Origin identification of migratory pests (European Starling) using geochemical fingerprinting
The European Starling (Sturnidae: Sturnus vulgaris L.) is an invasive bird in North America where it is an agricultural pest. In British Columbia (Canada), the starling population increases in orchards and vineyards in autumn, where they consume and damage ripening fruits. Starlings also cause damag...
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| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2020-05-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/8962.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827607638303571968 |
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| author | Upama Khatri-Chhetri John G. Woods Ian R. Walker P. Jeff Curtis |
| author_facet | Upama Khatri-Chhetri John G. Woods Ian R. Walker P. Jeff Curtis |
| author_sort | Upama Khatri-Chhetri |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The European Starling (Sturnidae: Sturnus vulgaris L.) is an invasive bird in North America where it is an agricultural pest. In British Columbia (Canada), the starling population increases in orchards and vineyards in autumn, where they consume and damage ripening fruits. Starlings also cause damage in dairy farms and feedlots by consuming and contaminating food and spreading diseases. Damage can be partly mitigated by the use of scare devices, which can disperse flocks until they become habituated. Large-scale trapping and euthanizing before starlings move to fields and farms could be a practical means of preventing damage, but requires knowledge of natal origin. Within a small (20,831 km2), agriculturally significant portion of south-central British Columbia, the Okanagan-Similkameen region, we used 21 trace elements in bone tissue to discriminate the spatial distribution of juvenile starlings and to reveal the geographic origin of the problem birds in fall. Stepwise discriminant analysis of trace elements classified juveniles to their natal origin (minimum discrimination distance of 12 km) with 79% accuracy. In vineyards and orchards, the majority (55%) of problem birds derive from northern portions of the valley; and the remaining 45% of problem birds were a mixture of local and immigrant/unassigned birds. In contrast, problem birds in dairy farms and feedlots were largely immigrants/unassigned (89%) and 11% were local from northern region of the valley. Moreover, elemental signatures can separate starling populations in the Valley yielding a promising tool for identifying the geographic origin of these migratory birds. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:58:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-557008c3a3dc46b0aefbd8b0b92771eb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:58:03Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
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| spelling | doaj.art-557008c3a3dc46b0aefbd8b0b92771eb2023-12-03T10:00:29ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592020-05-018e896210.7717/peerj.8962Origin identification of migratory pests (European Starling) using geochemical fingerprintingUpama Khatri-Chhetri0John G. Woods1Ian R. Walker2P. Jeff Curtis3Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaBiology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, CanadaBiology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, CanadaEarth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, CanadaThe European Starling (Sturnidae: Sturnus vulgaris L.) is an invasive bird in North America where it is an agricultural pest. In British Columbia (Canada), the starling population increases in orchards and vineyards in autumn, where they consume and damage ripening fruits. Starlings also cause damage in dairy farms and feedlots by consuming and contaminating food and spreading diseases. Damage can be partly mitigated by the use of scare devices, which can disperse flocks until they become habituated. Large-scale trapping and euthanizing before starlings move to fields and farms could be a practical means of preventing damage, but requires knowledge of natal origin. Within a small (20,831 km2), agriculturally significant portion of south-central British Columbia, the Okanagan-Similkameen region, we used 21 trace elements in bone tissue to discriminate the spatial distribution of juvenile starlings and to reveal the geographic origin of the problem birds in fall. Stepwise discriminant analysis of trace elements classified juveniles to their natal origin (minimum discrimination distance of 12 km) with 79% accuracy. In vineyards and orchards, the majority (55%) of problem birds derive from northern portions of the valley; and the remaining 45% of problem birds were a mixture of local and immigrant/unassigned birds. In contrast, problem birds in dairy farms and feedlots were largely immigrants/unassigned (89%) and 11% were local from northern region of the valley. Moreover, elemental signatures can separate starling populations in the Valley yielding a promising tool for identifying the geographic origin of these migratory birds.https://peerj.com/articles/8962.pdfAgricultural PestBone tissueDairy FarmsEuropean starlingGeochemical fingerprintingMigratory bird |
| spellingShingle | Upama Khatri-Chhetri John G. Woods Ian R. Walker P. Jeff Curtis Origin identification of migratory pests (European Starling) using geochemical fingerprinting PeerJ Agricultural Pest Bone tissue Dairy Farms European starling Geochemical fingerprinting Migratory bird |
| title | Origin identification of migratory pests (European Starling) using geochemical fingerprinting |
| title_full | Origin identification of migratory pests (European Starling) using geochemical fingerprinting |
| title_fullStr | Origin identification of migratory pests (European Starling) using geochemical fingerprinting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Origin identification of migratory pests (European Starling) using geochemical fingerprinting |
| title_short | Origin identification of migratory pests (European Starling) using geochemical fingerprinting |
| title_sort | origin identification of migratory pests european starling using geochemical fingerprinting |
| topic | Agricultural Pest Bone tissue Dairy Farms European starling Geochemical fingerprinting Migratory bird |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/8962.pdf |
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