Abstract
Sexing bird species with monomorphic plumage is generally challenging, and sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is often used to develop morphometric-based sexing tools, e.g., using discriminant functions. Within species, local selection pressures, age-related and season-related growth may, however, induce geographical and temporal variations in body size and SSD. Such variations may complicate the development of reliable morphometric-based sexing methods at a broad scale. We first investigated body size variations in a migratory shorebird species with wide breeding and wintering ranges, the Sanderling Calidris alba, within the two breeding populations (Greenland and Russia) and three staging/wintering populations (United Kingdom, Iceland and Mauritania), which belong to the same flyway. Then, for samples from each region, we tested whether site-specific (i.e., “regional”) functions performed better than functions developed for birds from the other sites (i.e., “foreign” functions) or than an overall (“flyway”) function that combined all sampled individuals. We found minor variations in SSD between regions, but significant differences in body size between sexes and regions. Females were larger than males and, for instance, breeders had longer wings than staging and wintering birds. Regional functions had similar sexing efficiency as any other functions applied to sample from each region, except for Western Africa where the regional function performed slightly better than some of the other functions. Furthermore, the flyway function developed after merging all subsamples had a similar efficiency than the regional functions, i.e., from 75.4% to 90% of correct sex assignment depending on the region. Given the small or lack of benefit in using regional functions, we conclude that the flyway function can be used reliably to sex Sanderlings measured at different sites, years or seasons within the East Atlantic flyway. Our results may help to develop global sexing function for other bird species.
Zusammenfassung
Die Geschlechtsbestimmung einer Zugvogelart anhand von Körpermaßen funktioniert trotz geografischer und zeitlicher Variationen der Körpergröße und des Geschlechtsdimorphismus entlang seiner gesamten Zugroute.
Die Geschlechtsbestimmung von Vogelarten mit monomorphem Gefieder ist in der Regel schwierig. Bei solchen Arten wird häufig der Größendimorphismus zwischen den Geschlechtern (SSD) z. B. unter Verwendung von Diskriminanzfunktionen zur Geschlechtsbestimmung verwendet. Innerhalb einer Art können jedoch lokale Selektionszwänge sowie alters- und saisonbedingtes Wachstum zu geografischen und zeitlichen Variationen der Körpergröße und des SSD führen. Solche Schwankungen können die Entwicklung zuverlässiger Methoden zur Geschlechtsbestimmung anhand morphometrischer Merkmale erschweren. Anhand einer Watvogelart mit großen Brut- und Überwinterungsgebieten, dem Sanderling Calidris alba, untersuchten wir auf derselben Zugroute die Variationen der Körpermaße innerhalb von zwei Brut- (Grönland und Russland) und drei Rast- bzw. Überwinterungspopulationen (Vereinigtes Königreich, Island und Mauretanien). Anschließend testeten wir für Proben aus jeder Region, ob standortspezifische Diskriminanzfunktionen besser abschnitten als solche, die für Vögel von anderen Standorten entwickelt wurden, oder als eine Gesamtfunktion, die alle beprobten Individuen kombinierte.
Wir fanden geringe Unterschiede in der SSD zwischen den Regionen, aber signifikante Unterschiede in der Körpergröße zwischen den Geschlechtern und den Regionen. Weibchen waren größer als Männchen, und Brüter hatten beispielsweise längere Flügel als Rast- und Überwinterungsvögel. Die standortspezifischen Funktionen waren bei der Geschlechtsbestimmung ähnlich effizient wie alle anderen Funktionen, die auf die Stichproben aus jeder Region angewandt wurden, mit Ausnahme von Westafrika, wo die regionale Funktion etwas besser abschnitt als andere Funktionen. Darüber hinaus wies die nach der Zusammenführung aller Teilstichproben entwickelte Gesamtfunktion mit einer korrekten Geschlechtszuordnung zwischen 75,4% und 90% je nach Region eine ähnliche Effizienz auf, wie die jeweiligen standortspezifischen Funktionen. Angesichts des geringen oder fehlenden Nutzens standortspezifisch angepasster Funktionen kommen wir zu dem Schluss, dass die Gesamtfunktion zuverlässig zur Geschlechtsbestimmung von Sanderlingen verwendet werden kann, die an verschiedenen Orten, in verschiedenen Jahren oder Jahreszeiten auf der ostatlantischen Zugroute vermessen wurden. Unsere Ergebnisse können dazu beitragen, weitere umfassend geltende Methoden zur Geschlechtsbestimmung für andere Vogelarten zu entwickeln.
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Data are available on request from the concerned authors.
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Acknowledgements
We are particularly grateful to all people who searched for the nests and helped to collect the field data. Yvonne Verkuil, Marco Van de Velde (University of Groningen) and Anneke Bol (NIOZ) molecularly sexed the birds from Mauritania, Iceland and Zackenberg (Greenland). Data provided by AW were collected by the Shorebird Research Group at Durham University. The Government of Greenland (Ministry of Domestic Affairs, Nature and Environment) in Nuuk granted access and research permits for field work in the National Park. We thank the two reviewers whose comments have greatly contributed to improve the manuscript.
Funding
This research was supported by the French Polar Institute (IPEV, program 1036 ‘Interactions’), the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-21-CE02-0024 PACS to L. Bollache), the Groupe de Recherche en Ecologie Arctique (GREA) and the University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté (Chrono-environnement lab).
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TP and OG designed the study and wrote the first draft of the manuscript; TP and LE carried out data analyses; MT helped with the genetic analysis; FXDM, GY and LB provided methodological support and contributed to drafting the manuscript; GH, JH, JL, JM, JR, NS, MS, JtH, PT, AW contributed to data collection and drafting the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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All data were collected by people who have licences for handling animals for scientific purposes. All our fieldworks compiled with the ethical standards and national laws on animal welfare.
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Communicated by F. Bairlein.
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Pagnon, T., Etchart, L., Teixeira, M. et al. Using a common morphometric-based method to sex a migratory bird along its entire flyway despite geographical and temporal variations in body size and sexual size dimorphism. J Ornithol 165, 923–934 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-024-02178-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-024-02178-9