Many free-ranging predators have to make foraging decisions with little, if any, knowledge of present resource distribution and availability. The optimal search strategy they should use to maximize encounter rates with prey in heterogeneous natural environments remains a largely unresolved issue in ecology. Lévy walks are specialized random walks giving rise to fractal movement trajectories that may represent an optimal solution for searching complex landscapes. However, the adaptive significance of this putative strategy in response to natural prey distributions remains untested. Here we analyse over a million movement displacements recorded from animal-attached electronic tags to show that diverse marine predators-sharks, bony fishes, sea turtles and penguins-exhibit Lévy-walk-like behaviour close to a theoretical optimum. Prey density distributions also display Lévy-like fractal patterns, suggesting response movements by predators to prey distributions. Simulations show that predators have higher encounter rates when adopting Lévy-type foraging in natural-like prey fields compared with purely random landscapes. This is consistent with the hypothesis that observed search patterns are adapted to observed statistical patterns of the landscape. This may explain why Lévy-like behaviour seems to be widespread among diverse organisms, from microbes to humans, as a 'rule' that evolved in response to patchy resource distributions.

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1. Many organisms depend on sound for communication, predator/prey detection and navigation. The acoustic environment can therefore play an important role in ecosystem dynamics and evolution. A growing number of studies are documenting acoustic habitats and their influences on animal development, behaviour, physiology and spatial ecology, which has led to increasing demand for passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) expertise in the life sciences. However, as yet, there has been no synthesis of data processing methods for acoustic habitat monitoring, which presents an unnecessary obstacle to would-be PAM analysts.2. Here, we review the signal processing techniques needed to produce calibrated measurements of terrestrial and aquatic acoustic habitats. We include a supplemental tutorial and template computer codes in matlab and r, which give detailed guidance on how to produce calibrated spectrograms and statistical analyses of sound levels. Key metrics and terminology for the characterisation of biotic, abiotic and anthropogenic sound are covered, and their application to relevant monitoring scenarios is illustrated through example data sets. To inform study design and hardware selection, we also include an up-to-date overview of terrestrial and aquatic PAM instruments.3. Monitoring of acoustic habitats at large spatiotemporal scales is becoming possible through recent advances in PAM technology. This will enhance our understanding of the role of sound in the spatial ecology of acoustically sensitive species and inform spatial planning to mitigate the rising influence of anthropogenic noise in these ecosystems. As we demonstrate in this work, progress in these areas will depend upon the application of consistent and appropriate PAM methodologies.

Summary1. The large amount of discards produced by commercial fisheries can have major impacts on marine predator populations: this abundant food may increase populations of some scavengers or decrease others via accidental bycatch. Yet, despite the conservation implications of discard practices, the ecology of individual scavengers is poorly understood. 2. Here, we assess the influence of commercial fisheries' activity on the foraging behaviour of individual breeding northern gannets Morus bassanus. Using recent developments in stable isotope mixing models (Stable Isotope Analysis in R or SIAR) we estimate individual discard consumption. Using GPS tracking and the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), we investigate behavioural responses to trawlers. 3. Analysis of conventional diet samples, as well as stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen in blood (plasma and cells), highlight marked individual differences in the proportion of fishery discards in the diet. Individual differences in foraging behaviour revealed by stable isotopes show evidence of both short-term consistency and behavioural flexibility. 4. At-sea path tortuosity of 25 gannets (tracked using GPS loggers) revealed scale-dependent adjustments in response to VMS-derived fishing vessel locations, as well as to sea surface temperature, chlorophyll a concentration and copepod abundance. The results also indicate individual variability in behavioural response to trawlers. 5. Individual differences in the amount of discards estimated from SIAR were negatively correlated with differences in foraging trip length and body condition, indicating potential fitness consequences. 6. Synthesis and applications. The management of commercial fisheries and apex predators is a daunting task. Ultimately, reducing bycatch and removing dependency on discards remain key conservation priorities, but managers should also ensure that scavenging species have sufficient alternative food to meet their energetic needs, to ameliorate potential unforeseen knock-on consequences. The results of Stable Isotope Analysis (SIAR) reveal intra-population differences in discard consumption by gannets; differences that have impacts on foraging effort and body condition. The use of GPS tracking and Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) reveal that gannet at-sea behaviour is influenced by fishing vessels, although this also varies among individuals. A combination of SIAR, GPS tracking and VMS can be used to study fishery ⁄ scavenger interactions in detail at the individual level, to answer fundamental questions about scavenging behaviour.