Kevin C.; Diamond, Antony W.; Rimmer, Christopher C.; Townsend, Jason M.

doi:10.1111/j.1557-9263.2012.00380.x

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Cellular blood turnover in Wood Thrushes likely takes at least 2 weeks (McKinnon et al. ). The trend we observed of a decline in δ 15 N in the forest habitats may reflect the beginning of an underlying shift in diet that, because of the time‐lag between consumption and tissue turnover, would not be apparent in blood values until later in April.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does the proportion of arthropods versus fruit in the diet influence overwintering condition of an omnivorous songbird?

2017

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ABSTRACT. Many migratory songbirds switch from a primarily insectivorous diet during the breeding season to either a mixed diet or fruit diet during the non-breeding season. However, for species with mixed diets, arthropods may be superior food items because of their higher protein content and easier digestibility. We tested this hypothesis by analyzing the diet and body condition of omnivorous Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) at a non-breeding site in tropical forest in Belize, Central America. We used analysis of stable isotopes d 15 N and d 13 C in the blood to measure diet. Our objective was to determine if a higher dietary proportion of arthropods relative to fruit (i.e., higher d 15 N and d 13 C) was associated with better body condition. We also examined the possible effect of age, sex, and habitat type on Wood Thrush diets, as well as any changes in diet through the overwintering period. We used a hierarchical Bayesian mixing model (MixSIAR) to estimate the proportion of different prey items in the diet of overwintering Wood Thrushes overall, in each habitat type, and over time during the non-breeding period. From January to April, we found a significant decline in d 15 N in forest habitats, whereas d 15 N increased in scrub habitat. There was no significant seasonal change in d 13 C. Birds with higher d 15 N or d 13 C values were not in better body condition. Females in dry-scrub habitat consumed more fruit than males, but this did not affect body condition. Mixing model results indicated that most Wood Thrushes at our study sites consumed primarily arthropods, even during the driest times of the non-breeding season and in the driest habitat. Overall, our results suggest that the diet of Wood Thrushes varies with habitat and during the overwintering period, but diet alone was not a predictor of body condition. Wood Thrushes, and possibly other omnivorous migratory songbirds, are apparently flexibly able to meet their wintering and pre-migration nutritional demands with a variety of diets.RESUMEN. La proporci on de artr opodos versus frutas en la dieta influencia la condici on f ısica durante el invierno en un ave canora omn ıvora? Muchas aves canoras migratorias cambian de una dieta principalmente insect ıvora durante la temporada reproductiva a una dieta o bien mixta o bien frug ıvora durante la temporada no reproductiva. A un as ı, para especies con dietas mixtas, los artr opodos pueden ser items alimentarios superiores debidos a su mayor contenido prot eico y f acil digesti on. Pusimos a prueba esta hip otesis analizando la dieta y la condici on f ısica del omn ıvoro Zorzal del Bosque (Hylocichla mustelina) en un sitio no reproductivo en el bosque tropical de Belize, Am erica Central. Utilizamos an alisis de is otopos estables d 15 N y d 13 C en la sangre a fin de medir dieta. Nuestro objetivo fue determinar si una proporci on m as alta de artropodos en relaci on a fruta en la dieta (i.e., d15 N y d 13 C m as alto) est a asociada con una mejor condici on f ısica. Examinamos tambi en el posible ef...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, isotope values of the cellular blood of songbirds represent diet over a period of 2–3 weeks (McKinnon et al. ), and thus are not biased toward recently consumed foods. Stable isotope analysis also provides an advantage because fruits may be difficult to detect in emetic or fecal samples, especially if seeds are not consumed.…”

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confidence: 99%

Does the proportion of arthropods versus fruit in the diet influence overwintering condition of an omnivorous songbird?

2017

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“…The most parsimonious explanation for this pattern and why it differs from that observed for winter-collected tissues discussed above is that muscle and blood have not equilibrated with local hydrogen sources when these birds were collected in Tierra del Fuego in early February. d 2 H isotopic incorporation rates have not been quantified for liver, muscle, or whole blood, but McKinnon et al (2012) found that d 2 H half-life estimates for red blood cells in two species of migratory thrushes varied from 14 to 21 days. Wolf et al (2012) and Storm-Suke et al (2012) reported similar incorporation rates for d 2 H of red blood cells in captive Japanese quail; half life estimates for plasma in quail were ;3.5 days.…”

Section: Importance Of Isotopic Incorporation: Oustaleti and Patagonimentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi‐tissue δ²H analysis reveals altitudinal migration and tissue‐specific discrimination patterns in Cinclodes

et al. 2015

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“…[54]) could also result in important spatio-temporal variation in δ 2 H f of ASY songbirds from a given region, but it is unclear to what extent resources consumed during the nesting period can be integrated in tissues that have grown during the post-fledging period (e.g. [55, 56]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2016

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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 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 δ2Hf 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 δ2Hf. A model including species as single predictor received the most support (AIC weight = 0.74) in explaining variation in δ2Hf. A species-specific variance parameter was part of all best-ranked models, suggesting variation in δ2Hf 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 δ2Hf suggesting that interspecific differences in δ2Hf can differ among years. Our results suggest that within- and among-year interspecific variation in δ2Hf is the most important source of variance typically not being explicitly quantified in geographic assignment tests using non-specific transfer functions to convert δ2Hp into δ2Hf. 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.

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Stable-hydrogen isotope turnover in red blood cells of two migratory thrushes: application to studies of connectivity and carry-over effects

Cited by 8 publications

References 34 publications

Does the proportion of arthropods versus fruit in the diet influence overwintering condition of an omnivorous songbird?

Does the proportion of arthropods versus fruit in the diet influence overwintering condition of an omnivorous songbird?

Multi‐tissue δ²H analysis reveals altitudinal migration and tissue‐specific discrimination patterns in Cinclodes

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

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Stable-hydrogen isotope turnover in red blood cells of two migratory thrushes: application to studies of connectivity and carry-over effects

Cited by 8 publications

References 34 publications

Does the proportion of arthropods versus fruit in the diet influence overwintering condition of an omnivorous songbird?

Does the proportion of arthropods versus fruit in the diet influence overwintering condition of an omnivorous songbird?

Multi‐tissue δ2H analysis reveals altitudinal migration and tissue‐specific discrimination patterns in Cinclodes

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

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Multi‐tissue δ²H analysis reveals altitudinal migration and tissue‐specific discrimination patterns in Cinclodes