안정성 동위원소 분석을 통한 떼까마귀 월동 개체군의 번식지 추정

Understanding the breeding range of migratory birds is important for ecological studies, conservation, disease surveillance as well as environmental researches on climate change. To overcome several limitation of classic extrinsic markers and tracking devices in the breeding range estimation of wintering Rooks (Corvus frugilegus) in Korea, we collected wing feathers of young rooks at Ulsan city and analyzed stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes from 2008 to 2010. According to the overlapped layers of known breeding ranges, standardized isotopes from feather analyses, and reported isotopes in precipitation, the Amur River Basin between northern Heilongjiang Province in China and southern Amur Oblast in Russia was identified as a main breeding range of the rooks wintering in Korea, particularly in Ulsan city. We suggest that this result indicates the high effectiveness of stable isotopes as general geographic markers in migration studies. To clearly understand the migration strategy of rooks in north-east Asia, the identified breeding range of rooks may need to be confirmed or supplemented by further researches using makers and tracking devices in near future.