Use of amino acid isotope analysis to investigate capital versus income breeding strategies in migratory avian species ...

• Main Authors: Lübcker, Nico, Whiteman, John, Shipley, Oliver, Hobson, Keith, Newsome, Seth
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2023
• Subjects: FOS Biological sciences; breeding strategy; compound-specific stable isotope analysis; egg production; Resource allocation; yolk; geese; capital-income breeder; Brant; Branta bernicla; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xsj3tx9mg; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.xsj3tx9mg

Income and capital breeding represent opposing ends of a continuum of reproductive strategies. Quantifying nutrient allocation to reproduction is challenging, but recent advances in compound-specific stable isotope analysis hold promise for tracing the source of individual compounds allocated to reproduction. Here, we describe a novel approach of using measured carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values of individual amino acids (AAs) in pectoral muscle of egg-laying females and egg yolk as a useful tool to quantify the reliance on income versus capital breeding in migrating species. We used white-fronted (Anser albifrons frontalis), lesser snow (A. caerulescens caerulescens), and black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) geese breeding in tundra ecosystems of northern Alaska as model organisms. All three species relied on mixed capital-income breeding strategies, but models based on AA isotope data estimated higher proportional contributions of endogenous resources to yolk synthesis compared to results ... : Our study was based on tissues provided by a long-term study of geese breeding at the Colville River Delta in northern Alaska (70.4°N, 150.6°W; see Hupp et al. 2018; U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service migratory bird permit MB789758‐1). In spring and summer of 2012, pectoralis muscle was collected from early arriving female WFGO, SNGO, and BLBR. Unpaired egg tissues collected from co-occurring individuals of each species were obtained following clutch completion. We included muscle and yolk samples from 24 and 25 individuals, respectively. Our study was based on tissues provided by a long-term study of geese breeding at the Colville River Delta in northern Alaska (70.4°N, 150.6°W; see Hupp et al. 2018; U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service migratory bird permit MB789758‐1). In spring and summer 2012, pectoralis muscle was collected from early arriving female WFGO, SNGO, and BLBR. Unpaired egg tissues collected from co-occurring individuals of each species were obtained following clutch completion. We included muscle ...