Individual repeatability of foraging behaviour in a marine predator, the great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo

Potier, Simon; Carpentier, Alexandre; Grémillet, David; Leroy, Boris; Lescroël, Amélie

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.02.008

Cited by 45 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In general, individual specialization may have a strong impact on ecological processes and population dynamics, and there is evidence that this mechanism may reduce intra-specific competition among individuals, increase individual foraging efficiency and improve breeding success (Pierotti & Annett 1991, Bolnick et al 2003, Woo et al 2008, Araújo et al 2011. For this reason, the existence of individual specialization within populations of winning species could partially explain their success (Grémillet et al 1999, Cardador et al 2012, Chapple et al 2012, Liebl & Martin 2014, Ceia & Ramos 2015, Potier et al 2015. Specifically, individual specialization could help opportunistic species to exploit the wide range of ecological opportunities provided by human activities (food or shelter, among others) in heterogeneous landscapes, thereby becoming more competitive than losing species (Carrete et al 2010, Cardador et al 2011, Robertson et al 2015.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, most of these studies consider conspecifics as ecological equivalents. Although this simplification can be useful to provide an overview of population-level feeding preferences or population dynamics (Ramos et al 2011, Payo-Payo et al 2015, taking into account the individual component within populations is essential for a better understanding of the main ecological mechanisms related to the success of winning species (Grémillet et al 1999, Cardador et al 2012, Chapple et al 2012, Liebl & Martin 2014, Ceia & Ramos 2015, Potier et al 2015 Individual specialization occurs when some individuals within a population utilize only a subset of the resources that the population uses as a whole. This may be expressed via an animal's diet, patterns of movement or other specific behaviour (Bolnick et al 2003, Matich et al 2011, Ceia & Ramos 2015.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifting individual habitat specialization of a successful predator living in anthropogenic landscapes

Navarro¹,

Grémillet²,

Ramírez³

et al. 2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Population expansions of successful species have gained importance as a major conservation and management concern. The success of these 'winners' is widely attributed to their high adaptability and behavioural plasticity, which allow them to efficiently use opportunities provided by human-modified habitats. However, most of these studies consider conspecifics as ecological equivalents, without considering the individual components within populations. This is critical for a better understanding of the main ecological mechanisms related to the success of winning species. Here, we investigated the spatial ecology of the opportunistic yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis, a clear example of a winning species in southern Europe, to examine its degree of individual specialization in habitat use. To test for such individual strategies, we applied specialization metrics to spatial data obtained from 18 yellow-legged gulls that were GPS-tracked simultaneously during the breeding season. The results revealed that population-level generalism in habitat use in the yellow-legged gull arises through varying levels of individual specialization, and individual spatial segregation within each habitat. Importantly, we found that the combination of individual specialization and individual spatial segregation may reduce intra-specific competition, with these 2 important mechanisms driving the success of this winning species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shifting individual habitat specialization of a successful predator living in anthropogenic landscapes

Navarro¹,

Grémillet²,

Ramírez³

et al. 2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…binary, proportion and count data), generalised linear mixed-effects models (GLMMs) with the appropriate link function are required (e.g. García-Tarrasón et al 2015, Potier et al 2015. The advantage of using mixed-effect models to calculate re peat abi lity is that additional covariates can be included as fixed effects to account for known sources of variation.…”

Section: Diet (Trophic Position/carbon Source) Using Stable Isotopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, in order to apply the methods listed above (correlations and repeatability analysis), spatial data are typically reduced via summary statistics to a single dimension, or are analysed separately (e.g. Phillips et al 2005, Dias et al 2013, Ceia et al 2014, Yamamoto et al 2014, Potier et al 2015. The most common summary data derived from each trip that have been used in this way include the total duration, total distance travelled (summed great circle distances between fixes), maximum range (great circle distance to the furthest location), and bearing at departure or to the furthest point (Hamer et al 2001, 2007, Soanes et al 2013, Ceia et al 2014, Patrick et al 2014, Baylis et al 2015b, Oppel et al 2015, Potier et al 2015.…”

