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Pereira JM, Ramos JA, Ceia FR, Krüger L, Marques AM, Paiva VH. Boldness predicts foraging behaviour, habitat use and chick growth in a central place marine predator. Oecologia 2024; 205:135-147. [PMID: 38739168 PMCID: PMC11144154 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-024-05557-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Animal personality can shape individual's fitness. Yet, the mechanistic relationship by which individual's personality traits lead to variations in fitness remains largely underexplored. Here, we used novel object tests to measure boldness of chick-provisioning Cory's shearwaters (Calonectris borealis) from a coastal colony off west Portugal, and deployed GPS loggers to study their at-sea behaviour and distribution. We then tested whether boldness predicts individual differences in adult's trophic ecology and variations in chick growth, to assess potential implications of personality-specific foraging behaviours. Foraging effort was higher for shyer than for bolder individuals, which, during short forays, exhibited larger foraging ranges, and foraged in regions of higher and more variable bathymetry. This suggests that nearby the colony bolder individuals expanded their foraging area to maximize resource acquisition and increase the probability of foraging success. When endeavouring to longer distances, bolder individuals exhibited comparably shorter foraging ranges and targeted low bathymetry regions, likely with enhanced prey availability, while shyer individuals exhibited much larger foraging ranges indicating greater flexibility when foraging in oceanic realms. Despite such differences between bolder and shyer individuals their isotopic niches were similar. Yet, chicks raised by bolder parents grew at a faster rate than those raised by shyer parents. Together, our results suggest that differences in resource acquisition strategies could play a key role through which individual's boldness may influence breeding performance, even when individuals have similar isotopic preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge M Pereira
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre / ARNET - Aquatic Research Network, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456, Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - Jaime A Ramos
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre / ARNET - Aquatic Research Network, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Filipe R Ceia
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre / ARNET - Aquatic Research Network, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Lucas Krüger
- Instituto Antártico Chileno, Plaza Muñoz Gamero 1055, 620 000, Punta Arenas, Chile
- Instituto Milenio Biodiversidad de Ecosistemas Antárticos y Subantárticos (BASE), Las Palmeras 3425, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile
| | - Ana M Marques
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre / ARNET - Aquatic Research Network, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Vitor H Paiva
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre / ARNET - Aquatic Research Network, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456, Coimbra, Portugal
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2
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Ke A, Sollmann R, Frishkoff L, Echeverri A, Zook J, Karp DS. Effects of agriculture and nature reserves on avian behavior in northwestern Costa Rica. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2024:e14241. [PMID: 38450847 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Behavioral changes are often animals' first responses to environmental change and may act as a bellwether for population viability. Nonetheless, most studies of habitat conversion focus on changes in species occurrences or abundances. We analyzed >14,000 behavioral observations across 55 bird species in communities in northwestern Costa Rica to determine how land use affects reproductive, foraging, and other passive kinds of behaviors not associated with either foraging or reproduction. Specifically, we quantified differences in behaviors between farms, privately owned forests, and protected areas and implemented a novel modeling framework to account for variation in detection among behaviors. This framework entailed estimating abundances of birds performing different behaviors while allowing detection probabilities of individuals to vary by behavior. Birds were 1.2 times more likely to exhibit reproductive behaviors in forest than in agriculture and 1.5 times more likely to exhibit reproductive behaviors in protected areas than in private forests. Species were not always most abundant in the habitats where they were most likely to exhibit foraging or reproductive behaviors. Finally, species of higher conservation concern were less abundant in agriculture than in forest. Together, our results highlight the importance of behavioral analyses for elucidating the conservation value of different land uses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison Ke
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Rahel Sollmann
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
- Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
| | - Luke Frishkoff
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA
| | - Alejandra Echeverri
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
- Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Jim Zook
- Unión de Ornitólogos de Costa Rica, Naranjo de Alajuela, Costa Rica
| | - Daniel S Karp
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
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3
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Hodinka BL, Williams TD. Phenotypic plasticity in mass loss during chick rearing in the European starling ( Sturnus vulgaris). Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11028. [PMID: 38405406 PMCID: PMC10891361 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 12/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Abstract
It has long been recognized that mass loss during breeding could be adaptive (e.g., by ameliorating the costs of increased parental activity). However, many studies still commonly interpret mass loss as evidence of "stress" or a cost of reproduction (i.e., a negative effect of high workload during chick provisioning). Despite several studies reporting evidence in support of both hypotheses, the ecological and/or life-history contexts under which mass loss may be viewed as a "cost" or an adaptive strategy are still unclear. Here, we used a long-term dataset from a breeding population of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to investigate natural annual and individual variation in body mass and mass loss and to test whether mass loss during chick rearing represents a phenotypically plastic trait that varies predictably in relation to ecological context and individual quality. While there was significant annual variation in incubation mass, chick-rearing mass, and mass change, there were no systematic relationships between mass loss and current breeding success or future fecundity and survival. In addition, we found no evidence of intra-annual repeatability of mass loss between first and second broods ( = .00) but moderate interannual repeatability of mass loss (R = .61) during first broods, suggesting differences in mass loss under different selective pressures. However, we found no covariation between residual intra-individual variation in mass loss for first broods and other reproductive or life-history traits. We therefore found no support for the idea that mass loss reflects "reproductive stress" in our system: there were no negative relationships between mass loss and either current or future reproduction and survival (local return rate). Our results are consistent with mass loss being an individually plastic trait, with individuals using mass loss to "level the playing field" and individually optimize reproductive effort and fitness within their specific ecological context and relative to their individual quality for a given breeding attempt.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett L. Hodinka
- Department of Biological SciencesSimon Fraser UniversityBurnabyBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | - Tony D. Williams
- Department of Biological SciencesSimon Fraser UniversityBurnabyBritish ColumbiaCanada
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4
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Lescroël A, Schmidt A, Ainley DG, Dugger KM, Elrod M, Jongsomjit D, Morandini V, Winquist S, Ballard G. High-resolution recording of foraging behaviour over multiple annual cycles shows decline in old Adélie penguins' performance. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20222480. [PMID: 37015277 PMCID: PMC10072935 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Age-related variation in foraging performance can result from both within-individual change and selection processes. These mechanisms can only be disentangled by using logistically challenging long-term, longitudinal studies. Coupling a long-term demographic data set with high-temporal-resolution tracking of 18 Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae, age 4-15 yrs old) over three consecutive annual cycles, we examined how foraging behaviour changed within individuals of different age classes. Evidence indicated within-individual improvement in young and middle-age classes, but a significant decrease in foraging dive frequency within old individuals, associated with a decrease in the dive descent rate. Decreases in foraging performance occurred at a later age (from 12-15 yrs old to 15-18 yrs old) than the onset of senescence predicted for this species (9-11 yrs old). Foraging dive frequency was most affected by the interaction between breeding status and annual life-cycle periods, with frequency being highest during returning migration and breeding season and was highest overall for successful breeders during the chick-rearing period. Females performed more foraging dives per hour than males. This longitudinal, full annual cycle study allowed us to shed light on the changes in foraging performance occurring among individuals of different age classes and highlighted the complex interactions among drivers of individual foraging behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Annie Schmidt
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA 94954, USA
| | - David G. Ainley
- H. T. Harvey & Associates Ecological Consultants, Los Gatos, CA 95032, USA
| | - Katie M. Dugger
- US Geological Survey, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97333, USA
| | - Megan Elrod
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA 94954, USA
| | | | - Virginia Morandini
- Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, 104 Nash Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
- Fundación Migres, CIMA, N-340km 85, E-11380 Tarifa, Spain
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, C/Jose Gutierrez Abascal, 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Suzanne Winquist
- Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR 97365, USA
| | - Grant Ballard
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA 94954, USA
