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Migratory Biology

Current Research Projects

Jamaican Research Reference List

Supported by grants to Peter P. Marra, Richard T. Holmes, Thomas W. Sherry 1986-Present

Data from Jamaica can be found here.

PUBLICATIONS (in chronological order)

  1. Holmes, R.T., and T.W. Sherry. 1989. Ecological studies of migrant warblers in Jamaica: a progress report. Gosse Bird Club (Jamaica, W.I.) The Broadsheet 53: 7-10.
  2. Holmes, R.T., T.W. Sherry, and L.R. Reitsma. 1989. Population structure, territoriality, and overwinter survival of two migrant warbler species in Jamaica. Condor 91: 545-561.
  3. Holmes, R.T., and T.W. Sherry. 1992. Site fidelity of migratory warblers in temperate breeding and neotropical wintering areas: implications for population dynamics, habitat selection, and conservation. Pp. 563-575 in Ecology and Conservation of Neotropical Migrant Landbirds (J.M. Hagan and D.W. Johnston, eds.). Smithsonian Press, Wash D.C.
  4. Sliwa, A., and T.W. Sherry. 1992. Surveying wintering warbler populations in Jamaica: point counts with and without broadcast vocalizations. Condor 94: 924-936.
  5. Sherry, T.W., and R.T. Holmes. 1993. Are populations of Neotropical migrant birds limited in summer or winter? Implications for management. Pp. 47-57 in Status and Management of Neotropical Migratory Birds (D.M. Finch, P.W. Stangel, eds.). U.S. Dept of Agriculture, Forest Service Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station General Technical Report RM-229, Fort Collins, CO.
  6. Marra, P.P., T.W. Sherry, and R.T. Holmes. 1993. Territorial exclusion by a long-distance migrant warbler in Jamaica: a removal experiment with American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla). Auk 110: 565-572.
  7. Parrish, J.D., and T.W. Sherry. 1994. Sexual habitat segregation by American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla) wintering in Jamaica: importance of resource seasonality. Auk 111: 38-49.
  8. Sherry, T.W., and R.T. Holmes. 1995. Summer versus winter limitation of populations: conceptual issues and evidence. Pp. 85-120 in Ecology and management of Neotropical migratory birds: a synthesis and review of critical issues (T. Martin and D. Finch, Eds.). Oxford University Press, New York.
  9. Lovette, I.J., and R.T. Holmes. 1995. Foraging behavior of American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla) in breeding and winter habitats: implications for relative food availability. Condor 97: 782-791.
  10. Confer, J.L, and R.T. Holmes. 1995. Neotropical migrants in undisturbed and human-altered forests in Jamaica. Wilson Bulletin 107: 577-589.
  11. Sherry, T.W., and R.T. Holmes. 1996. Winter habitat quality, population limitation, and conservation of Neotropical-Nearctic migrant birds. Ecology 77:36-48.
  12. Chamberlain, C.P., J.D. Blum, R.T. Holmes, X. Feng, T.W. Sherry, and G.R. Graves. 1997. The use of isotope tracers for identifying populations of migratory birds. Oecologia 109: 132-141.
  13. Marra, P.P. 1997. Consequences of sexual habitat segregation in a Neotropical migrant bird. The Broadsheet (Gosse Bird Club, Jamaica) 68: 11-12.
  14. Marra, P.P., and R. L. Holberton. 1998. Corticosterone levels as indicators of habitat quality: effects of habitat segregation in a migratory bird during the non-breeding period. Oecologia 116: 284-292.
  15. Sherry, T.W., and R.T. Holmes. 1998. Migrants wintering in the Caribbean: vacation time? Jamaican Naturalist 5: 16-19.
  16. Marra, P.P., K.A. Hobson, and R.T. Holmes. 1998. Linking winter and summer events in a migratory bird by using stable-carbon isotopes. Science 282: 1884-1886.
