Abstract

In the North Sea Wadden Sea, Dunlins of the two subspecies Calidris alpina alpina and C. a. schinzii occur on migration. In this study, I investigate the putative breeding origin of Dunlins caught at the Sylt/Romo Wadden Sea during peak migration in spring and autumn. Genetic variation and haplotype composition was assessed by sequence analysis of the mitochondrial Control Region. A comparison with population genetic measures of breeding populations suggests that Dunlins caught in spring (May) predominantly belong to "alpina" while a high percentage of specimens sampled in autumn (September) belong to "schinzii" This study demonstrates that the putative origin of migrating birds can be assessed by quantitative genetic measures, even in the absence of exclusive genetic markers.