Use of stable isotope fingerprints to assign wintering origin and trace shorebird movements along the East Atlantic Flyway

Teresa Catry; Pedro M. Lourenço; Ricardo J. Lopes; Pierrick Bocher; Camilo Carneiro; José A. Alves; Philippe Delaporte; Stuart Bearhop; Theunis Piersma; José P. Granadeiro

doi:10.1016/j.baae.2015.10.005

Use of stable isotope fingerprints to assign wintering origin and trace shorebird movements along the East Atlantic Flyway

Teresa Catry
, Pedro M. Lourenço
, Ricardo J. Lopes
, Pierrick Bocher
, Camilo Carneiro
, José A. Alves
, Philippe Delaporte
, Stuart Bearhop
, Theunis Piersma
, José P. Granadeiro

University of Iceland

University of Iceland

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Migratory connectivity can be defined as the flux of individuals or populations among areas between stages of an animal's life cycle. Many shorebird species perform long-distance migrations and while moving between breeding and wintering grounds, they depend on a network of intermediate wetlands (stopover sites) where populations of different origins extensively overlap. The difficulty to discriminate such populations represents a serious obstacle to the identification of the links between breeding or wintering areas and stopover sites, and also precludes the estimation of demographic parameters for each population. In this study, we test if linear discriminant models based on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in toenails can be used to identify populations of several shorebird species of different wintering origins overlapping at two stopover sites of the East Atlantic Flyway. In addition, we evaluate the ability of this approach to infer migratory phenological patterns of shorebirds. Linear discriminant analyses performed overall well in distinguishing the isotopic signals of birds from wintering areas (in France, Portugal, Morocco, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau) in most species, correctly classifying over 80% (n = 542) of all wintering individuals sampled at these areas. Assignment rates of shorebirds captured during spring migration were also high (96%, n = 323) at the Tejo estuary, Portugal, but lower (40%, n = 185) at Marennes-Oléron Bay in France, and also differed among species. A large proportion of spring migrants captured in Portugal and France were assigned to Banc d'Arguin in Mauritania, the most important wintering area in the flyway. Phenological patterns derived for dunlins (Calidris alpina), common ringed plovers (Charadrius hiaticula) and grey plovers (Pluvialis squatarola) suggest that the first northward migrants started arriving at the Tejo estuary during the second half of March, with peaking numbers occurring during April or May.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	177-187
Number of pages	11
Journal	Basic and Applied Ecology
Volume	17
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2015.10.005
Publication status	Published - 1 Mar 2016

Bibliographical note

Funding Information: We thank Alfredo da Silva, Aissa Regalla and other staff from IBAP for permission to carry out field work in Guinea-Bissau, as well as Joãozinho Sá and Hamilton Monteiro from GPC. Paulo Catry provided help during expedition preparation and Maria Dias, Miguel Lecoq and Mohamed Henriques helped during fieldwork. Expeditions to Banc d’Arguin received the logistic support of PNBA, António Araújo (MAVA) and colleagues from NIOZ, particularly Dr Piet van den Hout and Dr Jan van Gils. We also acknowledge the participation of Hamid Rguibi-Idrissi, Latifa Joulami, Joana Costa, Sara Pardal, Miguel Araújo and Luís da Silva in expeditions to Sidi Moussa. Finally, we thank all volunteers helping in bird sampling at the Tejo estuary, in particular João Guilherme, Inês Catry, Pete Potts, Ruth Croger and other members of the Farlington Ringing Group, and the staff of the Nature Reserves Moëze-Oléron as well as Pierre Rousseaux, Loïc Jomat, Vincent Lelong, Stéphane Gueneteau and Frédéric Robin. The manuscript beneficiated from the comments of Phil Atkinson and another two anonymous referees. All sampling was performed under ringing and sampling permits 82/2012/COLH, 394/2014/CAPT, 213/2012, 226/2013 and 227/2014 (ICNF) and 22/2013 and 3/2014 (HCEFLCD). This study was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through Project “Invisible Links” (PTDC/MAR/119920/2010) and strategic project UID/AMB/50017/2013. The following postdoctoral grants were supported by POPH/QREN/FSE funds and by the FCT : TC ( SFRH/BPD/102255/2014 ), PML ( SFRH/BPD/84237/2012 ), RJL ( SFRH/BPD/40786/2007 , SFRH/BPD/84141/2012 ) and JAA ( SFRH/BPD/91527/2012 ). TP's contribution was supported by operational grants from Royal NIOZ and NWO-ALW TOP grant ‘Shorebirds in space’ (854.11.004). Publisher Copyright: © 2015 Gesellschaft für Ökologie.

