Using stable-isotope analysis of feathers to distinguish moulting and breeding origins of seabirds
Using stable-isotope analysis of feathers to distinguish moulting and breeding origins of seabirds
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DOI：
10.1007/pl00008843
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发表时间：
2000-02-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Weimerskirch, H
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Cherel, Y;Hobson, KA;Weimerskirch, H
为了确定鸟类羽毛的稳定同位素测量是否可以用于识别成年海鸟的换羽（杂交）觅食区域，我们研究了来自南印度洋凯尔盖朗群岛的黑眉信天翁（Diomedea melanophrys）的幼鸟和成年信天翁羽毛的稳定碳（δ（13）C）和氮（δ（15）N）同位素组成。信天翁幼鸟主要以鱼为食（75%质量），食物主要是Nototheniidae和Aichthyidae的各种物种，它们通常出现在殖民地附近的陆架沃茨。在繁殖区夏季生长的小鸡羽毛中的δ（13）C和δ（15）N值低于冬季生长的成年羽毛中的值（δ（13）C：-19.6%对-17.6%，δ（15）N：12.4%对15.7%）。在1993年和1994年换羽的成羽和1994年换羽开始、中期和末期形成的成羽中，δ（13）C和δ（15）N值没有差异。这些数据是一致的成年人换羽在同一地区和喂养在同一营养水平，从一年到下一个，并没有重大变化，觅食生态在一个给定的换羽季节，他们建议觅食的理由是不同的，在夏季和冬季，这些不同的稳定同位素签名。羽毛δ（13）C和δ（15）N值的变化表明，在小鸡饲养期间，在亚热带锋（STF）以南觅食，这与此时已知的觅食生态相一致，并在换羽期间在STF以北觅食。这与成年鸟类的条带恢复一起表明，来自凯尔盖朗群岛的黑眉信天翁在澳大利亚南部的亚热带沃茨越冬。因此，羽毛中的稳定同位素标记物有可能用于定位迁徙海鸟的换羽区：在同位素不同区域之间移动的物种，以及在鲜为人知的杂交繁殖期间调查海鸟的觅食生态。研究海鸟全年生态以及养护和长期监测海洋水层环境都需要这些资料。
To determine whether stable isotope measurements of bird feathers can be used to identify moulting (interbreeding) foraging areas of adult seabirds, we examined the stable-carbon (delta(13)C) and nitrogen (delta(15)N) isotopic composition of feathers of chicks and adults of black-browed albatrosses (Diomedea melanophrys) from Kerguelen Islands, southern Indian Ocean. Albatross chicks are fed primarily fish (75% by mass), the diet being dominated by various species of the family Nototheniidae and Channichthyidae which commonly occur in the shelf waters in the vicinity of the colony. delta(13)C and delta(15)N values in chick feathers, which are grown in summer in the breeding area, were lower than values in adult feathers, which are grown in winter (delta(13)C: -19.6% versus -17.6% and delta(15)N: 12.4% versus 15.7%, respectively). No differences in delta(13)C and delta(15)N values were found in adult wing feathers moulted in 1993 and 1994 and in adult feathers formed at the beginning, middle and end of the 1994 moulting period. These data are consistent with adults moulting in the same area and feeding at the same trophic level from one year to the next and with no major changes in foraging ecology within a given moulting season; they suggest that foraging grounds were different in summer and winter and that these differed in their stable-isotope signature. Changes in both feather delta(13)C and delta(15)N values indicated feeding south of the Subtropical Front (STF) during chick rearing, which is in agreement with the known foraging ecology at this time and feeding north of the STF during moult. This, together with band recoveries from adult birds, indicates that black-browed albatrosses from Kerguelen Islands wintered in subtropical waters off southern Australia. The stable-isotope markers in feathers, therefore, have the potential for locating moulting areas of migratory seabird: species moving between isotopically distinct regions and for investigating seabirds' foraging ecology during the poorly known interbreeding period. Such information is needed for studies of year-round ecology of seabirds as well as for their conservation and the longterm monitoring of the pelagic environment.