Advances in linking wintering migrant birds to their breeding-ground origins using combined analyses of genetic and stable isotope markers

PLoS One. 2012;7(8):e43627. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0043627. Epub 2012 Aug 20.

Abstract

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 (δ(2)H(f)), 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 δ(2)H(f) 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.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animal Migration / physiology*
  • Animals
  • Birds / physiology*
  • Breeding
  • Isotopes
  • Seasons

Substances

  • Isotopes

Grants and funding

Funding was provided by Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada’s Strategic Technologies Application of Genomics in the Environment Research Fund, the Endangered Species Recovery Fund through the World Wildlife Fund of Canada, the Interdepartmental Recovery Fund, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (grant to Lougheed and Post Graduate Scholarship to Chabot), the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (Ontario Graduate Scholarship to Chabot), Queen’s University (Duncan and Urlla Carmichael Fellowship to Chabot) and Wildlife Preservation Canada. Additional funding for stable isotope work was provided by an operating grant to Hobson by Environment Canada. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.