Other keywords

Discriminant analysis
Migratory connectivity
Stable isotopes
Stopover sites
Toenails

Access to Document

10.1016/j.baae.2015.10.005

Cite this

@article{843a99804cb341fea9fa7ba192b5a3b6,

title = "Use of stable isotope fingerprints to assign wintering origin and trace shorebird movements along the East Atlantic Flyway",

abstract = "Migratory connectivity can be defined as the flux of individuals or populations among areas between stages of an animal's life cycle. Many shorebird species perform long-distance migrations and while moving between breeding and wintering grounds, they depend on a network of intermediate wetlands (stopover sites) where populations of different origins extensively overlap. The difficulty to discriminate such populations represents a serious obstacle to the identification of the links between breeding or wintering areas and stopover sites, and also precludes the estimation of demographic parameters for each population. In this study, we test if linear discriminant models based on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in toenails can be used to identify populations of several shorebird species of different wintering origins overlapping at two stopover sites of the East Atlantic Flyway. In addition, we evaluate the ability of this approach to infer migratory phenological patterns of shorebirds. Linear discriminant analyses performed overall well in distinguishing the isotopic signals of birds from wintering areas (in France, Portugal, Morocco, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau) in most species, correctly classifying over 80\% (n = 542) of all wintering individuals sampled at these areas. Assignment rates of shorebirds captured during spring migration were also high (96\%, n = 323) at the Tejo estuary, Portugal, but lower (40\%, n = 185) at Marennes-Ol{\'e}ron Bay in France, and also differed among species. A large proportion of spring migrants captured in Portugal and France were assigned to Banc d'Arguin in Mauritania, the most important wintering area in the flyway. Phenological patterns derived for dunlins (Calidris alpina), common ringed plovers (Charadrius hiaticula) and grey plovers (Pluvialis squatarola) suggest that the first northward migrants started arriving at the Tejo estuary during the second half of March, with peaking numbers occurring during April or May.",

keywords = "Discriminant analysis, Migratory connectivity, Stable isotopes, Stopover sites, Toenails",

author = "Teresa Catry and Louren{\c c}o, \{Pedro M.\} and Lopes, \{Ricardo J.\} and Pierrick Bocher and Camilo Carneiro and Alves, \{Jos{\'e} A.\} and Philippe Delaporte and Stuart Bearhop and Theunis Piersma and Granadeiro, \{Jos{\'e} P.\}",