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Allegue H, Réale D, Picard B, Guinet C. Track and dive-based movement metrics do not predict the number of prey encountered by a marine predator. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:3. [PMID: 36681811 PMCID: PMC9862577 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00361-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studying animal movement in the context of the optimal foraging theory has led to the development of simple movement metrics for inferring feeding activity. Yet, the predictive capacity of these metrics in natural environments has been given little attention, raising serious questions of the validity of these metrics. The aim of this study is to test whether simple continuous movement metrics predict feeding intensity in a marine predator, the southern elephant seal (SES; Mirounga leonine), and investigate potential factors influencing the predictive capacity of these metrics. METHODS We equipped 21 female SES from the Kerguelen Archipelago with loggers and recorded their movements during post-breeding foraging trips at sea. From accelerometry, we estimated the number of prey encounter events (nPEE) and used it as a reference for feeding intensity. We also extracted several track- and dive-based movement metrics and evaluated how well they explain and predict the variance in nPEE. We conducted our analysis at two temporal scales (dive and day), with two dive profile resolutions (high at 1 Hz and low with five dive segments), and two types of models (linear models and regression trees). RESULTS We found that none of the movement metrics predict nPEE with satisfactory power. The vertical transit rates (primarily the ascent rate) during dives had the best predictive performance among all metrics. Dive metrics performed better than track metrics and all metrics performed on average better at the scale of days than the scale of dives. However, the performance of the models at the scale of days showed higher variability among individuals suggesting distinct foraging tactics. Dive-based metrics performed better when computed from high-resolution dive profiles than low-resolution dive profiles. Finally, regression trees produced more accurate predictions than linear models. CONCLUSIONS Our study reveals that simple movement metrics do not predict feeding activity in free-ranging marine predators. This could emerge from differences between individuals, temporal scales, and the data resolution used, among many other factors. We conclude that these simple metrics should be avoided or carefully tested a priori with the studied species and the ecological context to account for significant influencing factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hassen Allegue
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
| | - Denis Réale
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Baptiste Picard
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR7372 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Christophe Guinet
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR7372 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, Villiers en Bois, France
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6
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Drivers of habitat quality for a reintroduced elk herd. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20960. [PMID: 36470959 PMCID: PMC9723100 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25058-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding spatiotemporal variation in habitat quality is essential for guiding wildlife reintroduction and restoration programs. The habitat productivity hypothesis posits that home range size is inversely related to habitat quality. Thus, home range size may be used as a proxy for habitat quality and can identify important land cover features for a recovering species. We sought to quantify variation in home range size across the biological cycle (seasons) for a reintroduced elk (Cervus canadensis) population in southwestern Virginia, USA and quantify habitat quality by linking home range sizes to the land cover types they contain using linear mixed-effects models. We found mean home range size was largest during late gestation for female elk. Additionally, throughout the year, smaller home ranges were associated with larger proportions of non-forested habitats whereas forested habitats were generally the opposite. However, both presumed poor- and high-quality habitats influenced female elk space use. Our approach revealed spatial variation in habitat quality for a recovering elk herd, demonstrated the importance of non-forested habitats to elk, can guide decisions regarding the location of future elk reintroduction programs, and serve as a model for evaluating habitat quality associated with wildlife reintroductions.
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7
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The role of individual variability on the predictive performance of machine learning applied to large bio-logging datasets. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19737. [PMID: 36396680 PMCID: PMC9672113 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-22258-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal-borne tagging (bio-logging) generates large and complex datasets. In particular, accelerometer tags, which provide information on behaviour and energy expenditure of wild animals, produce high-resolution multi-dimensional data, and can be challenging to analyse. We tested the performance of commonly used artificial intelligence tools on datasets of increasing volume and dimensionality. By collecting bio-logging data across several sampling seasons, datasets are inherently characterized by inter-individual variability. Such information should be considered when predicting behaviour. We integrated both unsupervised and supervised machine learning approaches to predict behaviours in two penguin species. The classified behaviours obtained from the unsupervised approach Expectation Maximisation were used to train the supervised approach Random Forest. We assessed agreement between the approaches, the performance of Random Forest on unknown data and the implications for the calculation of energy expenditure. Consideration of behavioural variability resulted in high agreement (> 80%) in behavioural classifications and minimal differences in energy expenditure estimates. However, some outliers with < 70% of agreement, highlighted how behaviours characterized by signal similarity are confused. We advise the broad bio-logging community, approaching these large datasets, to be cautious when upscaling predictions, as this might lead to less accurate estimates of behaviour and energy expenditure.
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8
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Lerma M, Dehnhard N, Castillo-Guerrero JA, Fernández G. Nutritional state variations in a tropical seabird throughout its breeding season. J Comp Physiol B 2022; 192:775-787. [PMID: 36100755 PMCID: PMC9550769 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-022-01456-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Individual body condition is frequently used to explain differences in foraging and breeding ecology in seabirds. However, little is known about the covariations of body mass with the nutritional state of animals as measured through plasma metabolites and how these different measures vary between and within individuals during breeding. Here, we assessed intra-individual variations of plasma metabolites (triglycerides, cholesterol, protein, and ß-hydroxybutyrate concentrations) and in body mass of Blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii) throughout their breeding season 2011-2012 in Isla El Rancho, Mexico. We found breeding-stage and sex-specific variations in individuals' plasma metabolite concentrations, but these did not mirror variations in body mass. Before egg-laying, females had higher triglycerides, cholesterol, and protein concentrations than males. In contrast, males used their nutritional reserves (higher ß-hydroxybutyrate concentrations) more than females during the breeding season (except for early chick-rearing). At the individual level, males gained weight during the breeding season, whereas females lost weight. We also found that between-individual differences in plasma metabolite concentrations and changes in body mass were not consistent throughout the breeding season, while individual body mass was significantly repeatable. This study contributes to a better understanding of seabird breeding ecology and physiology by showing that sex-specific breeding roles might highly influence the nutritional state. Similar patterns might occur in other seabird species, helping to explain why we can find stage- and sex-specific foraging behaviors even in monomorphic species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Lerma
- Posgrado de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, 04510, Ciudad de Mexico, México. .,Research and Technology Center (FTZ), University of Kiel, Hafentörn 1, 25761, Büsum, Germany.
| | - Nina Dehnhard
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Høgskoleringen 9, NO-7034, Trondheim, Norway
| | - José Alfredo Castillo-Guerrero
- Departamento de Estudios para el Desarrollo Sustentable de la Zona Costera, Centro Universitario de la Costa Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara, San Patricio-Melaque, Municipio de Cihuatlán, Jalisco, 48980, México
| | - Guillermo Fernández
- Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, 82040, México
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9
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Leith FW, Grigg JL, Barham BJ, Barham PJ, Ludynia K, McGeorge C, Mdluli A, Parsons NJ, Waller LJ, Sherley RB. Intercolony variation in reproductive skipping in the African penguin. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9255. [PMID: 36091339 PMCID: PMC9448970 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In long‐lived species, reproductive skipping is a common strategy whereby sexually mature animals skip a breeding season, potentially reducing population growth. This may be an adaptive decision to protect survival, or a non‐adaptive decision driven by individual‐specific constraints. Understanding the presence and drivers of reproductive skipping behavior can be important for effective population management, yet in many species such as the endangered African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), these factors remain unknown. This study uses multistate mark‐recapture methods to estimate African penguin survival and breeding probabilities at two colonies between 2013 and 2020. Overall, survival (mean ± SE) was higher at Stony Point (0.82 ± 0.01) than at Robben Island (0.77 ± 0.02). Inter‐colony differences were linked to food availability; under decreasing sardine (Sardinops sagax) abundance, survival decreased at Robben Island and increased at Stony Point. Additionally, reproductive skipping was evident across both colonies; at Robben Island the probability of a breeder becoming a nonbreeder was ~0.22, versus ~0.1 at Stony Point. Penguins skipping reproduction had a lower probability of future breeding than breeding individuals; this lack of adaptive benefit suggests reproductive skipping is driven by individual‐specific constraints. Lower survival and breeding propensity at Robben Island places this colony in greater need of conservation action. However, further research on the drivers of inter‐colony differences is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Freddie W Leith
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter Penryn UK
| | - Jennifer L Grigg
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter Penryn UK
| | | | - Peter J Barham
- H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory University of Bristol Bristol UK.,Department of Biodiversity and Conservation Biology University of the Western Cape Cape Town South Africa
| | - Katrin Ludynia
- Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) Cape Town South Africa.,Department of Biological Sciences University of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
| | - Cuan McGeorge
- Stony Point Nature Reserve, CapeNature Betty's Bay South Africa
| | - Andile Mdluli
- Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) Cape Town South Africa.,Robben Island Museum, Robben Island South Africa
| | - Nola J Parsons
- Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) Cape Town South Africa
