Probability of Wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) origin using data from stable isotopes and geographic variation in wing morphology (see Rushing et al. 2013 for details).
In press ASSESSING MIGRATORY CONNECTIVITY FOR A LONG-DISTANCE MIGRATORY BIRD USING MULTIPLE INTRINSIC MARKERS in Ecological Applications
Work by Rushing and others uses stable isotopes and morphology to determine migratory connectivity of the wood thrush. It’s part of a growing body of research using multiple techniques to disentangle these important questions and improve precision.
“… combining stable isotopes with geographic variation in wing improved the precision of breeding assignments by 10% and 37% compared to assignments based on isotopes alone or wing length alone, respectively. These results demonstrate that geographical variation in morphological traits can greatly improve estimates of migratory connectivity when combined with other intrinsic markers (e.g., stable isotopes or genetic data).”
