Shorebird hunting in Barbados: Using stable isotopes to link the harvest at a migratory stopover site with sources of production

Abstract

ABSTRACT Understanding spatial connectivity of long-distance migrants is important for effective management and conservation of both game and nongame species. Hunting of Nearctic-breeding shorebirds occurs in the Caribbean and northern South America; however, the origins of harvested individuals are generally unknown. We used stable hydrogen isotopes (δ2H) in feathers of juvenile shorebirds to infer the origins of birds harvested at 2 sites in Barbados using probabilistic assignments based on a terrestrial–freshwater δ2H isoscape. We used tissue δ13C and δ15N values to filter individuals that had derived nutrients from marine sources. Natal origins of juvenile American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica), Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus), Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus), and Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) were predicted to be mainly from the eastern parts of their breeding ranges in eastern Canada, with American Golden-Plover, Stilt Sandpiper, and Short-billed Dowitcher also having h...