Linking breeding and wintering grounds of neotropical migrant songbirds using stable hydrogen isotopic analysis of feathers

Hobson, Keith A.; Wassenaar, Leonard I.

doi:10.1007/s004420050068

Cited by 496 publications

(496 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The stable isotope signature of feather keratin has been used to document the feeding behavior and migratory patterns of various species of birds (Mizutani and Wada 1988;Mizutani et al 1990Mizutani et al , 1992Clark 1992a, 1992b;Chamberlain et al 1997;Hobson and Wassenaar 1997;Marra et al 1998). Feathers provide an optimal tissue for the study of endangered species because they represent a non-lethal source tissue that may be collected without invasive handling.…”

Section: Stable Isotopes As Tracers Of Life History Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging ecology of the endangered wood stork recorded in the stable isotope signature of feathers

et al. 2000

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Down feathers and regurgitant were collected from nestling wood storks (Mycteria americana) from two inland and two coastal breeding colonies in Georgia. The stable isotopic ratios of carbon ( 13 C/ 12 C) and nitrogen ( 15 N/ 14 N) in these materials were analyzed to gain insights into the natal origins of juvenile storks and the foraging activities of adults. Down feathers differed in δ 13 C between inland and coastal colonies, having average isotopic values that reflected the sources of carbon fixed in biomass at the base of the food web. Feathers from the inland colonies differed between colonies in δ 15 N, while those from the coastal colonies did not. These patterns primarily reflected the foraging activities of parent storks, with individuals capturing differing percentages of prey of distinct trophic status at each colony. Collectively, the carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures of feather keratin were used to distinguish nestlings from each colony, except for instances where storks from different colonies foraged in common wetlands. The stable isotopic composition of food items in regurgitant was used to reconstruct the trophic structure of the ecosystems in which wood storks foraged. Predicted foraging activities based on the isotopic composition of keratin were generally consistent with the percentage of prey types (freshwater vs. saltwater and lower trophic level vs. upper trophic level consumer) observed in regurgitant, except for the coastal colony at St. Simons Island, where the δ 13 C of feathers strongly suggested that freshwater prey were a significant component of the diet. This inconsistency was resolved by aerial tracking of adults during foraging excursions using a fixed-wing aircraft. Observed foraging activities supported interpretations based on the stable isotope content of feathers, suggesting that the latter provided a better record of overall foraging activity than regurgitant analysis alone. Observed foraging patterns were compared to the predictions of a statistical model that determined habitat utilization based on habitat availability using a geographic information system (GIS) database. Observed foraging activities and those predicted from feathers both suggested that some adult storks preferred to feed their young freshwater prey, even when saltwater resources were more accessible in the local environment. This conclusion supports the contention that wood stork populations are sensitive to changes in the distribution of freshwater habitats along the southeastern coastal plain of the United States.

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Section: Stable Isotopes As Tracers Of Life History Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging ecology of the endangered wood stork recorded in the stable isotope signature of feathers

et al. 2000

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“…Hobson et al (13) provided evidence that ␦ 2 H values of drinking water were incorporated into different proteinaceous tissues of quail, although no mechanistic basis was proposed for this relationship. The ␦ 2 H values of bird feathers and butterfly wings (both are largely keratin) and water in the region in which the tissue was produced are highly correlated (14,15). Kreuzer-Martin et al (1) showed that Ϸ70% of the oxygen and Ϸ30% of the hydrogen atoms in microbial spores (Ϸ50% proteinaceous) were derived from the water in the growth medium, whereas the remainder was derived from the organic compounds supplied as substrate (16).…”

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Hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios in human hair are related to geography

Ehleringer

Bowen

Chesson

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

335

440

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We develop and test a model to predict the geographic region-oforigin of humans based on the stable isotope composition of their scalp hair. This model incorporates exchangeable and nonexchangeable hydrogen and oxygen atoms in amino acids to predict the ␦ 2 H and ␦ 18 O values of scalp hair (primarily keratin). We evaluated model predictions with stable isotope analyses of human hair from 65 cities across the United States. The model, which predicts hair isotopic composition as a function of drinking water, bulk diet, and dietary protein isotope ratios, explains >85% of the observed variation and reproduces the observed slopes relating the isotopic composition of hair samples to that of local drinking water. Based on the geographical distributions of the isotope ratios of tap waters and the assumption of a ''continental supermarket'' dietary input, we constructed maps of the expected average H and O isotope ratios in human hair across the contiguous 48 states. Applications of this model and these observations are extensive and include detection of dietary information, reconstruction of historic movements of individuals, and provision of regionof-origin information for unidentified human remains. stable isotopes ͉ water ͉ anthropology ͉ forensics ͉ meteoric water T he carbon (␦ 13 C), nitrogen (␦ 15 N), and sulfur (␦ 34 S) isotope ratios of humans, other animals, and microbes are strongly correlated with the isotope ratios of their dietary inputs (1-5). The adage ''You are what you eat'' reflects the observation that there are limited differences (Յ1‰) between heterotrophic organisms and their diet in either the ␦ 13 C or ␦ 34 S values (6-8). These small isotopic differences arise because of fractionation events during metabolism; they also reflect that diet-derived carbon and sulfur are the only input sources into most heterotrophs. Although there are larger ''spacing'' differences in ␦ 15 N values (Ϸ3‰) between an organism and its dietary source (9), the isotopic relationships between organism and diet persist. ␦ 13 C, ␦ 15 N, and ␦ 34 S values provide limited geographic-based information about the origins of a food source. Hydrogen (␦ 2 H) and oxygen (␦ 18 O) isotope ratios of organic matter are more useful, because ␦ 2 H and ␦ 18 O values of precipitation and tap waters vary along geographic gradients (10, 11).Although differences in the ␦ 2 H and ␦ 18 O values of scalp hair have been noted in humans (12), less is known about dietorganism patterns of ␦ 2 H and ␦ 18 O values. Four potential sources can be important: dietary organic molecules, dietary waters, drinking waters, and atmospheric diatomic oxygen. Hobson et al.(13) provided evidence that ␦ 2 H values of drinking water were incorporated into different proteinaceous tissues of quail, although no mechanistic basis was proposed for this relationship. The ␦ 2 H values of bird feathers and butterfly wings (both are largely keratin) and water in the region in which the tissue was produced are highly correlated (14, 15). showed that Ϸ70% of the oxygen and Ϸ...

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“…C or N). [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] A number of studies have also used variation in 18 O to track animal movements, typically using inorganic materials (e.g. teeth 15,16 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Tracking human travel using stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope analyses of hair and urine

O’Brien

Wooller

2007

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

106

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Linking breeding and wintering grounds of neotropical migrant songbirds using stable hydrogen isotopic analysis of feathers

Cited by 496 publications

References 35 publications

Foraging ecology of the endangered wood stork recorded in the stable isotope signature of feathers

Foraging ecology of the endangered wood stork recorded in the stable isotope signature of feathers

Hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios in human hair are related to geography

Tracking human travel using stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope analyses of hair and urine

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