Short‐term prey field lability constrains individual specialisation in resource selection and foraging site fidelity in a marine predator |
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Authors: | Nicolas Courbin Aurélien Besnard Clara Péron Claire Saraux Jérôme Fort Samuel Perret Jérémy Tornos David Grémillet |
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Institution: | 1. Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), UMR 5175, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Montpellier, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier, Ecole Pratiques des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), Montpellier Cedex 5, France;2. Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation (MARBEC), UMR 248, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Université de Montpellier, Montpellier Cedex 5, France;3. Institut Fran?ais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), UMR 248 MARBEC, Sète, France;4. Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université La Rochelle, La Rochelle, France;5. FitzPatrick Institute, DST/NRF Excellence Centre at the University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa |
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Abstract: | Spatio‐temporally stable prey distributions coupled with individual foraging site fidelity are predicted to favour individual resource specialisation. Conversely, predators coping with dynamic prey distributions should diversify their individual diet and/or shift foraging areas to increase net intake. We studied individual specialisation in Scopoli's shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) from the highly dynamic Western Mediterranean, using daily prey distributions together with resource selection, site fidelity and trophic‐level analyses. As hypothesised, we found dietary diversification, low foraging site fidelity and almost no individual specialisation in resource selection. Crucially, shearwaters switched daily foraging tactics, selecting areas with contrasting prey of varying trophic levels. Overall, information use and plastic resource selection of individuals with reduced short‐term foraging site fidelity allow predators to overcome prey field lability. Our study is an essential step towards a better understanding of individual responses to enhanced environmental stochasticity driven by global changes, and of pathways favouring population persistence. |
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Keywords: | Behavioural consistency
Calonectris diomedea
foraging site fidelity resource selection Scopoli's shearwater temporal resource dynamic Western Mediterranean |
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