| | - Lauren J Waller
- Department of Biodiversity and Conservation Biology University of the Western Cape Cape Town South Africa.,Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) Cape Town South Africa
| | - Richard B Sherley
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter Penryn UK.,FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence University of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
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10
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Ogilvy C, Constantine R, Bury SJ, Carroll EL. Diet variation in a critically endangered marine predator revealed with stable isotope analysis. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220470. [PMID: 35991335 PMCID: PMC9382206 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the foraging ecology of animals gives insights into their trophic relationships and habitat use. We used stable isotope analysis to understand the foraging ecology of a critically endangered marine predator, the Māui dolphin. We analysed carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of skin samples (n = 101) collected from 1993 to 2021 to investigate temporal changes in diet and niche space. Genetic monitoring associated each sample with a DNA profile which allowed us to assess individual and population level changes in diet. Potential prey and trophic level indicator samples were also collected (n = 166; 15 species) and incorporated in Bayesian mixing models to estimate importance of prey types to Māui dolphin diet. We found isotopic niche space had decreased over time, particularly since the 2008 implementation of a Marine Mammal Sanctuary. We observed a decreasing trend in ∂13C and ∂15N values, but this was not linear and several fluctuations in isotope values occurred over time. The largest variation in isotope values occurred during an El Niño event, suggesting that prey is influenced by climate-driven oceanographic variables. Mixing models indicated relative importance of prey remained constant since 2008. The isotopic variability observed here is not consistent with individual specialization, rather it occurs at the population level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney Ogilvy
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Rochelle Constantine
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
- Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - Sarah J. Bury
- National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Greta Point, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Emma L. Carroll
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
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11
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Manco F, Lang SDJ, Trathan PN. Predicting foraging dive outcomes in chinstrap penguins using biologging and animal-borne cameras. Behav Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Direct observation of foraging behavior is not always possible, especially for marine species that hunt underwater. However, biologging and tracking devices have provided detailed information about how various species use their habitat. From these indirect observations, researchers have inferred behaviors to address a variety of research questions, including the definition of ecological niches. In this study, we deployed video cameras with GPS and time-depth recorders on 16 chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticus) during the brood phase of the 2018–2019 breeding season on Signy (South Orkney Islands). More than 57 h of footage covering 770 dives were scrutinized by two observers. The outcome of each dive was classified as either no krill encounter, individual krill or krill swarm encounter and the number of prey items caught per dive was estimated. Other variables derived from the logging devices or from the environment were used to train a machine-learning algorithm to predict the outcome of each dive. Our results show that despite some limitations, the data collected from the footage was reliable. We also demonstrate that it was possible to accurately predict the outcome of each dive from dive and horizontal movement variables in a manner that has not been used for penguins previously. For example, our models show that a fast dive ascent rate and a high density of dives are good indicators of krill and especially of swarm encounter. Finally, we discuss how video footage can help build accurate habitat models to provide wider knowledge about predator behavior or prey distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabrizio Manco
- School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University , Cambridge , UK
| | - Stephen D J Lang
- School of Life Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University , Cambridge , UK
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12
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Rosciano NG, Pütz K, Polito MJ, Raya Rey A. Where’s the best supermarket deal? Female Southern Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome) show variable foraging areas during the guard stage at Isla de los Estados, Argentina. CAN J ZOOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2021-0020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the spatial distribution of seabirds contributes to comprehending their ecological requirements and dispersion patterns. We studied the at-sea distribution of female Southern Rockhopper Penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome (J.R. Forster, 1781)) at Isla de los Estados colony during the early chick-rearing period. We used a clustering analysis approach to identify different groups according to the foraging trip (tracking and diving data from GPS and temperature and depth data loggers) and diet (δ15N composition on blood samples) characteristics. Foraging trips differed in duration, location, and dive depths explored. Females in clusters 1 and 3 traveled longer distances and in opposite directions (36.3 ± 21.3 and 40.3 ± 14.0 km, respectively). Females in cluster 2 fed closer to the colony (16.8 ± 7.8 km). Dives occurred in pelagic habitats. Higher δ15N values suggested a greater proportion of fish (e.g., the Fuegian sprat, Sprattus fuegensis (Jenyns, 1842)) consumption in the northern foraging areas (cluster 1). The variability observed in the spatial distribution suggests flexibility in the foraging behavior of Southern Rockhopper Penguins and availability of adequate foraging areas within the colony range during the early chick-rearing period, both important features for Southern Rockhopper Penguin population. These results contribute to understanding the use of the Southern Ocean by marine mesopredators and top predators and to the marine spatial planning in the area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia G. Rosciano
- Ecología y Conservación de Vida Silvestre, Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Bernardo A. Houssay 200 (V9410CAB), Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
| | - Klemens Pütz
- Antarctic Research Trust, Am Oste-Hamme-Kanal 10, D-27432 Bremervörde, Germany
| | - Michael J. Polito
- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Andrea Raya Rey
- Ecología y Conservación de Vida Silvestre, Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Bernardo A. Houssay 200 (V9410CAB), Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
- Instituto de Ciencias Polares, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Argentina
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Amenábar 1595, Office 19, C1426AKC CABA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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13
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Saraux C, Chiaradia A. Age‐related breeding success in little penguins: a result of selection and ontogenetic changes in foraging and phenology. ECOL MONOGR 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Claire Saraux
- DEPE UMR7178 IPHC CNRS‐Université de Strasbourg 23 rue du Loess 67037 Strasbourg France
| | - Andre Chiaradia
- Conservation Department Phillip Island Nature Parks PO Box 97 Cowes Victoria 3922 Australia
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14
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Lescroël A, Schmidt A, Elrod M, Ainley DG, Ballard G. Foraging dive frequency predicts body mass gain in the Adélie penguin. Sci Rep 2021; 11:22883. [PMID: 34819596 PMCID: PMC8613197 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02451-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Quantifying food intake in wild animals is crucial to many ecological and evolutionary questions, yet it can be very challenging, especially in the marine environment. Because foraging behavior can be inferred from dive recordings in many marine creatures, we hypothesized that specific behavioral dive variables can indicate food intake. To test this hypothesis, we attached time-depth recorders to breeding Adélie penguins also implanted with RFID tags that crossed a weighbridge as they traveled to and from the ocean to feed their chicks. The weighbridge reported how much mass the penguin had gained during a foraging trip. The variables that explained a significant amount of the change in body mass while at sea were the number of foraging dives per hour (46%) and the number of undulations per hour (12%). Most importantly, every increment of 1 in the rate of foraging dives per hour equated to a penguin gaining an average 170 g of mass, over the course of a 6-60 h foraging trip. These results add to a growing understanding that different metrics of foraging success are likely appropriate for different species, and that assessing the types and frequencies of dives using time-depth recorders can yield valuable insights.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Annie Schmidt
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA
| | - Megan Elrod
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA
| | - David G Ainley
- H. T. Harvey & Associates Ecological Consultants, Los Gatos, CA, 95032, USA
| | - Grant Ballard
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA
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15
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DEANE CODYE, Rotella JJ, Warren JM, Garrott RA, Koons DN. Nasal Discs and the Vital Rates of Lesser Scaup. J Wildl Manage 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- CODY E. DEANE
- Department of Ecology, 310 Lewis Hall Montana State University Bozeman MT 59717 USA
| | - Jay J. Rotella
- Department of Ecology, 310 Lewis Hall Montana State University Bozeman MT 59717 USA
| | - Jeffrey M. Warren
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge 27650B South Valley Road Lima MT 59739 USA
| | - Robert A. Garrott
- Department of Ecology, 310 Lewis Hall Montana State University Bozeman MT 59717 USA
| | - David N. Koons
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology Colorado State University Fort Collins CO 80523 USA
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16
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Messmer DJ, Warren JM, Deane CE, Clark RG. Prefledging Growth and Recruitment of Female Lesser Scaup. J Wildl Manage 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David J. Messmer
- Department of Biology, 112 Science Place University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon SK S7N 5E2 Canada
| | - Jeffrey M. Warren
- Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, US Fish and Wildlife Service 27650B South Valley Road Lakeview MT 59739 USA
| | - Cody E. Deane
- Biology & Wildlife Department University of Alaska 101 Murie Building Fairbanks AK 99775 USA
| | - Robert G. Clark
- Department of Biology, 112 Science Place University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon SK S7N 5E2 Canada
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17