Section: Analyses Of Trip Summary Statisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Phillips et al 2005, Dias et al 2013, Ceia et al 2014, Yamamoto et al 2014, Potier et al 2015. The most common summary data derived from each trip that have been used in this way include the total duration, total distance travelled (summed great circle distances between fixes), maximum range (great circle distance to the furthest location), and bearing at departure or to the furthest point (Hamer et al 2001, 2007, Soanes et al 2013, Ceia et al 2014, Patrick et al 2014, Baylis et al 2015b, Oppel et al 2015, Potier et al 2015. For the non-breeding season, the analyses are often of migration schedules (timing and duration of events; Croxall et al 2005, Dias et al 2011, Yamamoto et al 2014, or the total distance travelled during the migration (Muller et al 2014).…”

Section: Analyses Of Trip Summary Statisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Methods for detecting and quantifying individual specialisation in movement and foraging strategies of marine predators

Carneiro¹,

Bonnet‐Lebrun²,

Manica³

et al. 2017

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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There is increasing realisation that individuals in many animal populations differ substantially in resource, space or habitat use. Differences that cannot be attributed to any a priori way of classifying individuals (i.e. age, sex and other group effects) are often termed 'individual specialisation'. The aim of this paper is to assess the most common approaches for detecting and quantifying individual specialisation and consistencies in foraging behaviour, movement patterns and diet of marine predators using 3 types of data: conventional diet data, stable isotope ratios and tracking data. Methods using conventional diet data rely on a comparison between the proportions of each dietary source in the total diet and in the diet of individuals, or analyses of the statistical distribution of a prey metric (e.g. size); the latter often involves comparing ratios of individual and population variance. Approaches frequently used to analyse stable isotope or tracking data reduced to 1 dimension (trip characteristics, e.g. maximum trip distance or latitude/longitude at certain landmarks) include correlation tests and repeatability analysis. Finally, various spatial analyses are applied to other types of tracking data (e.g. distances between centroids of distributions or migratory routes, or overlap between distributions), and methods exist to compare habitat use. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches, issues arising from other effects unrelated to individual specialisation per se (in particular those related to temporal scale) and potential solutions.

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Habitat use and spatial fidelity of male South American sea lions during the nonbreeding period

Baylis

Orben

Costa

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Conditions experienced during the nonbreeding period have profound long‐term effects on individual fitness and survival. Therefore, knowledge of habitat use during the nonbreeding period can provide insights into processes that regulate populations. At the Falkland Islands, the habitat use of South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens) during the nonbreeding period is of particular interest because the population is yet to recover from a catastrophic decline between the mid‐1930s and 1965, and nonbreeding movements are poorly understood. Here, we assessed the habitat use of adult male (n = 13) and juvenile male (n = 6) South American sea lions at the Falkland Islands using satellite tags and stable isotope analysis of vibrissae. Male South American sea lions behaved like central place foragers. Foraging trips were restricted to the Patagonian Shelf and were typically short in distance and duration (127 ± 66 km and 4.1 ± 2.0 days, respectively). Individual male foraging trips were also typically characterized by a high degree of foraging site fidelity. However, the isotopic niche of adult males was smaller than juvenile males, which suggested that adult males were more consistent in their use of foraging habitats and prey over time. Our findings differ from male South American sea lions in Chile and Argentina, which undertake extended movements during the nonbreeding period. Hence, throughout their breeding range, male South American sea lions have diverse movement patterns during the nonbreeding period that intuitively reflects differences in the predictability or accessibility of preferred prey. Our findings challenge the long‐standing notion that South American sea lions undertake a winter migration away from the Falkland Islands. Therefore, impediments to South American sea lion population recovery likely originate locally and conservation measures at a national level are likely to be effective in addressing the decline and the failure of the population to recover.

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Individual repeatability of foraging behaviour in a marine predator, the great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo

Cited by 45 publications

References 38 publications

Shifting individual habitat specialization of a successful predator living in anthropogenic landscapes

Shifting individual habitat specialization of a successful predator living in anthropogenic landscapes

Methods for detecting and quantifying individual specialisation in movement and foraging strategies of marine predators

Habitat use and spatial fidelity of male South American sea lions during the nonbreeding period

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