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




AuthorsHolopainen, Sari; Piironen, Antti; Kusack, Jackson W.; Hobson, Keith A.; Ellis, Matthew B.; Sørensen, Iben Hove; Warrender, Heather; Laaksonen, Toni

PublisherSPRINGER

Publishing placeNEW YORK

Publication year2024

JournalEuropean Journal of Wildlife Research

Journal acronymEUR J WILDLIFE RES

Article number 93

Volume70

Issue5

Number of pages12

ISSN1612-4642

eISSN1439-0574

DOIhttps://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 addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/458304885


Abstract

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.


Last updated on 2025-27-01 at 19:42