Winter connectivity and leapfrog migration in a migratory passerine
- Museo de Zoología, Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Mexico City Mexico
- Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
- Center for Tropical Research and Institute of the Environment and Sustainability University of California Los Angeles California USA, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California Los Angeles California USA
- Center for Tropical Research and Institute of the Environment and Sustainability University of California Los Angeles California USA
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Ciudad Universitaria, San Nicolás de los Garza Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León Nuevo León Mexico
Technological advances in migratory tracking tools have revealed a remarkable diversity in migratory patterns. One such pattern is leapfrog migration, where individuals that breed further north migrate to locations further south. Here, we analyzed migration patterns in the Painted Bunting ( Passerina ciris ) using a genetic‐based approach. We started by mapping patterns of genetic variation across geographic space (called a genoscape) using 386 individuals from 25 populations across the breeding range. We then genotyped an additional 230 samples from 31 migration stopover locations and 178 samples from 16 wintering locations to map patterns of migratory connectivity. Our analyses of genetic variation across the breeding range show the existence of four genetically distinct groups within the species: Eastern, Southwestern, Louisiana, and Central groups. Subsequent assignment of migrating and wintering birds to genetic groups illustrated that birds from the Central group migrated during the fall via western Mexico or southern Texas, spent the winter from northeastern Mexico to Panama, and migrated north via the Gulf Coast of Mexico. While Louisiana birds overlapped with Central birds on their spring migratory routes along the Gulf Coast, we found that Louisiana birds had a more restricted wintering distribution in the Yucatan Peninsula and Central America. Further estimation of the straight‐line distance from the predicted breeding location to the wintering location revealed that individuals sampled at lower winter latitudes traveled to greater distances (i.e., the predicted breeding area was further north; p > .001), confirming that these species exhibit a leapfrog migration pattern. Overall, these results demonstrate the utility of a genoscape‐based approach for identifying range‐wide patterns of migratory connectivity such as leapfrog migration with a high degree of clarity.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- EE0009005
- OSTI ID:
- 1922961
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 2422463
OSTI ID: 1922964
- Journal Information:
- Ecology and Evolution, Journal Name: Ecology and Evolution Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 13; ISSN 2045-7758
- Publisher:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English