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van der Kolk H, Ens BJ, Frauendorf M, Jongejans E, Oosterbeek K, Bouten W, van de Pol M. Why time‐limited individuals can make populations more vulnerable to disturbance. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Henk‐Jan van der Kolk
- Dept of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Inst. of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW) Wageningen the Netherlands
- Centre for Avian Population Studies Wageningen the Netherlands
| | - Bruno J. Ens
- Sovon Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology Sovon‐Texel Den Burg the Netherlands
- Centre for Avian Population Studies Wageningen the Netherlands
| | - Magali Frauendorf
- Dept of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Inst. of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW) Wageningen the Netherlands
- Centre for Avian Population Studies Wageningen the Netherlands
| | - Eelke Jongejans
- Radboud Univ., Dept of Animal Ecology and Physiology Nijmegen the Netherlands
- Centre for Avian Population Studies Wageningen the Netherlands
| | - Kees Oosterbeek
- Sovon Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology Sovon‐Texel Den Burg the Netherlands
| | - Willem Bouten
- Inst. for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Univ. of Amsterdam Amsterdam the Netherlands
| | - Martijn van de Pol
- Dept of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Inst. of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW) Wageningen the Netherlands
- Centre for Avian Population Studies Wageningen the Netherlands
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18
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Rotics S, Turjeman S, Kaatz M, Zurell D, Wikelski M, Sapir N, Fiedler W, Eggers U, Resheff YS, Jeltsch F, Nathan R. Early-life behaviour predicts first-year survival in a long-distance avian migrant. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20202670. [PMID: 33434462 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Early-life conditions have critical, long-lasting effects on the fate of individuals, yet early-life activity has rarely been linked to subsequent survival of animals in the wild. Using high-resolution GPS and body-acceleration data of 93 juvenile white storks (Ciconia ciconia), we examined the links between behaviour during both pre-fledging and post-fledging (fledging-to-migration) periods and subsequent first-year survival. Juvenile daily activity (based on overall dynamic body acceleration) showed repeatable between-individual variation, the juveniles' pre- and post-fledging activity levels were correlated and both were positively associated with subsequent survival. Daily activity increased gradually throughout the post-fledging period, and the relationship between post-fledging activity and survival was stronger in individuals who increased their daily activity level faster (an interaction effect). We suggest that high activity profiles signified individuals with increased pre-migratory experience, higher individual quality and perhaps more proactive personality, which could underlie their superior survival rates. The duration of individuals' fledging-to-migration periods had a hump-shaped relationship with survival: higher survival was associated with intermediate rather than short or long durations. Short durations reflect lower pre-migratory experience, whereas very long ones were associated with slower increases in daily activity level which possibly reflects slow behavioural development. In accordance with previous studies, heavier nestlings and those that hatched and migrated earlier had increased survival. Using extensive tracking data, our study exposed new links between early-life attributes and survival, suggesting that early activity profiles in migrating birds can explain variation in first-year survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shay Rotics
- Movement Ecology Laboratory, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Sondra Turjeman
- Movement Ecology Laboratory, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Michael Kaatz
- Vogelschutzwarte Storchenhof Loburg e.V., Chausseestrasse 18, 39279 Loburg, Germany
| | - Damaris Zurell
- Ecology and Macroecology, University of Potsdam, Am Mühlenberg 3, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Nir Sapir
- Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology and Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, 3498838 Haifa, Israel
| | - Wolfgang Fiedler
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78468 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Ute Eggers
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, University of Potsdam, Am Mühlenberg 3, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Yehezkel S Resheff
- Movement Ecology Laboratory, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.,Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Florian Jeltsch
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, University of Potsdam, Am Mühlenberg 3, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.,Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ran Nathan
- Movement Ecology Laboratory, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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19
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Roast MJ, Aranzamendi NH, Fan M, Teunissen N, Hall MD, Peters A. Fitness outcomes in relation to individual variation in constitutive innate immune function. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201997. [PMID: 33143586 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Although crucial for host survival when facing persistent parasite pressure, costly immune functions will inevitably compete for resources with other energetically expensive traits such as reproduction. Optimizing, but not necessarily maximizing, immune function might therefore provide net benefit to overall host fitness. Evidence for associations between fitness and immune function is relatively rare, limiting our potential to understand ultimate fitness costs of immune investment. Here, we assess how measures of constitutive immune function (haptoglobin, natural antibodies, complement activity) relate to subsequent fitness outcomes (survival, reproductive success, dominance acquisition) in a wild passerine (Malurus coronatus). Surprisingly, survival probability was not positively linearly predicted by any immune index. Instead, both low and high values of complement activity (quadratic effect) were associated with higher survival, suggesting that different immune investment strategies might reflect a dynamic disease environment. Positive linear relationships between immune indices and reproductive success suggest that individual heterogeneity overrides potential resource reallocation trade-offs within individuals. Controlling for body condition (size-adjusted body mass) and chronic stress (heterophil-lymphocyte ratio) did not alter our findings in a sample subset with available data. Overall, our results suggest that constitutive immune components have limited net costs for fitness and that variation in immune maintenance relates to individual differences more closely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Roast
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | | | - Marie Fan
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Niki Teunissen
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Matthew D Hall
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
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20
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Chen X, Cheng X, Zhang B, Meng H, Wu D, Zhang M, Ji M, Li X. Lagged response of Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) abundance to environmental variability in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Polar Biol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-020-02743-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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21
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Howell C, Anderson R, Derryberry EP. Female zebra finches prefer the songs of males who quickly solve a novel foraging task to the songs of males unable to solve the task. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:10281-10291. [PMID: 33005382 PMCID: PMC7520207 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Correlative evidence suggests that high problem-solving and foraging abilities in a mate are associated with direct fitness advantages, so it would benefit females to prefer problem-solving males. Recent work has also shown that females of several bird species who directly observe males prefer those that can solve a novel foraging task over those that cannot. In addition to or instead of direct observation of cognitive skills, many species utilize assessment signals when choosing a mate. Here, we test whether females can select a problem-solving male over a non-solving male when presented only with a signal known to be used in mate assessment: song. Using an operant conditioning assay, we compared female zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) preference for the songs of males that could quickly solve a novel foraging task to the songs of males that could not solve the task. Females were never housed with the test subject males whose song they heard, and the only information provided about the males was their song. We found that females elicited more songs of problem-solving males than of non-solvers, indicating that song may contain information about a male's ability to solve a novel foraging task and that naïve females prefer the songs of problem-solving males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Howell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyTulane UniversityNew OrleansLAUSA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
| | - Rindy Anderson
- Department of Biological SciencesFlorida Atlantic UniversityDavieFLUSA
| | - Elizabeth P. Derryberry
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyTulane UniversityNew OrleansLAUSA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TennesseeKnoxvilleTNUSA
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22
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Drivers of concentrated predation in an Antarctic marginal-ice-zone food web. Sci Rep 2020; 10:7282. [PMID: 32350362 PMCID: PMC7190673 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-63875-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2019] [Accepted: 04/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Predators impact preyscapes (3-D distribution of forage species) by consuming prey according to their abilities or by altering prey behavior as they avoid being consumed. We elucidate prey (Antarctic silverfish[Pleuragramma antarctica] and crystal krill[Euphausia chrystallorophias]) responses to predation associated with the marginal ice zone (MIZ) of the McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, polynya. Prey abundance and habitat was sampled across a 30 × 15 km area by remotely-operated vehicle, and included locations that were accessible (ice edge) or inaccessible (solid fast ice) to air-breathing predators. Prey and habitat sampling coincided with bio-logging of Adélie penguins and observations of other air-breathing predators (penguins, seals, and whales), all of which were competing for the same prey. Adélie penguins dived deeper, and more frequently, near the ice edge. Lowered abundance of krill at the ice edge indicated they were depleted or were responding to increased predation and/or higher light levels along the ice edge. Penguin diet shifted increasingly to silverfish from krill during sampling, and was correlated with the arrival of krill-eating whales. Behaviorally-mediated, high trophic transfer characterizes the McMurdo Sound MIZ, and likely other MIZs, warranting more specific consideration in food web models and conservation efforts.
