Multiple migration strategies in sympatric Painted Buntings - behavioral plasticity or genetic divergence?

迁徙是动物利用可预测的食物供应变化的一种方式。目前尚不清楚移民将如何应对全球变化导致的食物丰富性季节性变化。预测全球变化将如何影响移民人口需要了解独特的移民策略是如何产生和持续的，这反过来又需要高度关注存在多种移民策略的人口。然而，拥有这种变异的当地种群是极其罕见的。一个这样的种群存在于彩鹀（雀形目）。根据对羽毛的化学分析，大约一半的鸟类在一个干燥的地方蜕皮，而相当多的少数鸟类似乎在一个更潮湿的地方开始蜕皮。这个项目将使用一个小的地理定位装置（0.7克）来追踪每只鸟的年周期。该项目将揭示使不同移徙战略能够在人口中共存的因素，并将评估这些战略对移徙者生殖成功的后续影响。为这个项目开发的微型地理定位器将极大地扩大动物身体大小的范围，从而可以跟踪运动，从而改善科学研究。一名博士生将接受培训，率先结合使用稳定同位素比率和地理定位器来跟踪移民，同时获得重要的国际经验。该项目还将为一名博士后和第二名研究生提供重要的培训机会。研究人员将扩大他们与公立学校和当地动物园正在进行的教育合作，包括动物追踪和彩绘狩猎迁徙的技术方面。

Migration is a way for animals to take advantage of predictable changes in food availability. It is unclear how migrants will respond to the changes in the seasonality of food abundance that are caused by global change. Predicting how global change will affect migrant populations requires knowing how unique migration strategies arise and persist, which in turn requires an intense focus on populations where multiple migration strategies exist. However, local populations that harbor such variation are extremely rare. One such population exists in Painted Buntings (Passerina ciris). Based on chemical analyses of feathers, it appears that about half the birds molt in a single dry location while a significant minority appear to initiate molt in a more moist location. This project will track the locations of individual birds through their annual cycle by using a small geolocation device (0.7g). The project will reveal factors that enable different migration strategies to co-exist within populations and it will evaluate the carry-over impacts of these strategies on the reproductive success of migrants. The tiny geolocators developed for this project will improve scientific research by greatly expanding the range of animal body sizes for which it is possible to track movements. A Ph.D. student will be trained to pioneer the combined use of stable isotope ratios and geolocators to track migrants while gaining significant international experience. The project will also provide significant training opportunities for a Post-doc and a second graduate student. The researchers will expand their ongoing educational collaborations with public schools and local zoos to include technological aspects of animal tracking and Painted Bunting migration.