  17. Holberton, R. L., P.P. Marra and F. R. Moore. 1999. Endocrine aspects of physiological condition and habitat quality in migrant birds during the non-breeding period. In: Adams, N. and Slotow, R. (Eds.), Proc 22 Int. Ornithol. Congr., Durban, University of Natal.
  18. Sherry, T.W., and R.T. Holmes. 2000. Demographic modeling of migratory bird populations: the importance of parameter estimation using marked individuals. Pp. 211-219 in Strategies for bird conservation: The Partners in Flight planning process (R. Bonney, D.N. Pashley, R.J. Cooper, and L. Niles, eds). Proceedings RMRS-P-16. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 281 p.
  19. Strong, A.M. 2000. Divergent foraging strategies of two Neotropical migrant warblers: implications for winter habitat use. Auk 117:381-392.
  20. Johnson, M.D. 2000. Effects of shade-tree species and crop structure on the winter arthropod and bird communities in a Jamaican shade coffee plantation. Biotropica 32:133-145.
  21. Johnson, M.D. 2000. Evaluation of an arthropod sampling technique useful for measuring food availability for forest insectivores. J. Field Ornithol. 71:88-109.
  22. Marra, P.P. 2000. The role of behavioral dominance in structuring habitat occupancy of a migrant bird during the non-breeding season. Behavioral Ecology 11: 299-308.
  23. Sillett, T.S., R.T. Holmes, and T.W. Sherry. 2000. Impacts of a global climate cycle on the population dynamics of a migratory songbird. Science 288: 2040-2042.
  24. Strong, A.M., and T.W. Sherry. 2000. Habitat-specific effects of food abundance on the condition of Ovenbirds wintering in Jamaica. Journal of Animal Ecology 69:883-895.
  25. Johnson, M.D., and A.M. Strong. 2000. Length-weight relationships of Jamaican arthropods. Entomological News 111: 270-281.
  26. Marra, P.P., and R.T. Holmes. 2001. Consequences of dominance-mediated habitat segregation in a migrant passerine bird during the non-breeding season. Auk 118:94-106.
  27. Johnson, M.D., and T.W. Sherry. 2001. Effects of food availability on distribution of migratory warblers among habitats in Jamaica. Journal of Animal Ecology 70: 546-560.
  28. Strong, A. M., and M. D. Johnson. 2001. Exploitation of a seasonal resource by Plain and White-crowned pigeons in southern Jamaica: implications for conservation of tropical dry forests. Wilson Bulletin 113:73-77.
  29. Webster, M.S., P.P. Marra, S.M. Haig, S. Bensch, and R.T. Holmes. 2002. Links between worlds: unraveling migratory connectivity. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17: 76-83.
  30. Rubenstein, D.R., C.P. Chamberlain, R.T. Holmes, M.P. Ayres, J.R. Waldbauer, G.R.Graves, and N.C. Tuross. 2002. Linking breeding and wintering ranges of a Neotropical migrant songbird using stable isotopes. Science 295: 591-593.
  31. Sillett, T.S., and R.T. Holmes. 2002. Variation in survivorship of a migratory songbird throughout its annual cycle. Journal of Animal Ecology 71: 296-308.
  32. Strong, A.M., and T.W. Sherry. 2002. Body condition of Swainson's Warblers wintering in Jamaica, and the conservation value of Caribbean dry forest. Wilson Bulletin 113: 410-418.
  33. Johnson, M.D., D.R. Ruthrauff, J.G. Jones, J.R. Tietz, and J.K. Robinson. 2002. Short-term effects of tartar emetic on re-sighting rates of migratory songbirds in the non-breeding season. Journal of Field Ornithology 73: 191-196.
  34. Smith, T.B., P.P. Marra, M.S. Webster, I. Lovette, H. L. Gibbs, R.T. Holmes, K.A. Hobson, and S. Rohwer. 2003. A call for feather sampling. Auk 120:218-221.
  35. Dupuis A. P., Marra P. P., and Kramer L. D. (2003). Serologic Evidence of West Nile virus Transmission, Jamaica, West Indies. Emerging Infectious Diseases 9: 860-63.
  36. Norris, D.R. , Marra P. P., Kyser T. K., Sherry, T. W., and Ratcliffe, L. M. 2004. Tropical winter habitat limits reproduction success in a migratory bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B 271: 59-64.