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23
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Studd EK, Menzies AK, Siracusa ER, Dantzer B, Lane JE, McAdam AG, Boutin S, Humphries MM. Optimisation of energetic and reproductive gains explains behavioural responses to environmental variation across seasons and years. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:841-850. [PMID: 32189469 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2019] [Revised: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Animals switch between inactive and active states, simultaneously impacting their energy intake, energy expenditure and predation risk, and collectively defining how they engage with environmental variation and trophic interactions. We assess daily activity responses to long-term variation in temperature, resources and mating opportunities to examine whether individuals choose to be active or inactive according to an optimisation of the relative energetic and reproductive gains each state offers. We show that this simplified behavioural decision approach predicts most activity variation (R2 = 0.83) expressed by free-ranging red squirrels over 4 years, as quantified through accelerometer recordings (489 deployments; 5066 squirrel-days). Recognising activity as a determinant of energetic status, the predictability of activity variation aggregated at a daily scale, and the clear signal that behaviour is environmentally forced through optimisation of gain, provides an integrated approach to examine behavioural variation as an intermediary between environmental variation and energetic, life-history and ecological outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- E K Studd
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Bellevue, QC, Canada.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - A K Menzies
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Bellevue, QC, Canada
| | - E R Siracusa
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - B Dantzer
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - J E Lane
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - A G McAdam
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - S Boutin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - M M Humphries
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Bellevue, QC, Canada
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24
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Maury C, Serota M, Williams T. Plasticity in diurnal activity and temporal phenotype during parental care in European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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25
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Pastor-Prieto M, Ramos R, Zajková Z, Reyes-González JM, Rivas ML, Ryan PG, González-Solís J. Spatial ecology, phenological variability and moulting patterns of the Endangered Atlantic petrel Pterodroma incerta. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2019. [DOI: 10.3354/esr00991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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26
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Scale matters: sea ice and breeding success of Adélie penguins. Polar Biol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-019-02531-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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27
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Foraging strategies of individual silky pocket mice over a boom-bust cycle in a stochastic dryland ecosystem. Oecologia 2019; 190:569-578. [PMID: 31190119 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04432-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Small mammals use multiple foraging strategies to compensate for fluctuating resource quality in stochastic environments. These strategies may lead to increased dietary overlap when competition for resources is strong. To quantify temporal contributions of high (C3) versus low quality (C4) resources in diets of silky pocket mice (Perognathus flavus), we used stable carbon isotope (δ13C) analysis of 1391 plasma samples collected over 2 years. Of these, 695 samples were from 170 individuals sampled ≥ 3 times across seasons or years, allowing us to assess changes in dietary breadth at the population and individual levels across a boom-bust population cycle. In 2014, the P. flavus population increased to 412 captures compared to 8 captures in prior and subsequent years, while populations of co-occurring small mammals remained stable. As intraspecific competition increased, the population-wide dietary niche of P. flavus did not change, but individual specialization increased significantly. During this period, ~ 27% (41/151) of individuals sampled specialized on C3 resources, which were abundant during the spring and previous fall seasons. Most of the remaining individuals were C3-C4 generalists (64%) (96/151), and only 9% (14/151) specialized on C4 resources. In 2015, P. flavus population density and resource availability declined, individual dietary breadth expanded (84% generalists), no C3 specialists were found, and specialization on C4 resources increased (16%). Our results demonstrate a high degree of inter-individual plasticity in P. flavus foraging strategies, which has implications for how this species will respond to environmental change that is predicted to decrease C3 resources in the future.
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28
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Integrated population models: powerful methods to embed individual processes in population dynamics models. Ecology 2019; 100:e02715. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2018] [Revised: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 01/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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29
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Emmerson L, Walsh S, Southwell C. Nonbreeder birds at colonies display qualitatively similar seasonal mass change patterns as breeders. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:4637-4650. [PMID: 31031932 PMCID: PMC6476789 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Revised: 02/10/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The difficulty in studying nonbreeding birds means that little is known about them or their resource requirements, despite forming a large and significant component of a population. One way to assess food requirements is to examine changes in body mass, because it indicates the amount of food acquired. In terms of body mass changes, our expectation is that nonbreeders will either (a) be in poorer condition than the breeders which potentially explains why they do not breed or (b) remain at a stable higher mass as they are unconstrained by the physiological costs associated with rearing chicks. Here, we interrogate body mass datasets of breeding and nonbreeding birds of two penguin species to assess these predictions and determine whether differences in mass exist between these two groups throughout the breeding season. The first dataset is from a wild Adélie penguin population, where bird mass was recorded automatically and breeding status determined from a resighting program. A second population of captive gentoo penguins were weighed regularly each breeding season. We demonstrate that although there were times in each year when breeders were heavier than their nonbreeding counterparts for both populations, the mass changes showed qualitatively similar patterns throughout the breeding season irrespective of breeding status. Heavier breeders at times during the breeding season are not unexpected but the overall similar pattern of mass change irrespective of breeding status is in contrast to expectations. It appears that breeding status per se and the constraints that breeding places on birds are not the only driver of changes in mass throughout the breeding season and, although not explicitly studied here, the role of hormones in driving changes in appetite could be key to explain these results. These results present a significant step toward understanding food requirements of nonbreeders in avian populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Emmerson
- Australian Antarctic DivisionDepartment of Environment and EnergyKingstonTasmaniaAustralia
| | | | - Colin Southwell
- Australian Antarctic DivisionDepartment of Environment and EnergyKingstonTasmaniaAustralia
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30
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Lescroël A, Ballard G, Massaro M, Dugger K, Jennings S, Pollard A, Porzig E, Schmidt A, Varsani A, Grémillet D, Ainley D. Evidence of age-related improvement in the foraging efficiency of Adélie penguins. Sci Rep 2019; 9:3375. [PMID: 30833598 PMCID: PMC6399253 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39814-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Age variation in reproductive performance is well-documented but the mechanisms underlying this variation remain unclear. Foraging efficiency is likely to be a key source of demographic variation as it determines the amount of energy that can be invested in fitness-related activities. Evidence of age-related changes in the foraging efficiency of adult seabirds is scarce and inconsistent. We investigated the effects of age on the foraging efficiency of breeding Adélie penguins, a relatively short-lived seabird species, in order to gain a broader perspective on the processes driving variation in ageing rates. We found support for a positive effect of age, either linear or levelling off at old ages, on both our proxies for daily catch rate and catch per unit effort. Across all age classes, males were more performant foragers than females. We found no strong evidence for differing ageing patterns between sexes or individual quality levels, and no evidence for senescence. We infer that continuous individual improvement could be responsible for a larger amount of the variation in foraging efficiency with age at our study site, compared with selective disappearance of underperforming phenotypes. The different results reported by other studies highlight the need to conduct longitudinal studies across a range of species in different environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Lescroël
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA. .,Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE, Montpellier, France.
