Data from: Linking the wintering and breeding grounds of warblers along the Pacific Flyway

Many migratory changes are likely to evolve gradually and are therefore difficult to study. Here, we attempt to connect breeding and wintering populations of myrtle warblers (Setophaga coronata coronata) to better understand the possible evolution of distinct migration routes within this species. Myrtle warblers, unlike most other warblers with breeding ranges primarily in eastern North America, have two disjunct overwintering concentrations—one in the southeastern USA and one along the Pacific Coast—and presumably distinct routes to-and-from these locations.

We studied both myrtle and Audubon's warblers (S. c. auduboni) captured during their spring migration along the Pacific Coast, south of the narrow region where these two taxa hybridize. Using stable hydrogen isotopes and biometric data, we show that those myrtle warblers wintering along the southern Pacific Coast of North America are likely to breed at high latitudes in Alaska and the Yukon rather than in Alberta or further east.

Our interpretation is that the evolution of this wintering range and migration route along the Pacific Coast may have facilitated the breeding expansion of myrtle warblers into northwestern North America. Moreover, these data suggest that there may be a migratory divide within genetically similar populations of myrtle warblers.

Usage notes

Isomap Assignment Output Files IsoMAP output files in .asc format for each feather. Directory substructure represents species (Audubon's versus myrtle) and is further divided by molt, with "alt" (alternate feather) versus basic (basic feather). isomap_output.zip Raw hydrogen isotope values and bird measurements yrwa_migration_isotope.csv