Proof of concept evidence that stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur may identify individual kittiwakes breeding in different colonies

Rationale Carbon, nitrogen and sulphur stable isotopes in feathers grown by seabirds while breeding reflect the local isoscape and diet in the vicinity of the colony, so may make it possible to discriminate individual birds from different colonies. Methods Black‐legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla inn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry
Main Authors: Furness, Robert W., Furness, Euan N.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rcm.9758
Description
Summary:Rationale Carbon, nitrogen and sulphur stable isotopes in feathers grown by seabirds while breeding reflect the local isoscape and diet in the vicinity of the colony, so may make it possible to discriminate individual birds from different colonies. Methods Black‐legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla inner primary feathers from two colonies about 350 km apart in the North Sea were used to test whether δ 13 C, δ 15 N and δ 34 S differed between individuals from the two colonies. Feather tips cut from breeding birds caught at nests were compared with tips of moulted feathers (grown 1 year earlier) found on the ground. Results Isotopic compositions showed no overlap between the two colonies in δ 13 C, δ 15 N or δ 34 S in tips of newly‐grown feathers sampled from breeding adult kittiwakes. There was some overlap in δ 13 C, δ 15 N and δ 34 S from moulted feathers, but discriminant analysis allowed >90% of individuals to be assigned to their colony. In five of six comparisons, mean isotopic compositions were the same in new and moulted feathers but not for δ 34 S at one of the two colonies. Conclusions This study has demonstrated for the first time that stable isotopes in inner primary feathers of kittiwakes can allow accurate identification of the breeding colony of individual birds from two different colonies within the North Sea. Further research is required to determine if this method can be applied with greater spatial resolution and to a larger number of colonies.