| | - Grant Ballard
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA
| | - Melanie Massaro
- School of Environmental Sciences, Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia
| | - Katie Dugger
- U.S. Geological Survey, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Scott Jennings
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA.,U.S. Geological Survey, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Annie Pollard
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA
| | | | - Annie Schmidt
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, 94954, USA
| | - Arvind Varsani
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.,Structural Biology Research Unit, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - David Grémillet
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE, Montpellier, France.,FitzPatrick Institute, DST/NRF centre of excellence at the University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa
| | - David Ainley
- H.T. Harvey & Associates, Los Gatos, California, USA
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Clay TA, Oppel S, Lavers JL, Phillips RA, Brooke MDL. Divergent foraging strategies during incubation of an unusually wide-ranging seabird, the Murphy's petrel. MARINE BIOLOGY 2019; 166:8. [PMID: 30595609 PMCID: PMC6295288 DOI: 10.1007/s00227-018-3451-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Divergent foraging strategies may emerge within a population due to a combination of physiological and environmental factors; yet to persist, neither strategy should offer a consistent selective advantage over the alternative in the long term. Murphy's petrels Pterodroma ultima from Henderson Island (24°20'S, 128°20'W) in the South Pacific Ocean are highly vagile, and exhibit two distinct foraging trip types during incubation; similar proportions of birds undertake either looping trips around the South Pacific Gyre to waters off Peru (hereafter "East") or trips south-west of the colony towards the Subtropical Front ("South") (mean maximum ranges of c. 3800 or 2000 km from the colony, respectively). However, the relative benefits of the distinct trip types remain unclear. Through tracking birds with GPS and salt-water immersion loggers in 2015, the fine-scale foraging behaviour was examined for East (trip durations: 14.1-19.8 days, maximum ranges 2387-4823 km) and South trips (12.9-25.8 days, 1565-1991 km). Data on behaviour classified from GPS tracks, the number of wet bouts per hour (a proxy for landing rates) and wind speeds, were used to distinguish two distinct foraging modes: birds on East trips spent more time in directed movement, whereas those on South trips spent a greater proportion of time in area-restricted search (ARS) behaviour. East trips were associated with higher overall mass gain, and wet bouts occurred in equal proportions during directed movement and ARS behaviour. This suggests that in unproductive marine environments, it may be more profitable to maximise area covered to increase the chances of encountering prey. Analysis of lower-resolution geolocator data (collected from 2011 to 2014) indicated that individuals were largely consistent in trip type between years. Since birds that conducted East trips were 19% lighter on departure from the colony and experienced more frequent tailwinds on foraging trips, we speculate that these birds may benefit from reduced movement costs, whilst also experiencing reduced competition for foraging opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas A. Clay
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET UK
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ UK
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3GP UK
| | - Steffen Oppel
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EZ UK
| | - Jennifer L. Lavers
- RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EZ UK
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, 20 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point, Hobart, TAS 7004 Australia
| | - Richard A. Phillips
- British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET UK
| | - M. de L. Brooke
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ UK
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Geary B, Walter ST, Leberg PL, Karubian J. Condition-dependent foraging strategies in a coastal seabird: evidence for the rich get richer hypothesis. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The degree to which foraging individuals are able to appropriately modify their behaviors in response to dynamic environmental conditions and associated resource availability can have important fitness consequences. Despite an increasingly refined understanding of differences in foraging behavior between individuals, we still lack detailed characterizations of within-individual variation over space and time, and what factors may drive this variability. From 2014 to 2017, we used GPS transmitters and accelerometers to document foraging movements by breeding adult Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) in the northern Gulf of Mexico, where the prey landscape is patchy and dynamic at various scales. Assessments of traditional foraging metrics such as trip distance, linearity, or duration did not yield significant relationships between individuals. However, we did observe lower site fidelity and less variation in energy expenditure in birds of higher body condition, despite a population-level trend of increased fidelity as the breeding season progressed. These findings suggest that high-quality individuals are both more variable and more efficient in their foraging behaviors during a period of high energetic demand, consistent with a “rich get richer” scenario in which individuals in better condition are able to invest in more costly behaviors that provide higher returns. This work highlights the importance of considering behavioral variation at multiple scales, with particular reference to within-individual variation, to improve our understanding of foraging ecology in wild populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brock Geary
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Scott T Walter
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA
| | - Paul L Leberg
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, USA
| | - Jordan Karubian
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
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Colominas-Ciuró R, Santos M, Coria N, Barbosa A. Sex-specific foraging strategies of Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae): Females forage further and on more krill than males in the Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-018-2395-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Grémillet D, Lescroël A, Ballard G, Dugger KM, Massaro M, Porzig EL, Ainley DG. Energetic fitness: Field metabolic rates assessed via 3D accelerometry complement conventional fitness metrics. Funct Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David Grémillet
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive UMR 5175 CNRS Université de Montpellier ‐ Université Paul‐Valéry Montpellier ‐ EPHE Montpellier France
- Percy FitzPatrick Institute and DST/NRF Excellence Centre at the University of Cape Town Rondebosch South Africa
| | - Amélie Lescroël
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive UMR 5175 CNRS Université de Montpellier ‐ Université Paul‐Valéry Montpellier ‐ EPHE Montpellier France
- Point Blue Conservation Science Petaluma CA USA
| | | | - Katie M. Dugger
- U.S. Geological Survey Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University Corvallis OR USA
| | - Melanie Massaro
- School of Environmental Sciences Institute of Land, Water and Society Charles Sturt University Albury Australia
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Fay R, Barbraud C, Delord K, Weimerskirch H. From early life to senescence: individual heterogeneity in a long-lived seabird. ECOL MONOGR 2017; 88:60-73. [PMID: 30122788 PMCID: PMC6084314 DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Revised: 06/01/2017] [Accepted: 06/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Although population studies have long assumed that all individuals of a given sex and age are identical, ignoring among‐individual differences may strongly bias our perception of eco‐evolutionary processes. Individual heterogeneity, often referred to as individual quality, has received increasing research attention in the last decades. However, there are still substantial gaps in our current knowledge. For example, there is little information on how individual heterogeneity influences various life‐history traits simultaneously, and studies describing individual heterogeneity in wild populations are generally not able to jointly identify possible sources of this variation. Here, based on a mark–recapture data set of 9,685 known‐aged Wandering Albatrosses (Diomedea exulans), we investigated the existence of individual quality over the entire life cycle of this species, from early life to senescence. Using finite mixture models, we investigated the expression of individual heterogeneity in various demographic traits, and examined the origin of these among‐individual differences by considering the natal environmental conditions. We found that some individuals consistently outperformed others during most of their life. In old age, however, the senescence rate was stronger in males that showed high demographic performance at younger ages. Variation in individual quality seemed strongly affected by extrinsic factors experienced during the ontogenetic period. We found that individuals born in years with high population density tended to have lower performances during their lifespan, suggesting delayed density dependence effects through individual quality. Our study showed that among‐individual differences could be important in structuring individual life history trajectories, with substantial consequences at higher ecological levels such as population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rémi Fay
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé UMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La Rochelle 79360 Villiers-en-Bois France
| | - Christophe Barbraud
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé UMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La Rochelle 79360 Villiers-en-Bois France
| | - Karine Delord
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé UMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La Rochelle 79360 Villiers-en-Bois France
| | - Henri Weimerskirch
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé UMR 7372 CNRS/Univ La Rochelle 79360 Villiers-en-Bois France
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Lukasch B, Westerdahl H, Strandh M, Knauer F, Winkler H, Moodley Y, Hoi H. Major histocompatibility complex genes partly explain early survival in house sparrows. Sci Rep 2017; 7:6571. [PMID: 28747735 PMCID: PMC5529587 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-06631-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Accepted: 06/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Environmental factors and genetic incompatibilities between parents have been suggested as important determinants for embryonic mortality and survival. The genetic set-up of the immune system, specifically the highly polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) may also influence individual resistance to infections. MHC proteins are important for an appropriate adaptive immune response and enable T-cells to separate 'self' from 'non-self'. Here we investigate the importance of MHC functional diversity for early development in birds, more specifically, if offspring survival and body mass or size depends on number of different functional MHC alleles, specific functional MHC alleles or similarity of MHC alleles in the parents. Unhatched eggs are common in clutches of many bird species. In house sparrows (Passer domesticus), embryo and nestling mortality can exceed 50%. To control for environmental factors, our study was carried out on an aviary population. We found that one specific functional MHC allele was associated with reduced nestling survival, which was additionally supported by lower body mass and a smaller tarsus when nestlings have been 6 days old. Another allele was positively associated with tarsus length at a later nestling stage (nestlings 12 days old). These results indicate that MHC alleles might influence pathogen resistance or susceptibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Lukasch
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna; Savoyenstraße 1a, A-1160, Vienna, Austria
| | - H Westerdahl
- Molecular Ecology & Evolution Lab, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Sölvegatan 37, SE-223 62, Lund, Sweden
| | - M Strandh
- Molecular Ecology & Evolution Lab, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Sölvegatan 37, SE-223 62, Lund, Sweden
| | - F Knauer
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna; Savoyenstraße 1a, A-1160, Vienna, Austria
| | - H Winkler
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna; Savoyenstraße 1a, A-1160, Vienna, Austria
| | - Y Moodley
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna; Savoyenstraße 1a, A-1160, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Zoology, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou, 0950, Republic of South Africa
| | - H Hoi
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna; Savoyenstraße 1a, A-1160, Vienna, Austria.
