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The use of molecular diagnostics to infer migration directions of Willow Warblers in the southeast Baltic

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Abstract

The Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus, Linnaeus, 1758) is a long distance migrant and one of the most common breeding birds in the Western Palearctic. Its migratory directions have been studied in detail in Scandinavia where a narrow migratory divide is located around 62°30′ N that separates southern SW migrating Phylloscopus t. trochilus from SSE migrating Phylloscopus t. acredula. The shape and location of the migratory divide in the countries south and east of the Baltic Sea is less well understood. In this study we explored the geographic origin and migratory phenotype of the Willow Warbler during breeding and migration at Rybachy, Kaliningrad, Russia. The sampling was divided into three periods: breeding (1–9 July), early autumn migration (25–31 August), and late autumn migration (1–17 September). The birds were genotyped at two bi-allelic loci (AFLP-WW1 and AFLP-WW2) and the results were compared to genotypes from several reference breeding populations from around the Baltic Sea. Samples from the breeding and early migration periods were dominated by genotypes associated with SW-migrating trochilus. However, several intermediate genotypes were also present among breeding birds suggesting that this area overlaps the hybrid zone extending from territories south of the Baltic Sea. During late migration, birds carried genotypes that are common among north Scandinavian Willow Warblers that apparently pass Rybachy on their migration SSE to wintering areas in tropical East and South Africa.

Zusammenfassung

Die Anwendung molekularer Diagnoseverfahren ermöglicht Rückschlüsse auf Zugrichtungen bei Fitissen Phylloscopus trochilus im südöstlichen Baltikum

Der Fitis ist ein Langstreckenzieher und gehört zu den häufigsten Brutvögeln der Westpaläarktis. Seine Zugrichtungen sind in Skandinavien bestens untersucht, wo eine schmale Zugscheide bei etwa 62°30’ N verläuft, welche die südlich davon nach SW ziehende Unterart trochilus von den nach SSO ziehenden acredula-Individuen trennt. Form und Lage der Zugscheide in den südlich und östlich der Ostsee gelegenen Ländern sind weniger gut bekannt. In dieser Studie erforschten wir die geografische Herkunft und den Zugphänotyp von Fitissen während der Brutzeit und auf dem Zug in Rybatschi, Kaliningrad, Russland. Die Probennahme erfolgte während dreier Zeiträume: Brutzeit (1.-9. Juli), früher Herbstzug (25.-31. August) und später Herbstzug (1.-17. September). Die Vögel wurden an zwei bi-allelischen Loci (AFLP-WW1 und AFLP-WW2) genotypisch charakterisiert, und die Ergebnisse wurden mit Genotypdaten von verschiedenen Referenz-Brutpopulationen rund um die Ostsee verglichen. In den Proben aus der Brutzeit und vom Beginn des Herbstzuges überwogen Genotypen, die mit nach SW ziehenden trochilus-Individuen assoziiert sind. Allerdings waren ebenfalls mehrere intermediäre Genotypen unter den Brutvögeln vertreten, was darauf hindeutet, dass dieses Gebiet mit der Hybridzone überlappt, welche sich von den Regionen südlich der Ostsee erstreckt. Später im Zuggeschehen wiesen die Vögel Genotypen auf, wie sie bei nordskandinavischen Fitissen häufig vorkommen, welche Rybatschi offenbar auf ihrem Zug nach SSO in Wintergebiete im tropischen Süd- und Ostafrika passieren.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the help from Jane Jönsson, Miriam Liedvogel and Evrim Sönmez in the course of completing the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Arzu Gürsoy Ergen, Max Lundberg, Susanne Åkesson & Staffan Bensch

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey

    Arzu Gürsoy Ergen

  3. Biological Station Rybachy, Zoological Institute, Rybachy, 238535, Kaliningrad Region, Russia

    Nikita Chernetsov

  4. Department of Vertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg State University, 7/9 Universitetskaya Emb., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia

    Nikita Chernetsov

Authors
  1. Arzu Gürsoy Ergen
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  2. Nikita Chernetsov
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  3. Max Lundberg
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  4. Susanne Åkesson
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  5. Staffan Bensch
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Correspondence to Arzu Gürsoy Ergen.

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Financial support

Post-doctoral grant was supported by The Turkish Council of Higher Education (2547/10) for AGE. The study was supported by the Swedish Research Council to SB (621-2007-5193). SÅ was supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council (621-2010-5584, 621-2013-4361), and by a Linnaeus grant to the Centre for Animal Movement Research from the Swedish Research Council (349-2007-8690) and Lund University. NC was supported by the Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences (AAAA-A16-116123010004-1) and by a grant from St. Petersburg State University (1.37.149.2014).

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Communicated by M. Wink.

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Ergen, A.G., Chernetsov, N., Lundberg, M. et al. The use of molecular diagnostics to infer migration directions of Willow Warblers in the southeast Baltic. J Ornithol 158, 737–743 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-017-1434-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-017-1434-y

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