note = "Funding Information: We thank Alfredo da Silva, Aissa Regalla and other staff from IBAP for permission to carry out field work in Guinea-Bissau, as well as Jo{\~a}ozinho S{\'a} and Hamilton Monteiro from GPC. Paulo Catry provided help during expedition preparation and Maria Dias, Miguel Lecoq and Mohamed Henriques helped during fieldwork. Expeditions to Banc d{\textquoteright}Arguin received the logistic support of PNBA, Ant{\'o}nio Ara{\'u}jo (MAVA) and colleagues from NIOZ, particularly Dr Piet van den Hout and Dr Jan van Gils. We also acknowledge the participation of Hamid Rguibi-Idrissi, Latifa Joulami, Joana Costa, Sara Pardal, Miguel Ara{\'u}jo and Lu{\'i}s da Silva in expeditions to Sidi Moussa. Finally, we thank all volunteers helping in bird sampling at the Tejo estuary, in particular Jo{\~a}o Guilherme, In{\^e}s Catry, Pete Potts, Ruth Croger and other members of the Farlington Ringing Group, and the staff of the Nature Reserves Mo{\"e}ze-Ol{\'e}ron as well as Pierre Rousseaux, Lo{\"i}c Jomat, Vincent Lelong, St{\'e}phane Gueneteau and Fr{\'e}d{\'e}ric Robin. The manuscript beneficiated from the comments of Phil Atkinson and another two anonymous referees. All sampling was performed under ringing and sampling permits 82/2012/COLH, 394/2014/CAPT, 213/2012, 226/2013 and 227/2014 (ICNF) and 22/2013 and 3/2014 (HCEFLCD). This study was supported by Funda{\c c}{\~a}o para a Ci{\^e}ncia e Tecnologia (FCT), through Project “Invisible Links” (PTDC/MAR/119920/2010) and strategic project UID/AMB/50017/2013. The following postdoctoral grants were supported by POPH/QREN/FSE funds and by the FCT : TC ( SFRH/BPD/102255/2014 ), PML ( SFRH/BPD/84237/2012 ), RJL ( SFRH/BPD/40786/2007 , SFRH/BPD/84141/2012 ) and JAA ( SFRH/BPD/91527/2012 ). TP's contribution was supported by operational grants from Royal NIOZ and NWO-ALW TOP grant {\textquoteleft}Shorebirds in space{\textquoteright} (854.11.004). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2015 Gesellschaft f{\"u}r {\"O}kologie.",

year = "2016",

month = mar,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.baae.2015.10.005",

language = "English",

volume = "17",

pages = "177--187",

journal = "Basic and Applied Ecology",

issn = "1439-1791",

publisher = "Elsevier GmbH",

number = "2",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Use of stable isotope fingerprints to assign wintering origin and trace shorebird movements along the East Atlantic Flyway

AU - Catry, Teresa

AU - Lourenço, Pedro M.

AU - Lopes, Ricardo J.

AU - Bocher, Pierrick

AU - Carneiro, Camilo

AU - Alves, José A.

AU - Delaporte, Philippe

AU - Bearhop, Stuart

AU - Piersma, Theunis

AU - Granadeiro, José P.

N1 - Funding Information: We thank Alfredo da Silva, Aissa Regalla and other staff from IBAP for permission to carry out field work in Guinea-Bissau, as well as Joãozinho Sá and Hamilton Monteiro from GPC. Paulo Catry provided help during expedition preparation and Maria Dias, Miguel Lecoq and Mohamed Henriques helped during fieldwork. Expeditions to Banc d’Arguin received the logistic support of PNBA, António Araújo (MAVA) and colleagues from NIOZ, particularly Dr Piet van den Hout and Dr Jan van Gils. We also acknowledge the participation of Hamid Rguibi-Idrissi, Latifa Joulami, Joana Costa, Sara Pardal, Miguel Araújo and Luís da Silva in expeditions to Sidi Moussa. Finally, we thank all volunteers helping in bird sampling at the Tejo estuary, in particular João Guilherme, Inês Catry, Pete Potts, Ruth Croger and other members of the Farlington Ringing Group, and the staff of the Nature Reserves Moëze-Oléron as well as Pierre Rousseaux, Loïc Jomat, Vincent Lelong, Stéphane Gueneteau and Frédéric Robin. The manuscript beneficiated from the comments of Phil Atkinson and another two anonymous referees. All sampling was performed under ringing and sampling permits 82/2012/COLH, 394/2014/CAPT, 213/2012, 226/2013 and 227/2014 (ICNF) and 22/2013 and 3/2014 (HCEFLCD). This study was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through Project “Invisible Links” (PTDC/MAR/119920/2010) and strategic project UID/AMB/50017/2013. The following postdoctoral grants were supported by POPH/QREN/FSE funds and by the FCT : TC ( SFRH/BPD/102255/2014 ), PML ( SFRH/BPD/84237/2012 ), RJL ( SFRH/BPD/40786/2007 , SFRH/BPD/84141/2012 ) and JAA ( SFRH/BPD/91527/2012 ). TP's contribution was supported by operational grants from Royal NIOZ and NWO-ALW TOP grant ‘Shorebirds in space’ (854.11.004). Publisher Copyright: © 2015 Gesellschaft für Ökologie.