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Reproductive success is energetically linked to foraging efficiency in Antarctic fur seals. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0174001. [PMID: 28453563 PMCID: PMC5409505 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2016] [Accepted: 03/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The efficiency with which individuals extract energy from their environment defines their survival and reproductive success, and thus their selective contribution to the population. Individuals that forage more efficiently (i.e., when energy gained exceeds energy expended) are likely to be more successful at raising viable offspring than individuals that forage less efficiently. Our goal was to test this prediction in large long-lived mammals under free-ranging conditions. To do so, we equipped 20 lactating Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) breeding on Kerguelen Island in the Southern Ocean with tags that recorded GPS locations, depth and tri-axial acceleration to determine at-sea behaviours and detailed time-activity budgets during their foraging trips. We also simultaneously measured energy spent at sea using the doubly-labeled water (DLW) method, and estimated the energy acquired while foraging from 1) type and energy content of prey species present in scat remains, and 2) numbers of prey capture attempts determined from head acceleration. Finally, we followed the growth of 36 pups from birth until weaning (of which 20 were the offspring of our 20 tracked mothers), and used the relative differences in body mass of pups at weaning as an index of first year survival and thus the reproductive success of their mothers. Our results show that females with greater foraging efficiencies produced relatively bigger pups at weaning. These mothers achieved greater foraging efficiency by extracting more energy per minute of diving rather than by reducing energy expenditure. This strategy also resulted in the females spending less time diving and less time overall at sea, which allowed them to deliver higher quality milk to their pups, or allowed their pups to suckle more frequently, or both. The linkage we demonstrate between reproductive success and the quality of individuals as foragers provides an individual-based quantitative framework to investigate how changes in the availability and accessibility of prey can affect fitness of animals.
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Jeanniard-du-Dot T, Trites AW, Arnould JPY, Speakman JR, Guinet C. Activity-specific metabolic rates for diving, transiting, and resting at sea can be estimated from time-activity budgets in free-ranging marine mammals. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:2969-2976. [PMID: 28479996 PMCID: PMC5415512 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2016] [Revised: 08/12/2016] [Accepted: 09/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Time and energy are the two most important currencies in animal bioenergetics. How much time animals spend engaged in different activities with specific energetic costs ultimately defines their likelihood of surviving and successfully reproducing. However, it is extremely difficult to determine the energetic costs of independent activities for free-ranging animals. In this study, we developed a new method to calculate activity-specific metabolic rates, and applied it to female fur seals. We attached biologgers (that recorded GPS locations, depth profiles, and triaxial acceleration) to 12 northern (Callorhinus ursinus) and 13 Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella), and used a hierarchical decision tree algorithm to determine time allocation between diving, transiting, resting, and performing slow movements at the surface (grooming, etc.). We concomitantly measured the total energy expenditure using the doubly-labelled water method. We used a general least-square model to establish the relationship between time-activity budgets and the total energy spent by each individual during their foraging trip to predict activity-specific metabolic rates. Results show that both species allocated similar time to diving (~29%), transiting to and from their foraging grounds (~26-30%), and resting (~8-11%). However, Antarctic fur seals spent significantly more time grooming and moving slowly at the surface than northern fur seals (36% vs. 29%). Diving was the most expensive activity (~30 MJ/day if done non-stop for 24 hr), followed by transiting at the surface (~21 MJ/day). Interestingly, metabolic rates were similar between species while on land or while slowly moving at the surface (~13 MJ/day). Overall, the average field metabolic rate was ~20 MJ/day (for all activities combined). The method we developed to calculate activity-specific metabolic rates can be applied to terrestrial and marine species to determine the energetic costs of daily activities, as well as to predict the energetic consequences for animals forced to change their time allocations in response to environmental shifts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiphaine Jeanniard-du-Dot
- Marine Mammal Research UnitInstitute for the Oceans and Fisheries University of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada.,Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé CNRS Villiers en Bois France
| | - Andrew W Trites
- Marine Mammal Research UnitInstitute for the Oceans and Fisheries University of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada
| | - John P Y Arnould
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences (Burwood Campus) Deakin University Geelong Australia
| | - John R Speakman
- The Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences Aberdeen UK
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Stein AM, Young MJ, Darby JT, Seddon PJ, van Heezik Y. Evidence for high inter-generational individual quality in yellow-eyed penguins. PeerJ 2017; 5:e2935. [PMID: 28265492 PMCID: PMC5333550 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2016] [Accepted: 12/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Longitudinal studies focusing on lifetime reproductive success (LRS) have been used to measure individual breeding performance and identify commonalities among successful breeders. By extending the focus to subsequent generations we identify a proportion of high-quality individuals that contribute disproportionately to the population over multiple generations. We used 23 years of yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) breeding data from one breeding area to identify the proportion of individual birds that raised successful breeders, which in turn raised offspring. We explored which life-history components influenced LRS, as this knowledge would enable conservation resources to be focused on high-performing individuals in this endangered population. From 2,147 birds marked as chicks, 370 (17.2%) survived to adulthood and recruited to their natal location, of which 219 (10.2%) fledged offspring: 124 (56.6%) of the 219 birds produced offspring that recruited as breeders. Only 102 birds (4.8% of 2,147) fledged first-generation offspring that in turn fledged offspring (second-generation offspring, or grand-offspring). We found that ∼25% of the birds that survived to breed had above-average LRS as well as above-average numbers of grand-offspring, and were more likely to have produced first-generation chicks that recruited and also produced above-average numbers of second-generation chicks. Our findings suggest that there is a core of “super-breeders” that contribute disproportionately to the population over successive generations. Lifespan and age-at-first-breeding were correlated with LRS. We suggest that traits of birds relating to longevity, health (e.g., immunocompetence) and fitness could be examined to identify potential links with high LRS and inter-generational fecundity. “Super-breeders” appear to consistently achieve high LRS and long lifespans in a stochastic environment, demonstrating greater resilience in the face of extreme events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aviva M Stein
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago , Dunedin , New Zealand
| | - Melanie J Young
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago , Dunedin , New Zealand
| | | | - Philip J Seddon
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago , Dunedin , New Zealand
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Jeanniard‐du‐Dot T, Guinet C, Arnould JP, Speakman JR, Trites AW. Accelerometers can measure total and activity‐specific energy expenditures in free‐ranging marine mammals only if linked to time‐activity budgets. Funct Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tiphaine Jeanniard‐du‐Dot
- Marine Mammal Research Unit Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries University of British Columbia 2202 Main Mall, AERL bldg. Vancouver British ColumbiaV6T1Z4 Canada
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé CNRS 79360 Villiers en Bois France
| | - Christophe Guinet
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé CNRS 79360 Villiers en Bois France
| | - John P.Y. Arnould
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University 221 Burwood Highway Burwood Victoria3125 Australia
| | - John R. Speakman
- The Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences Zoology Bldg, Tillydrone Avenue AberdeenAB24 2TZ UK
| | - Andrew W. Trites
- Marine Mammal Research Unit Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries University of British Columbia 2202 Main Mall, AERL bldg. Vancouver British ColumbiaV6T1Z4 Canada
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Jennings S, Varsani A, Dugger KM, Ballard G, Ainley DG. Sex-Based Differences in Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) Chick Growth Rates and Diet. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0149090. [PMID: 26934698 PMCID: PMC4775033 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2015] [Accepted: 01/27/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexually size-dimorphic species must show some difference between the sexes in growth rate and/or length of growing period. Such differences in growth parameters can cause the sexes to be impacted by environmental variability in different ways, and understanding these differences allows a better understanding of patterns in productivity between individuals and populations. We investigated differences in growth rate and diet between male and female Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) chicks during two breeding seasons at Cape Crozier, Ross Island, Antarctica. Adélie Penguins are a slightly dimorphic species, with adult males averaging larger than adult females in mass (~11%) as well as bill (~8%) and flipper length (~3%). We measured mass and length of flipper, bill, tibiotarsus, and foot at 5-day intervals for 45 male and 40 female individually-marked chicks. Chick sex was molecularly determined from feathers. We used linear mixed effects models to estimate daily growth rate as a function of chick sex, while controlling for hatching order, brood size, year, and potential variation in breeding quality between pairs of parents. Accounting for season and hatching order, male chicks gained mass an average of 15.6 g d(-1) faster than females. Similarly, growth in bill length was faster for males, and the calculated bill size difference at fledging was similar to that observed in adults. There was no evidence for sex-based differences in growth of other morphological features. Adélie diet at Ross Island is composed almost entirely of two species--one krill (Euphausia crystallorophias) and one fish (Pleuragramma antarctica), with fish having a higher caloric value. Using isotopic analyses of feather samples, we also determined that male chicks were fed a higher proportion of fish than female chicks. The related differences in provisioning and growth rates of male and female offspring provides a greater understanding of the ways in which ecological factors may impact the two sexes differently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott Jennings
- Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States of America
| | - Arvind Varsani
- School of Biological Sciences and Biomolecular Interaction Centre, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand.,Electron Microscope Unit, Division of Medical Biochemistry, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory, 7700, South Africa.,Department of Plant Pathology and Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, United States of America
| | - Katie M Dugger
- U.S. Geological Survey, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States of America
| | - Grant Ballard
- Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, United States of America
| | - David G Ainley
- H.T. Harvey and Associates, Los Gatos, CA, United States of America
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42
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Le Vaillant M, Ropert-Coudert Y, Le Maho Y, Le Bohec C. Individual parameters shape foraging activity in breeding king penguins. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Jenouvrier S, Péron C, Weimerskirch H. Extreme climate events and individual heterogeneity shape life-history traits and population dynamics. ECOL MONOGR 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/14-1834.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Conners MG, Hazen EL, Costa DP, Shaffer SA. Shadowed by scale: subtle behavioral niche partitioning in two sympatric, tropical breeding albatross species. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2015; 3:28. [PMID: 26392862 PMCID: PMC4576409 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-015-0060-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2015] [Accepted: 09/06/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND To meet the minimum energetic requirements needed to support parents and their provisioned offspring, the timing of breeding in birds typically coincides with periods of high food abundance. Seasonality and synchrony of the reproductive cycle is especially important for marine species that breed in high latitudes with seasonal booms in ocean productivity. Laysan and black-footed albatrosses breeding in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands have a dual reliance on both seasonally productive waters of high latitudes and on nutrient-poor waters of low latitudes, because their foraging ranges contract during the short but critical brood-guard stage. Therefore, these species face an additional constraint of having to negotiate nutrient-poor waters during the most energetically-demanding stage of the breeding cycle. This constriction of foraging range likely results in a higher density of foraging competitors. Thus, our aim was to understand how Hawaiian albatross partition resources both between and within species in this highly constrained breeding stage while foraging in less productive waters and simultaneously experiencing increased competition. High-precision GPS dataloggers were deployed on black-footed (Phoebastria nigripes, n=20) and Laysan (Phoebastria immutabilis, n=18) albatrosses during the brood-guard stage of the breeding season in 2006 (n=8), 2009 (n=13), 2010 (n=16) and 2012 (n=1). We used GPS data and movement analyses to identify six different behavioral states in foraging albatrosses that we then used to characterize foraging trips across individuals and species. We examined whether variations in behavior were correlated with both intrinsic factors (sex, body size, body condition) and extrinsic factors (lunar phase, wind speed, year). RESULTS Behavioral partitioning was revealed both between and within species in Hawaiian albatrosses. Both species were highly active during chick-brooding trips and foraged across day and night; however, Laysan albatrosses relied on foraging at night to a greater extent than black-footed albatrosses and exhibited different foraging patterns at night. For both species, foraging along direct flight paths and foraging on the water in a "sit-and-wait" strategy were just as prevalent as foraging in a searching flight mode, indicating flexibility in foraging strategies in Hawaiian albatross. Both species strongly increased drift forage at night when the lunar phase was the darkest, suggesting Hawaiian albatross feed on diel vertically-migrating prey to some extent. Black-footed albatrosses showed greater variation in foraging behavior between individuals which suggests a higher level of intra-specific competition. This behavioral variability in black-footed albatrosses was not correlated with sex or body size, but differences in body condition suggested varying efficiencies among foraging patterns. Behavioral variability in Laysan albatrosses was correlated with sex, such that females exhibited greater flight foraging than drift foraging, had longer trip durations and flew farther maximum distances from the breeding colony, but with no difference in body condition. CONCLUSION Fine-scale movement data and an analysis of multiple behavioral states identified behavioral mechanisms that facilitate coexistence within a community of albatross during a critical life-history period when energetic demands are high, resources are limited, and competition for food is greatest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melinda G Conners
- Department of Ocean Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA
| | - Elliott L Hazen
- Environmental Research Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries, 1352 Lighthouse Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 USA ; Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 1000 Pope Road, Honolulu, HI 96822 USA
| | - Daniel P Costa
- Department of Ocean Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA ; Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060-5730 USA
| | - Scott A Shaffer
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060-5730 USA ; Department of Biological Sciences, San José State University, One Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192 USA
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Fowler MA, Williams TD. Individual variation in parental workload and breeding productivity in female European starlings: is the effort worth it? Ecol Evol 2015; 5:3585-99. [PMID: 26380688 PMCID: PMC4567863 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2015] [Revised: 07/06/2015] [Accepted: 07/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
We analyzed individual variation in work load (nest visit rate) during chick-rearing, and the consequences of this variation in terms of breeding productivity, in a highly synchronous breeder, the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) focusing on female birds. There was marked (10- to 16-fold) variation in total, female and male nest visit rates, among individuals, but individual variation in female nest visit rate was independent of environment (rainfall, temperature) and metrics of individual quality (laying date, clutch size, amount of male provisioning help), and was only weakly associated with chick demand (i.e., day 6 brood size). Female nest visit rate was independent of date and experimentally delayed birds provisioned at the same rate as peak-nesting birds; supporting a lack of effect of date per se. Brood size at fledging was positively but weakly related to total nest visit rate (male + female), with >fivefold variation in nest visit rate for any given brood size, and in females brood size at fledging and chick mass at fledging were independent of female nest visit rate, that is, individual variation in workload was not associated with higher productivity. Nevertheless, nest visit rate in females was repeatable among consecutive days (6–8 posthatching), and between peak (first) and second broods, but not among years. Our data suggest that individual females behave as if committed to a certain level of parental care at the outset of their annual breeding attempt, but this varies among years, that is, behavior is not fixed throughout an individual's life but represents an annually variable decision. We suggest females are making predictable decisions about their workload during provisioning that maximizes their overall fitness based on an integration of information on their current environment (although these cues currently remain unidentified).
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Affiliation(s)
- Melinda A Fowler
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University 8888 University Dr, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Tony D Williams
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University 8888 University Dr, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada
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Individual repeatability of foraging behaviour in a marine predator, the great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Amélineau F, Péron C, Lescroël A, Authier M, Provost P, Grémillet D. Windscape and tortuosity shape the flight costs of northern gannets. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014; 217:876-85. [PMID: 24622894 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.097915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
When animals move across a landscape, they alternate between active searching phases in areas with high prey density and commuting phases towards and in-between profitable feeding patches. Such active searching movements are more sinuous than travelling movements, and supposedly more costly in energy. Here we provide an empirical validation of this long-lasting assumption. To this end, we evaluated simultaneously energy expenditure and trajectory in northern gannets (Morus bassanus) using GPS loggers, dive recorders and three-dimensional accelerometers. Three behavioural states were determined from GPS data: foraging, when birds actively searched for prey (high tortuosity, medium speed); travelling, when birds were commuting (straight trajectory, high speed); and resting (straight trajectory, low speed). Overall dynamic body acceleration, calculated from acceleration data, was used as a proxy for energy expenditure during flight. The impact of windscape characteristics (wind force and direction) upon flight costs was also tested. Energy expenditure of northern gannets was higher during sinuous foraging flight than during more rectilinear travelling flight, demonstrating that turns are indeed costly. Yet wind force and direction also strongly shaped flight energy expenditure; within any behavioural state it was less costly to fly with the wind than against it, and less costly to fly with strong winds. Despite the major flight costs of wind action, birds did not fully optimize their flight track relative to wind direction, probably because of prey distributions relative to the coastline and wind predictability. Our study illustrates how both tortuosity and windscape shape the foraging costs of marine predators such as northern gannets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Françoise Amélineau
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEFE-CNRS, UMR 5175, 1919 Route de Mende, 34393 Montpellier, France
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Terraube J, Guixé D, Arroyo B. Diet composition and foraging success in generalist predators: Are specialist individuals better foragers? Basic Appl Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2014.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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