Ortstreue und Genfluß bei Inselvogelarten: Eleonorenfalke (Falco eleonorae) und Gelbschnabelsturmtaucher (Calonectris diomedea)

Wink, Michaël; Wink, Coralie; Scharlau, W.; Ristow, Dietrich

doi:10.1007/bf01644663

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 10 publications

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“…In the Eleonora’s falcon, earlier laying dates are also strongly associated with higher productivity in this and other populations of the species (see also Hadjikyriakou et al 2020 ). Although the laying date may depend on factors such as age and experience of both adults ( Wink et al 1993 ; Forslund and Pärt 1995 ), egg production is an energetically demanding process, and hence egg laying and clutch size strongly depend on the females’ body condition ( Rowe et al 1994 ; Descamps et al 2011 ). In many species, the female’s condition depends on male feeding behavior during courtship ( Catry et al 2017 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new trophic specialization buffers a top predator against climate-driven resource instability

Gangoso,

Viana,

Merchán

et al. 2024

Behavioral Ecology

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Intraspecific phenotypic variability is key to respond to environmental changes and anomalies. However, documenting the emergence of behavioral diversification in natural populations has remained elusive due to the difficulty of observing such phenomenon at the right time and place. Here, we investigated how the emergence of a new trophic strategy in a population subjected to high fluctuations in the availability of its main trophic resource (migrating songbirds) affected the breeding performance, population structure, and population fitness of a specialized color polymorphic predator, the Eleonora’s falcon from the Canary Islands. Using long-term data (2007-2022), we found that the exploitation of an alternative prey (a local petrel species) was associated with the growth of a previously residual falcon colony. Pairs in this colony laid earlier and raised more fledglings than in the other established colonies. The specialization on petrels increased over time, independently of annual fluctuations in prey availability. Importantly, however, the positive effect of petrel consumption on productivity was stronger in years with lower food availability. This trophic diversification was further associated with the genetically-determined color morph, with dark individuals preying more frequently on petrels than pale ones, which might promote the long-term maintenance of genotypic and phenotypic diversity. We empirically demonstrate how the emergence of an alternative trophic strategy can buffer populations against harsh environmental fluctuations by stabilizing their productivity.

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