  37. Garvin, M. C., Marra, P. P. and Crain, S.K. 2004. Prevalence of hematazoa in overwintering American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla): no evidence for local transmission. Journal of Wildlife Disease 40:115-118.
  38. Sherry, T.W., M.D. Johnson, and A.M. Strong. 2005. Does winter food limit populations of migratory birds? Pp. 414-425 in Birds of Two Worlds: Advances in the Ecology and Evolution of Temperate-Tropical Migration Systems (R. Greenberg, and P.P. Marra, eds). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
  39. Sillett, T.S., and R.T. Holmes. 2005. Long-term demographic trends, limiting factors, and the strength of density dependence in a breeding population of a migratory songbird. Pp. 426-436 in Birds of Two Worlds: Advances in the Ecology and Evolution of Temperate-Tropical Migration Systems (R. Greenberg, and P.P. Marra, eds). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
  40. Greenberg, R. and Marra, P. P. 2005. The renaissance of migratory bird biology. In: Birds of Two Worlds: The Ecology and Evolution of Temperate-Tropical Migration Systems. R. Greenberg and P. P. Marra (Eds). Johns Hopkins University Press. Pp 437-444.
  41. Runge M. and Marra, P. P. 2005. A demographic model for a migratory passerine bird: population dynamics of the American Redstart. In: Birds of Two Worlds: The Ecology and Evolution of Temperate-Tropical Migration Systems. R. Greenberg and P. P. Marra (Eds). Johns Hopkins University Press. Pp 375-389.
  42. Webster, M.S. and Marra, P. P. 2005. The importance of understanding migratory connectivity. In: Birds of Two Worlds: The Ecology and Evolution of Temperate-Tropical Migration Systems. R. Greenberg and P. P. Marra (Eds). Johns Hopkins University. Pp 199-209.
  43. Johnson, M.D., A.M. Strong, T.W. Sherry, and A. Medori. 2005. Migrants in tropical bird communities: An assessment of the breeding currency hypothesis. Journal of Animal Ecology 74: 333-341.
  44. Studds, C. E. and Marra, P. P. 2005. Non-breeding habitat occupancy and population processes: an upgrade experiment with a migratory bird. Ecology 86: 2380-2385.
  45. Brown, D.R., and T.W. Sherry. 2006. Population response of resident Jamaican birds to food supplementation: evidence of dry-season limitation. Biotropica 38: 91-99.
  46. Brown, D.R., T.W. Sherry. 2006. Food supply controls physical condition of a long distance migrant bird wintering in the tropics. Oecologia 149: 22-32.
  47. Johnson, M.D., A.M. Strong, and T.W. Sherry. 2006. Migrants in tropical bird communities: the balanced breeding limitation hypothesis. Journal of Avian Biology 37:229-237.
  48. Johnson, M.D., T.W. Sherry, R.T. Holmes, and P.P. Marra. 2006. Assessing habitat quality for a migratory songbird wintering in natural and agricultural habitats. Conservation Biology 20: 1433-1444.
  49. Norris, D. R., Marra, P. P., Kyser, T. K., Sherry, T. W., and Ratcliffe, L. M. 2006. Migratory connectivity of a widely distributed Neotropical-Nearctic songbird. Ornithological Monographs No. 61
  50. Norris, D. R., Marra, P. P., Ratcliffe, L. M., Kyser, T. K. and Montgomerie, R. 2006. Continent-wide variation in feather colour of a migratory songbird in relation to moulting locality. Biology Letters 3: available online.
  51. Bisson, I.-A., Marra, P. P., Burtt, E. H., Sikaroodi, M. and Gillevet, P. M. 2006. A molecular comparison of plumage and soil bacteria across biogeographic, ecological, and taxonomic scales. Microbial Ecology.
  52. Marra, P. P., Norris, D. R., Haig, S. M., Webster, M., Royle, A. 2006. Migratory Connectivity. Maintaining Connections for Nature. (Kevin Crooks and S. Muttulingam, Eds.). pp. 157-183. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
