Predator arrival elicits differential dispersal, change in age structure and reproductive performance in a prey population

Payo‐Payo, Ana; Sanz‐Aguilar, Ana; Genovart, Meritxell; Bertolero, Albert; Piccardo, Julia; Camps, David; Oró, Daniel

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-20333-0

Cited by 29 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Moreover, as avian females usually move greater distances during dispersal than males [49,50], we expect to find this general pattern among all urban and rural individuals. Social features such as conspecific density and productivity can be used by individuals as indicators of habitat quality, such that dispersers would prefer to move to high-density and high-productivity areas [51,52,53]. However, young individuals born in very dense areas could also disperse to low-density areas to avoid intraspecific competition [54,55].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex, personality and conspecific density influence natal dispersal with lifetime fitness consequences in urban and rural burrowing owls

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is a growing need to understand how species respond to habitat changes and the potential key role played by natal dispersal in population dynamics, structure and gene flow. However, few studies have explored differences in this process between conspecifics living in natural habitats and those inhabiting landscapes highly transformed by humans, such as cities. Here, we investigate how individual traits and social characteristics can influence the natal dispersal decisions of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) living in urban and rural areas, as well as the consequences in terms of reproductive success and apparent survival. We found short dispersal movements among individuals, with differences between urban and rural birds (i.e., the former covering shorter distances than the latter), maybe because of the higher conspecific density of urban compared to rural areas. Moreover, we found that urban and rural females as well as bold individuals (i.e., individuals with shorter flight initiation distance) exhibited longer dispersal distances than their counterparts. These dispersal decisions have effects on individual fitness. Individuals traveling longer distances increased their reproductive prospects (productivity during the first breeding attempt, and long term productivity). However, the apparent survival of females decreased when they dispersed farther from their natal territory. Although further research is needed to properly understand the ecological and evolutionary consequences of dispersal patterns in transformed habitats, our results provide information about the drivers and the consequences of the restricted natal movements of this species, which may explain its population structuring through restricted gene flow between and within urban and rural areas.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex, personality and conspecific density influence natal dispersal with lifetime fitness consequences in urban and rural burrowing owls

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The main ecological drivers explaining the temporal variability of demographic parameters in this species have been previously identified. Variations in adult survival seem to be partially explained by bycatch mortality ) and occasional local predation by carnivores (Payo-Payo et al 2018). Other local factors, including food availability or predators, may affect other fitness parameters such as fertility (Oro et al 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, from a conservation point of view, we propose an update of its conservation status. The main actual threat for the species is likely fisheries bycatch , carnivore predation within some colonies (Payo-Payo et al 2018), a general decrease of fertility due to regime shifts in small pelagic dynamics (Van Beveren et al 2016), increased niche competition and loss of available suitable breeding habitat (Oro et al 2009, Almaraz andOro 2011). The species seems to respond to local disturbances with the colonization of new habitats (Payo-Payo et al 2017); however, this process does not compensate for the global population decline.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immature survival, fertility, and density dependence drive global population dynamics in a long‐lived species

Genovart

Oró

Tenan

2018

Ecology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Disentangling the influence of demographic parameters and the role of density dependence on species’ population dynamics is a challenge, especially when fractions of the population are unobservable. Additionally, due to the difficulty of gathering data at large spatial scales, most studies ignore the global dynamic of a species, which would integrate local heterogeneity dynamics and remove the noise of dispersal. We developed an integrated population model (IPM) at a global scale to disentangle the main demographic drivers of population dynamics in a long‐lived species. We used 28 yr of Audouin's Gull demographic data encompassing 69 local patches (comprising 90% of the world population). Importantly, we took into account the unobservable fraction of non‐breeders and also assessed the strength of density dependence for this fraction of the population. As predicted by life histories of long‐lived organisms, temporal random variation in survival was highest for immature individuals (1.326, 95% credible interval [CRI] 1.290–1.940) and lowest for adults (0.499, 95% CRI 0.487–0.720). Large temporal fluctuations in the probability of taking a reproductive sabbatical would partly explain the consistency in adult survival, with individuals most likely refraining from breeding when environmental conditions were harsh. Immature survival and fertility were the main drivers of population dynamics during the study period (r2 = 0.83, 0.77–0.87 and 0.73, 0.63–0.79, respectively). We found strong evidence of density dependence, not only due to the number of breeders (r2 = −0.34, −0.43 to −0.24) but also due to individuals on sabbatical (r2 = −0.18, −0.33 to −0.01). From a conservation point of view, the species shows a 5% annual global decrease during the last 10 years, and we propose an update of its conservation status. Even though population dynamics of long‐lived organisms are very sensitive to changes in adult survival, we show here that, in the absence of strong environmental perturbations affecting this vital rate, fluctuations in population density are mainly driven by variations in survival of immature individuals and fertility. Integrated models based on long‐term monitoring at a global scale may enhance our ecological and evolutionary understanding of how demographic drivers influence population dynamics.

show abstract

“…Interestingly from a social point of view, the species breeds aggregated in spatially discrete patches within large colonies. Each breeding season, some patches go extinct and some are colonized 41 , 42 , with a patch occupation expectancy over time of 1.5 years 24 , forcing individuals to breed in patches different from the ones they were born in or they bred in the previous year. These colonization-extinction processes dismiss the possibility of aggregation only due to natal or breeding philopatry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 ). This collapse was due to the arrival of terrestrial predators, which led this colony to hold from 70% to only 3% of the total world population in only a decade (32% mean annual decline) 41 , 43 (Fig. 1 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decrease in social cohesion in a colonial seabird under a perturbation regime

Genovart

Giménez

Bertolero³

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Social interactions, through influence on behavioural processes, can play an important role in populations’ resilience (i.e. ability to cope with perturbations). However little is known about the effects of perturbations on the strength of social cohesion in wild populations. Long-term associations between individuals may reflect the existence of social cohesion for seizing the evolutionary advantages of social living. We explore the existence of social cohesion and its dynamics under perturbations by analysing long-term social associations, in a colonial seabird, the Audouin’s gull Larus audouinii, living in a site experiencing a shift to a perturbed regime. Our goals were namely (1) to uncover the occurrence of long-term social ties (i.e. associations) between individuals and (2) to examine whether the perturbation regime affected this form of social cohesion. We analysed a dataset of more than 3500 individuals from 25 years of monitoring by means of contingency tables and within the Social Network Analysis framework. We showed that associations between individuals are not only due to philopatry or random gregariousness but that there are social ties between individuals over the years. Furthermore, social cohesion decreased under the perturbation regime. We sustain that perturbations may lead not only to changes in individuals’ behaviour and fitness but also to a change in populations’ social cohesion. The consequences of decreasing social cohesion are still not well understood, but they can be critical for the population dynamics of social species.

show abstract

Predator arrival elicits differential dispersal, change in age structure and reproductive performance in a prey population

Cited by 29 publications

References 44 publications

Sex, personality and conspecific density influence natal dispersal with lifetime fitness consequences in urban and rural burrowing owls

Sex, personality and conspecific density influence natal dispersal with lifetime fitness consequences in urban and rural burrowing owls

Immature survival, fertility, and density dependence drive global population dynamics in a long‐lived species

Decrease in social cohesion in a colonial seabird under a perturbation regime

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About