Sex Determination in Breeding Dunlin (Calidris alpina hudsonia)

Abstract

Abstract. Male and female Dunlin (Calidris alpina) exhibit slight plumage and structural differences. Discriminant function analysis based on morphological characteristics can effectively differentiate between sexes in several subspecies of Dunlin. We assessed the level of sexual size dimorphism in a subspecies that breeds in sub-Arctic Canada (C. a. hudsonia), and used discriminant function analysis to create equations to classify individuals to sex using five body measurements (body mass, head length, culmen length, tarsus length, and flattened wing chord). Females were significantly larger than males for all body measurements. Discriminant function analysis using tarsus length, head length, and body mass correctly classified 87.1% of molecularly sexed females (n = 31) and 92.6% of males (n = 27). The classification of an independent sample (n = 12) resulted in 100.0% correct assignment of sex with 33.3% of individuals falling within the undetermined range. A discriminant function analysis equation is p...