  53. Holmes, R.T. 2007. Understanding population change in migratory songbirds: long-term and experimental studies of Neotropical migrants in breeding and wintering areas. Ibis 149 (Suppl. 2), 2-13.
  54. Bisson, I.-A., Marra, P. P., Burtt, E. H., Sikaroodi, M. and Gillevet, P. M. 2007. A molecular comparison of plumage and soil bacteria across biogeographic, ecological, and taxonomic scales. Microbial Ecology.
  55. Durrant, K.L., Marra, P.P., Colbeck, G.J., Gibbs, H.L., Hobson, K.A., Norris, D.R., Bernik, B., Lloyd, V.L. and Fleischer, R.C. 2007. Parasite assemblages distinguish populations of a migratory passerine on the breeding grounds. Journal of Zoology.
  56. Martin, T. G., I. Chadès, P. Arcese, P. P. Marra, H. P. Possingham, D. R. Norris. 2007. Optimal Conservation of Migratory Species. PLoS - One.
  57. Reudink, M. W., Marra, P. P., Langin, K. M., Studds, C. E., Kyser, T. K., & Ratcliffe, L. M. In press. Molt-migration in American Redstarts re-visited: explaining variation in feather D signatures. Auk
  58. Reudink, M. W., Studds, C. E., Kyser, T. K., Marra, P. P., & Ratcliffe, L. M. In Press. Plumage brightness predicts non-breeding season territory quality in a long-distance migratory songbird. Journal of Avian Biology.
  59. Studds C., K. Kyser and P.P. Marra. 2008. Natal Dispersal Driven by Environmental Conditions Interacting Across the Annual Cycle of a Migratory Songbird. 2008. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 105: 2929-2933.
  60. Studds C. and P.P. Marra. 2007. Linking fluctuations in rainfall to non-breeding season performance in a long-distance migratory bird. Climate Research 35:115-122
  61. Brown, D. R., and T. W. Sherry. 2008. Solitary winter roosting of ovenbirds in core foraging area. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120: 455-459.
  62. Bergstrom, B.J., and T.W. Sherry. 2008. Estimating Lipid and Lean Body Mass in Small Passerine Birds using TOBEC, External Morphology and Subcutaneous Fat scoring. Journal of Avian Biology 39: 507-513.
  63. Brown, D. R., and T. W. Sherry. 2008. Alternative strategies of space use and response to resource change in a wintering migrant songbird. Behavioral Ecology 19: 1314-1325.
  64. Reudink, M. W., P. P. Marra, T. K. Kyser, P. T. Boag, K. M. Langin & L. Ratcliffe. 2009. Non-breeding season events influence sexual selection in a long-distance migratory bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 276: 1619-1626.
  65. Reudink, M. W., Studds, C. E., Kyser, T. K., Marra, P. P., & Ratcliffe, L. M. 2009. Plumage brightness predicts non-breeding season territory quality in a long-distance migratory songbird. Journal of Avian Biology 40: 35-41.
  66. Faaborg, J., R. T. Holmes, A. Anders*, K. Bildstein, K. Dugger, S. Gauthreaux, P. Heglund, K. Hobson, D. H. Johnson, S. C. Latta, D. Levey, P. P. Marra, C. L. Merkord , E. Nol, S. I. Rothstein, T. S. Sillett, T. W. Sherry, F. R. Thompson III, and N. Warnock. In press. Recent advances in understanding New World bird migration systems of New World landbirds. Ecological Monographs. In press as of 9 April, 2009. *Authors other than Faaborg & Holmes listed in alphabetical order.
  67. Faaborg, J., R. T. Holmes, A. Anders, K. Bildstein, K. Dugger, S. Gauthreaux, P. Heglund, K. Hobson, D. H. Johnson, S. Latta, D. Levey, P.P. Marra, C. Merkord , E. Nol, S. I. Rothstein, T. S. Sillett, T.W. Sherry, F. Thompson III, and N. Warnock. 2009. Managing migratory birds in the New World: do we know enough? Ecological Applications. In press as of 9 April, 2009. *Authors other than Faaborg & Holmes listed in alphabetical order.
  68. Angelier, F., Holberton, R.L. & Marra, P.P. In Press. Does the stress response predict return rate in a migratory bird species? A study of American redstarts and their non-breeding habitat. Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

