Refining isotopic tools to trace avian migratory origins and nutrient allocation strategies

完善同位素工具来追踪鸟类迁徙起源和营养分配策略

• 批准号: 194747-2012
• 负责人: Hobson, Keith
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of Saskatchewan
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2012-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=507014
• 关键词: Refining; isotopic; tools; trace; avian

Effective study and conservation of migratory birds and other animals requires that migratory connections be made between all phases of the annual cycle. This task is complicated by the difficulties in tracking individual movements, especially of small bodied organisms. The use of naturally occurring stable isotopes of several elements that show spatial patterns across landscapes and continents (isoscapes) has revolutionized studies of migration since the approach does not require initial marking of individuals but relies instead on the measurement of endogenous isotopic fingerprints to assign individuals to origin. This approach is based on the fact that naturally occurring stable isotope ratios in the environment are transported in a predictable fashion to higher-order consumers. This proposal aims at improving our ability to assign individuals to isoscapes, especially those based on isotopic signatures present in precipitation (i.e. 2H/1H, 18O/16O) by determining key factors that contribute to within- and between-species isotopic patterns in feather keratins. This will be accomplished by Ph.D. student projects largely through the careful measurement of diet, drinking water, feathers and claws of captively raised birds and through the widespread assay of wild birds from known origins. A second component of the work will focus on using the same isotopic fingerprinting approach (but this time with 13C/12C and 15N/14N) to trace pathways of nutrients to eggs. This will allow the quantitative modeling of both endogenous and exogenous contributions of proteins and lipids to reproduction. Such an approach will allow the direct testing of the strategies migratory birds use in either transporting "capital" to their breeding sites or relying on local environments (i.e. "income") to fuel reproduction. Finally, a field-based program to trace nutrient allocations by high Arctic breeding geese to their eggs will be accomplished by a postdoctoral fellow during the last two years of the proposal. Together, these projects will move the whole field of isotopic ecology forward by allowing us to anticipate and model sources of isotopic variation in avian systems.

要有效地研究和保护候鸟和其他动物，就必须在年周期的所有阶段之间建立迁徙联系。这项任务由于难以跟踪个体运动，特别是小型生物体的运动而变得复杂。使用自然存在的几种元素的稳定同位素，显示跨景观和大陆的空间模式（isoscape），彻底改变了移民的研究，因为这种方法不需要最初标记的个人，而是依赖于测量内源性同位素指纹来分配个人的起源。这种方法是基于这样一个事实，即环境中天然存在的稳定同位素比率以可预测的方式被输送到更高阶的消费者。这项建议旨在提高我们的能力，分配个人的isoscape，特别是那些基于同位素签名存在于沉淀（即2 H/1H，18 O/16 O），通过确定关键因素，有助于内和种间的羽毛角蛋白的同位素模式。这将是由博士完成。学生们主要通过对圈养鸟类的饮食、饮用水、羽毛和爪子的仔细测量，以及对已知来源的野生鸟类的广泛分析来进行项目。这项工作的第二个组成部分将集中在使用相同的同位素指纹方法（但这次使用13 C/12 C和15 N/14 N）来追踪营养物质到鸡蛋的途径。这将允许蛋白质和脂质对繁殖的内源性和外源性贡献的定量建模。这种方法将允许直接测试候鸟在将“资本”运送到繁殖地或依靠当地环境（即“收入”）来促进繁殖方面所使用的策略。最后，一个以实地为基础的计划，以跟踪营养分配的高北极种鹅，他们的鸡蛋将完成博士后研究员在过去两年的建议。总之，这些项目将使我们能够预测和模拟鸟类系统中同位素变异的来源，从而推动整个同位素生态学领域的发展。