Collaborative Research: Population Limitation of Neotropical Migrant Birds and the Seasonal-Interaction Hypothesis

对小型迁徙动物生物学的了解受到追踪个体和整合全年生态影响的困难的阻碍。这里提出的工作解决了两种候鸟物种之间的季节性联系。这项研究将检验繁殖成功取决于前一个热带冬季占据的栖息地质量的假设，而不是传统的只取决于繁殖条件的替代方案。将使用血液组织中的稳定碳同位素样本来识别繁殖鸟类的冬季栖息地特征。繁殖成功将根据冬季栖息地占用模式以及繁殖区域质量和个体状况指数来衡量和评估。冬季的食物操作将评估冬季栖息地质量与繁殖活动之间的联系机制。候鸟的丰富性和多样性构成了一个壮观的自然现象。这些物种控制害虫，通过种子传播和授粉改变植物群落，并稳定人类赖以生存的生态系统。这项研究将有助于对候鸟丰度如何受到限制和全年调控提供基本的新见解，从而有助于更准确地构建与季节相关的种群模型。种群模型对于了解这些动物对人类对全球栖息地数量、质量和气候变化的影响的反应至关重要。

0089541SherryUnderstanding the biology of small migratory animals is hampered by the difficulties involved in tracking individuals and integrating ecological impacts year-round. The work proposed here addresses seasonal linkages in two migratory bird species. This study will test the hypothesis that reproductive success depends on habitat quality occupied in the prior tropical winter period in contrast to the conventional alternative that breeding conditions alone matter. Winter habitat signatures will be identified in breeding birds using stable carbon isotopes sampled in blood tissue. Reproductive success will be measured and assessed according to winter habitat occupancy patterns and to indices of breeding territory quality and individual condition. Food manipulations in winter will assess the mechanisms linking habitat quality in winter to breeding events.The abundance and diversity of migratory birds comprise a spectacular natural phenomenon. Such species control insect pests, modify plant communities via seed dispersal and pollination, and stabilize ecosystems upon which humans depend. This research will contribute fundamental new insights into how the abundance of migratory birds is limited and regulated year-round, thereby helping structure seasonally linked population models more accurately. Population models are crucial to understand these animals' responses to human impacts on global habitat quantity, quality, and climate change.