A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Broad geographic variation in age- and sex-dependent origin of harvested eurasian wigeon (Mareca penelope) revealed by stable-hydrogen (δ2H) isotope analyses of feathers
Authors: Holopainen, Sari; Piironen, Antti; Kusack, Jackson W.; Hobson, Keith A.; Ellis, Matthew B.; Sørensen, Iben Hove; Warrender, Heather; Laaksonen, Toni
Publisher: SPRINGER
Publishing place: NEW YORK
Publication year: 2024
Journal: European Journal of Wildlife Research
Journal acronym: EUR J WILDLIFE RES
Article number: 93
Volume: 70
Issue: 5
Number of pages: 12
ISSN: 1612-4642
eISSN: 1439-0574
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-024-01849-5
Web address : https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10344-024-01849-5
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/458304885
Migratory waterfowl are a harvested resource shared among multiple European countries, exposing them to potential overexploitation. Management of take is challenging since the life cycle of migratory waterfowl consists of several stages distributed among several locations, with possible spatio-temporal overlap among populations with differing population trends. Successful harvest management in such situations requires knowledge about the connections between breeding and non-breeding locations, and where birds are harvested. Breeding populations of Eurasian wigeon (Mareca penelope) are declining in Finland, underlining the need for more effective harvest management. Relative proportions and temporal distribution of local breeding birds and migrants from a larger Russian breeding population within the Finnish hunting bag has been unknown to date. We studied spatio-temporal origins of Finnish harvested wigeon by measuring stable-hydrogen (delta H-2) isotope values from legally harvested birds. We modelled the changes in delta H-2 values of the feather samples within the hunting season using Gaussian processes and found that the origin of harvested wigeon in Finland changed during the hunting season and differed by age and sex. In juveniles and adult females but not in adult males, origin of harvested birds shifted from local and possibly western Russian birds to more long-distance migratory birds during the harvest season. These patterns likely reflected sex- and age-specific differences in migratory behaviour of Eurasian wigeon in the East Atlantic flyway, which can be used to guide future management and conservation of this species through the implementation of spatio-temporal harvest regulation.
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Funding information in the publication:
Open Access funding provided by University of Turku (including Turku University Central Hospital). This study was funded and supported by The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland, the BASC Wildlife Fund, The Danish Hunters’ Nature Fund and Waterfowlers’ Network.