Consequences of information use in breeding habitat selection on the evolution of settlement time

Gilg

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

134

SummaryClimate change may influence the phenology of organisms unequally across trophic levels and thus lead to phenological mismatches between predators and prey. In cases where prey availability peaks before reproducing predators reach maximal prey demand, any negative fitness consequences would selectively favor resynchronization by earlier starts of the reproductive activities of the predators. At a study site in northeast Greenland, over a period of 17 years, the median emergence of the invertebrate prey of Sanderling Calidris alba advanced with 1.27 days per year. Yet, over the same period Sanderling did not advance hatching date. Thus, Sanderlings increasingly hatched after their prey was maximally abundant. Surprisingly, the phenological mismatches did not affect chick growth, but the interaction of the annual width and height of the peak in food abundance did. Chicks grew especially better in years when the food peak was broad. Sanderling clutches were most likely to be depredated early in the season, which should delay reproduction. We propose that high early clutch predation may favor a later reproductive timing. Additionally, our data suggest that in most years food was still abundant after the median date of emergence, which may explain why Sanderlings did not advance breeding along with the advances in arthropod phenology.

“…Schmidt et al. () suggested that clutch predation may prevent phenological shifts in response to climate change. More recently, Harts et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of food abundance and early clutch predation on reproductive timing in a high Arctic shorebird exposed to advancements in arthropod abundance

Reneerkens

Gilg

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

134

“…This is not to claim that high quality breeding sites, to choose the present example, are limiting, but rather, occupancy bias is insufficient. This may reflect both constraints on information gathering (Kokko and Sutherland , Schmidt et al ) and the spatiotemporal structure of the environment, which alters the value of being informed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information thresholds, habitat loss and population persistence in breeding birds

2016

Oikos

Self Cite

The combination of spatial structure and non‐linear population dynamics can promote the persistence of coupled populations, even when the average population growth rate of the patches seen in isolation would predict otherwise. This phenomenon has generally been conceptualized and investigated through the movement of individuals among patches that each holds many individuals, as in metapopulation models. However, population persistence can likewise increase as the result of individuals moving among sites (e.g. breeding territories) within in a single patch. Here I examine the latter: individuals making small‐scale informed decisions with respect to where to breed can promote population persistence in poor environments. Based on a simple algebraic model, I demonstrate information thresholds, and predict that greater information use is required for population persistence under lower spatial heterogeneity in habitat quality, all else equal. Second, I implement an individual‐based model to explore prior experience and prospecting on conspecific success within a more complex, and spatially heterogeneous environment. Uniquely, I jointly examine the effects of simulated habitat loss, spatial heterogeneity prior to habitat, and variation in information gathering on population persistence. I find that habitat loss accelerates population quasi‐extinction risk; however, information use reduces extinction probabilities in proportion to the level of information gathering. Per capita reproductive success declines with number of breeding sites, suggesting that information‐mediated Allee effects may contribute to extinction risk. In conclusion, my study suggests that populations in a changing world may be increasingly vulnerable to extinction where patch size and spatial heterogeneity constrain the effectiveness of information‐use strategies.

“…However, the frequencydependent advantage for an individual to preempt space, such as a breeding territory, earlier than its competitors can have a significant impact on both population and evolutionary dynamics (Day and Kokko 2015). For example, Schmidt et al (2015b) showed that such a preemptive advantage results in reduced levels of information gathering commensurate with population size. However, when this preemptive advantage relaxes due to declining demographic rates (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat selection and the value of information in heterogenous landscapes

Massol

2018

Oikos

Self Cite

Despite the wide usage of the term information in evolutionary ecology, there is no general treatise between fitness (i.e. density‐dependent population growth) and selection of the environment sensu lato. Here we 1) initiate the building of a quantitative framework with which to examine the relationship between information use in spatially heterogeneous landscapes and density‐dependent population growth, and 2) illustrate its utility by applying the framework to an existing model of breeding habitat selection. We begin by linking information, as a process of narrowing choice, to population growth/fitness. Second, we define a measure of a population's penalty of ignorance based on the Kullback–Leibler index that combines the contributions of resource selection (i.e. biased use of breeding sites) and density‐dependent depletion. Third, we quantify the extent to which environmental heterogeneity (i.e. mean and variance within a landscape) constrains sustainable population growth of unbiased agents. We call this the heterogeneity‐based fitness deficit, and combine this with population simulations to quantify the independent contribution of information‐use strategies to the total population growth rate. We further capitalize on this example to highlight the interactive effects of information between ecological scales when fear affects individual fitness through phenotypic plasticity. Informed breeding habitat selection moderates the demographic cost of fear commensurate with density‐dependent information use. Thus, future work should attempt to differentiate between phenotypic plasticity (i.e. acute fear) and demographic responses (i.e. chronic changes in population size). We conclude with a broader discussion of information in alternative contexts, and explore some evolutionary considerations for information use. We note how competition among individuals may constrain the information state among individuals, and the implications of this constraint under environmental change.