PY - 2016/3/1

Y1 - 2016/3/1

N2 - Migratory connectivity can be defined as the flux of individuals or populations among areas between stages of an animal's life cycle. Many shorebird species perform long-distance migrations and while moving between breeding and wintering grounds, they depend on a network of intermediate wetlands (stopover sites) where populations of different origins extensively overlap. The difficulty to discriminate such populations represents a serious obstacle to the identification of the links between breeding or wintering areas and stopover sites, and also precludes the estimation of demographic parameters for each population. In this study, we test if linear discriminant models based on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in toenails can be used to identify populations of several shorebird species of different wintering origins overlapping at two stopover sites of the East Atlantic Flyway. In addition, we evaluate the ability of this approach to infer migratory phenological patterns of shorebirds. Linear discriminant analyses performed overall well in distinguishing the isotopic signals of birds from wintering areas (in France, Portugal, Morocco, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau) in most species, correctly classifying over 80% (n = 542) of all wintering individuals sampled at these areas. Assignment rates of shorebirds captured during spring migration were also high (96%, n = 323) at the Tejo estuary, Portugal, but lower (40%, n = 185) at Marennes-Oléron Bay in France, and also differed among species. A large proportion of spring migrants captured in Portugal and France were assigned to Banc d'Arguin in Mauritania, the most important wintering area in the flyway. Phenological patterns derived for dunlins (Calidris alpina), common ringed plovers (Charadrius hiaticula) and grey plovers (Pluvialis squatarola) suggest that the first northward migrants started arriving at the Tejo estuary during the second half of March, with peaking numbers occurring during April or May.

AB - Migratory connectivity can be defined as the flux of individuals or populations among areas between stages of an animal's life cycle. Many shorebird species perform long-distance migrations and while moving between breeding and wintering grounds, they depend on a network of intermediate wetlands (stopover sites) where populations of different origins extensively overlap. The difficulty to discriminate such populations represents a serious obstacle to the identification of the links between breeding or wintering areas and stopover sites, and also precludes the estimation of demographic parameters for each population. In this study, we test if linear discriminant models based on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in toenails can be used to identify populations of several shorebird species of different wintering origins overlapping at two stopover sites of the East Atlantic Flyway. In addition, we evaluate the ability of this approach to infer migratory phenological patterns of shorebirds. Linear discriminant analyses performed overall well in distinguishing the isotopic signals of birds from wintering areas (in France, Portugal, Morocco, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau) in most species, correctly classifying over 80% (n = 542) of all wintering individuals sampled at these areas. Assignment rates of shorebirds captured during spring migration were also high (96%, n = 323) at the Tejo estuary, Portugal, but lower (40%, n = 185) at Marennes-Oléron Bay in France, and also differed among species. A large proportion of spring migrants captured in Portugal and France were assigned to Banc d'Arguin in Mauritania, the most important wintering area in the flyway. Phenological patterns derived for dunlins (Calidris alpina), common ringed plovers (Charadrius hiaticula) and grey plovers (Pluvialis squatarola) suggest that the first northward migrants started arriving at the Tejo estuary during the second half of March, with peaking numbers occurring during April or May.

KW - Discriminant analysis

KW - Migratory connectivity

KW - Stable isotopes

KW - Stopover sites

KW - Toenails

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84960407737

U2 - 10.1016/j.baae.2015.10.005

DO - 10.1016/j.baae.2015.10.005

M3 - Article

SN - 1439-1791

VL - 17

SP - 177

EP - 187

JO - Basic and Applied Ecology

JF - Basic and Applied Ecology

IS - 2

ER -

Use of stable isotope fingerprints to assign wintering origin and trace shorebird movements along the East Atlantic Flyway

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Other keywords

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