Further Evidence for Site Fidelity to Wing Molt Locations by King Eiders: Integrating Stable Isotope Analyses and Satellite Telemetry

• Main Authors: M Ichael, J K Noche, A Bby, N P Owell, L Ori, T Q Uakenbush, M Atthew, J W Ooller, L Aura, M P Hillips
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Somateria spectabilis
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1083.8681; http://www.north-slope.org/assets/images/uploads/Knoche%20et%20al%20_2007%20KIEI%20site%20fidelity.pdf

Abstract. -Studies using stable-isotope analyses of feathers to determine molt locations in marine birds are increasingly common but generally lack verification through ground-truthing. In this study, we examined the stable isotope compositions of wing feathers from King Eiders ( Somateria spectabilis ) implanted with satellite-transmitters. We compared stable carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen isotope compositions ( δ 13 C, δ 15 N, and δ D, respectively) of primary feathers with the geographic location of wing molt in the subsequent year. Longitude of molt locations of eiders was highly correlated with δ 13 C (r 2 = 0.69, N = 12) and δ D (r 2 = 0.90, N = 12) isotope values from their primary feathers grown in the previous year. There was no relationship between δ 15 N and location of wing molt (r 2 = 0.007, N = 12). The results of this study provide further evidence for site fidelity during wing molt by King Eiders.