THESES AND DISSERTATIONS

  • Sliwa, A. 1991. Winter geographic and habitat distributions of two migratory warblers (Parulinae) in Jamaica, W.I. (MS thesis, Berlin Free University, Berlin, West Germany).
  • Parrish, J. 1991. Sexual habitat segregation in wintering American Redstarts. Senior Honors Thesis, Tulane University
  • Lovette, I. J. 1992. Foraging rates and time budgets of a Neotropical migrant warbler (Setophaga ruticilla) in summer and winter: an assessment of food availability. Senior Honors Thesis, Dartmouth College. 22 pp. (REU supported)
  • Marra, P.P. 1998. Causes and consequences of sexual habitat segregation in a migrant songbird during the non-breeding season. Ph.D. Dissertation Dartmouth College.
  • Medori, A. 1998. Seasonal and habitat changes in the diet of a neotropical migrant warbler, with special emphasis on the conservation value of shade coffee plantations. Senior Undergraduate Honors Thesis, Tulane University
  • Strong, A. 1999. Effects of food abundance on non-breeding habitat quality for two species of ground-foraging migratory warblers. PhD. Dissertation, Tulane University, in progress.
  • Joyce, E.M. 1998. Incubation patterns of female Black-throated Blue Warblers. Senior Honors Thesis, Dartmouth College.
  • Rubenstein, D.R. 1999. Using stable-carbon isotopes to determine the breeding origin and extent of population mixing in Black-throated Blue Warblers wintering in the Caribbean. Senior Honors Thesis, Dartmouth College.
  • Johnson, M. 1999. Habitat suitability for canopy-foraging warblers wintering in Jamaica: patterns, determinants, and conservation implications. Ph.D. Dissertation, Tulane University.
  • Kaban, Jordana. 2000. Food resources used by three Neotropical migrant warblers wintering in a Jamaican shade coffee plantation. Senior Honors Thesis, Tulane University.
  • Douglas, L. 2002. Impact of human habitat degradation on resident and Neotroopical migratory birds occupying the Tropical Dry Forest Life zone of southern Jamaica. M.S. Thesis, University of the West Indies, Jamaica.
  • Brown, David. 2006. Food supply and the dry-season ecology of a tropical resident bird community and an over-wintering migrant bird species. Ph.D. dissertation, Tulane University.

Past Research Projects

  • Prescribed Burns - evaluate the impact of prescribed burning on the breeding ecology of the migratory seaside sparrow.
  • Wetland Birds - life history traits of wetland birds to provide an Index of Biological Intergrity for portions of the Chesapeake Bay.
  • Mangrove Warbler Breeding Ecology - comparing temperate and tropical yellow warblers.
  • Microbial Communities - feathers harbor a diverse micro-flora and fauna.
  • Northern Waterthrush - research in mangrove winter habitat, roosting behavior and habitat segragation.
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