Collaborative Research: ABI Development: ORIGIN: Origin Inference from Geospatial Isotope Networks

University Of Colorado At Denver, Aurora CO

Investigators

Abstract

Long-distance migration is a unique and important behavior with widespread implications for environmental and ecological systems. Animals face direct threats during migration ranging from severe nutritional stress to potential interactions with wind farms and other anthropogenic hazards. Migration links the geographic endpoints of an animal's life cycle, and patterns of migration determine where and when animals are dependent on habitats that may be threatened or experiencing change due to human activities. Pathways of migration represent potential transmission paths for diseases, parasites, and nutrients carried by migrants. Despite the long-recognized significance of migration, detailed information on migration patterns for most animals is remarkably limited. The field of migration research is poised for major advances due to the development of new technologies and the potential to combine different types of data providing complementary information on animal migration. The ORIGIN project will represent a collaboration between biologists, geochemists, and computer scientists to develop software and database resources allowing researchers to take advantage of one particularly powerful method of reconstructing migration patterns - the use of natural chemical signals preserved in the body tissues of migrants. In the course of this research the ORIGIN team will develop new statistical approaches that are widely useful to scientists and will provide novel interdisciplinary training to graduate students and research opportunities for undergraduates from STEM-underrepresented groups. The goal of the ORIGIN project is to develop data and analytical resources that facilitate major advances in understanding of ecological, evolutionary, physiological, and biogeochemical dimensions of animal migration by increasing the use and standardization of isotope-enabled migration research methods. ORIGIN will consist of two integrated platforms that together provide the data resources, analytical tools, and project support necessary to streamline the analysis of data from migratory animal samples. First, updates to the IsoMAP web-GIS platform will enhance its ability to provide timely, authoritative, and comprehensive map data products and models describing patterns of isotopic variation in the environment. Second, these products will be used by a new package developed for the R programming environment that will provide an accessible but flexible suite of tools supporting 1) analysis of isotopic and non-isotopic data to evaluate the migratory origin of individuals, including two distinct Bayesian approaches for integration of data from multiple makers, 2) planning of isotope-enabled migration research projects, and 3) generation of analytics for assessment of statistical assignment results. ORIGIN will develop infrastructure that will support a wide range of scientific communities, and will support training and scientific outreach programs including a graduate short course in spatial sciences and human migration-focused research opportunities for undergraduates from STEM-underrepresented groups. Project results will be disseminated at http://isomap.org.