A morphometric model to predict the sex of virginia rails (Rallus limicola)
ABSTRACT Virginia rails (Rallus limicola) are secretive marsh birds found in freshwater wetlands across much of North American. There is currently no known way to differentiate between the sexes in the field. We suggest the use of morphometric discriminant analysis as an effective method to separate...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2013-12-01
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| Series: | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.323 |
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| author | Auriel M.V. Fournier Mark C. Sheildcastle Anthony C. Fries Joseph K. Bump |
| author_facet | Auriel M.V. Fournier Mark C. Sheildcastle Anthony C. Fries Joseph K. Bump |
| author_sort | Auriel M.V. Fournier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Virginia rails (Rallus limicola) are secretive marsh birds found in freshwater wetlands across much of North American. There is currently no known way to differentiate between the sexes in the field. We suggest the use of morphometric discriminant analysis as an effective method to separate males and females. We compared the length of the culmen, tarsus, wing chord, and middle toe of live birds captured at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge (Ottawa Co., OH) during the springs of 2002–2011 and museum specimens measured the summer of 2011. We genetically determined the sex of a subset of samples using an intronic region of the chromo‐helicase‐DNA‐binding gene on the Z and W chromosomes. For live birds, 81% of males and 70% of females were classified correctly; and for museum specimens, 71% of males and 80% of females were classified correctly. This technique provides an accurate and simple method of determining Virginia rail sex that can contribute to efforts to better understand population demographics. © 2013 The Wildlife Society. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ebe525ac36ea423e8a17608043ef9a32 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2328-5540 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-12-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
| spelling | doaj-art-ebe525ac36ea423e8a17608043ef9a322025-08-20T01:56:34ZengWileyWildlife Society Bulletin2328-55402013-12-0137488188610.1002/wsb.323A morphometric model to predict the sex of virginia rails (Rallus limicola)Auriel M.V. Fournier0Mark C. Sheildcastle1Anthony C. Fries2Joseph K. Bump3School of Forest Resources and Environmental ScienceMichigan Technological UniversityHoughtonMI49931USABlack Swamp Bird ObservatoryOak HarborOH43449USADepartment of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal BiologyThe Ohio State UniversityColumbusOH43210USASchool of Forest Resources and Environmental ScienceMichigan Technological UniversityHoughtonMI49931USAABSTRACT Virginia rails (Rallus limicola) are secretive marsh birds found in freshwater wetlands across much of North American. There is currently no known way to differentiate between the sexes in the field. We suggest the use of morphometric discriminant analysis as an effective method to separate males and females. We compared the length of the culmen, tarsus, wing chord, and middle toe of live birds captured at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge (Ottawa Co., OH) during the springs of 2002–2011 and museum specimens measured the summer of 2011. We genetically determined the sex of a subset of samples using an intronic region of the chromo‐helicase‐DNA‐binding gene on the Z and W chromosomes. For live birds, 81% of males and 70% of females were classified correctly; and for museum specimens, 71% of males and 80% of females were classified correctly. This technique provides an accurate and simple method of determining Virginia rail sex that can contribute to efforts to better understand population demographics. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.323dimorphismmorphometricsmuseum specimensnon‐invasiveOttawa National Wildlife RefugeRallus limicola |
| spellingShingle | Auriel M.V. Fournier Mark C. Sheildcastle Anthony C. Fries Joseph K. Bump A morphometric model to predict the sex of virginia rails (Rallus limicola) Wildlife Society Bulletin dimorphism morphometrics museum specimens non‐invasive Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Rallus limicola |
| title | A morphometric model to predict the sex of virginia rails (Rallus limicola) |
| title_full | A morphometric model to predict the sex of virginia rails (Rallus limicola) |
| title_fullStr | A morphometric model to predict the sex of virginia rails (Rallus limicola) |
| title_full_unstemmed | A morphometric model to predict the sex of virginia rails (Rallus limicola) |
| title_short | A morphometric model to predict the sex of virginia rails (Rallus limicola) |
| title_sort | morphometric model to predict the sex of virginia rails rallus limicola |
| topic | dimorphism morphometrics museum specimens non‐invasive Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Rallus limicola |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.323 |
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