La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Feather deuterium as an indicator of age-class in the Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos
Auteurs :	Elizabeth Yohannes, Auteur ; Raymond W. Lee, Auteur ; Mihai Valcu, Auteur ; Bart Kempenaers, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Ibis (154(4) OCT 2012)
Article en page(s) :	868-873
Résumé :	We measured deuterium isotope ratios (delta D(f)) in primary feathers to distinguish first-year from older Pectoral Sandpipers Calidris melanotos captured in Barrow, Alaska, during the breeding season. delta D(f) showed a distinct bimodal distribution, and model-based clustering placed the delta D(f) values into two non-overlapping groups. More negative delta D(f) corresponded to Arctic areas, probably identifying first-year birds with Arctic-grown juvenile feathers retained from the previous year. The more positive values corresponded to lower latitudes, possibly identifying older birds that grew their feathers at non-Arctic latitudes.

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