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Variation in deuterium (δD) signatures of Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia feathers grown on breeding and wintering grounds

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Abstract

Stable isotope analysis of feathers may help track populations of migratory birds throughout their annual cycle. We use deuterium isotope ratios in feathers (δDf) to confirm that Yellow Warblers Dendroica petechia go through both a prebasic molt on or near their breeding grounds and a prealternate molt on their wintering grounds, and evaluate whether δD analysis of different feather types can help assign birds to breeding and winter origins. We show that primary coverts and tail feathers have δDf values that reflect long-term average deuterium isotope ratios in precipitation (δDP) on the breeding grounds. Most greater coverts and crown feathers, however, have δDf values that are more enriched than predicted based on the δDP of their wintering distribution. We also found significant interannual variation in the δDf values of tail feathers, greater coverts and crown feathers. Interannual variation in δDf of winter-grown feathers may be explained by El Niño/La Niña conditions that influence rainfall and thus δDP; feathers were more depleted following an El Niño year (2005) than a La Niña year (2006). Gender had no effect on the δDf values of any feathers sampled. Age influenced the δDf values of crown feathers but not greater coverts. This study therefore confirms that δDf of summer-grown feathers can be used to identify breeding locations, but suggests that the ability to use δDf of winter-grown feathers to assign individuals to winter locations is limited by weak spatial gradients and temporal variation in δDP.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Julian Hudson and Christine Croton for initiating the monitoring of this population in 2004. Pauline Riding and Danny O’Farrell worked long hours mist-netting birds. Ryan Norris provided valuable comments on several early versions of this paper. Marylène Boulet provided valuable advice. Funding for the research came from the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, BC Hydro, a NSERC Discovery grant to DJG and a Friends of Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks grant to SPQ. SPQ was supported by an NSERC Industrial Scholarship sponsored by BC Hydro. All field protocols were approved by the Simon Fraser University Animal Care Committee and conducted under a Federal Scientific Permit.

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  1. Centre for Wildlife Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada

    Sam P. Quinlan & David J. Green

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  1. Sam P. Quinlan
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  2. David J. Green
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Correspondence to David J. Green.

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Communicated by F. Bairlein.

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Quinlan, S.P., Green, D.J. Variation in deuterium (δD) signatures of Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia feathers grown on breeding and wintering grounds. J Ornithol 152, 93–101 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-010-0553-5

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