Using oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopes to track the migratory movement of Sharp-shinned Hawks (Accipiter striatus) along Western Flyways of North America.

ABSTRACT: The large-scale patterns of movement for the Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus), a small forest hawk found throughout western North America, are largely unknown. However, based on field observations we set out to test the hypothesis that juvenile migratory A. striatus caught along two distinct migration routes on opposite sides of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of North America (Pacific Coast and Intermountain Migratory Flyways) come from geographically different natal populations. We applied stable isotope analysis of hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) of feathers, and large scale models of spatial isotopic variation (isoscapes) to formulate spatially explicit predictions of the origin of the migrant birds. Novel relationships were assessed between the measured hydrogen and oxygen isotope valu

SUBMITTER: Wommack EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7671529 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature