Short‐term prey field lability constrains individual specialisation in resource selection and foraging site fidelity in a marine predator

Courbin, Nicolas; Besnard, Aurélien; Péron, Clara; Saraux, Claire; Fort, Jérôme; Perret, Samuel; Tornos, J; Grémillet, David

doi:10.1111/ele.12970

Cited by 34 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 74 publications

(209 reference statements)

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“…We argue that LFT, or other behavior that may be so short-lived that GPS intervals lasting seconds or minutes are needed to detect and properly describe it, are relevant because they can have key impacts on life history and populations in general. For example, such behaviors can be associated with significant spikes in foraging opportunities, which in turn can be important to maintain population density 71 . Even if linear features are not selected for or are actually avoided within the home range, animals may utilize them once they are encountered.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High frequency GPS bursts and path-level analysis reveal linear feature tracking by red foxes

Bischof

Gjevestad

Ordiz

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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There is a need to quantify and better understand how wildlife interact with linear features, as these are integral elements of most landscapes. One potentially important aspect is linear feature tracking (LFT), yet studies rarely succeed in directly revealing or quantifying this behavior. In a proof-of-concept study, we employed short-term intensive GPS monitoring of red foxes ( Vulpes vulpe s) in a multiple-use landscape in southern Norway. Using periodic bursts of high frequency GPS position fixes, we performed modified path selection analyses to estimate the propensity of foxes to track natural and man-made linear features (roads, forest edges, and streams) once they are encountered. Foxes in our study tracked primarily forest edges and roads. Forty-three percent of bursts that encountered any linear feature resulted in LFT. LFT, although prominent, was manifested as a short-lived behavior, with overall median times to linear feature abandonment around two minutes. Movement speeds were highest along roads, perhaps due to greater ease of travel or higher perceived risk. In the highly heterogeneous habitats that characterize human-dominated landscapes, LFT may be manifested at such a fine spatio-temporal scale that it would remain hidden during telemetry studies employing conventional position fix frequencies. The approach described here may aid others studying spatial behaviors that are manifested over very short durations, yet are biologically significant.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High frequency GPS bursts and path-level analysis reveal linear feature tracking by red foxes

Bischof

Gjevestad

Ordiz

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…Most examples of movement behavior specialization study among-individual variation and within-individual consistency of foraging strategies in marine mammals and birds (e.g. [36,37,54,55]). In central place foragers, where individuals return to a fixed location between foraging trips [56], each foraging trip can be described using variables such as trip duration, distance, duration of diving, departure angle, and the longitude and latitude of the endpoint of the trip [36][37][38].…”

Section: Evidence For Among-individual Variation In Movement Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

A guide for studying among-individual behavioral variation from movement data in the wild

et al. 2020

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Animal tracking and biologging devices record large amounts of data on individual movement behaviors in natural environments. In these data, movement ecologists often view unexplained variation around the mean as "noise" when studying patterns at the population level. In the field of behavioral ecology, however, focus has shifted from population means to the biological underpinnings of variation around means. Specifically, behavioral ecologists use repeated measures of individual behavior to partition behavioral variability into intrinsic among-individual variation and reversible behavioral plasticity and to quantify: a) individual variation in behavioral types (i.e. different average behavioral expression), b) individual variation in behavioral plasticity (i.e. different responsiveness of individuals to environmental gradients), c) individual variation in behavioral predictability (i.e. different residual within-individual variability of behavior around the mean), and d) correlations among these components and correlations in suites of behaviors, called 'behavioral syndromes'. We here suggest that partitioning behavioral variability in animal movements will further the integration of movement ecology with other fields of behavioral ecology. We provide a literature review illustrating that individual differences in movement behaviors are insightful for wildlife and conservation studies and give recommendations regarding the data required for addressing such questions. In the accompanying R tutorial we provide a guide to the statistical approaches quantifying the different aspects of among-individual variation. We use movement data from 35 African elephants and show that elephants differ in a) their average behavior for three common movement behaviors, b) the rate at which they adjusted movement over a temporal gradient, and c) their behavioral predictability (ranging from more to less predictable individuals). Finally, two of the three movement behaviors were correlated into a behavioral syndrome (d), with farther moving individuals having shorter mean residence times. Though not explicitly tested here, individual differences in movement and predictability can affect an individual's risk to be hunted or poached and could therefore open new avenues for conservation biologists to assess population viability. We hope that this review, tutorial, and worked example will encourage movement ecologists to examine the biology of individual variation in animal movements hidden behind the population mean.

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“…Being more constrained in their dietary niches, specialists were likely less able to adapt to the novel conditions. However, during periods of environmental and climatic stability, when prey availability is more predictable, a specialist foraging tactic might be advantageous (Courbin et al, ). Under such circumstances, specialists can rely on memory to reduce search times for specific prey, optimizing foraging efficiency (Wakefield et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological opportunity drives individual dietary specialization in leopards

Balme

Roex

Rogan

et al. 2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Individual specialization, when individuals exploit only a subset of resources utilized by the population, is a widespread phenomenon. It provides the basis for evolutionary diversification and can impact population and community dynamics. Both phenotypic traits and environmental conditions are predicted to influence individual specialization; however, its adaptive consequences are poorly understood, particularly among large mammalian carnivores that play an important role in shaping ecosystems. We used observations of 2,960 kills made by 49 leopards Panthera pardus in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa, to quantify the magnitude of individual dietary specialization in a solitary large carnivore, and to examine the proximate and ultimate drivers of this behaviour. We found evidence of individual specialization in leopard diet, with respect to both the species and size of prey killed. Males tended to be more specialized than females, likely because they could access a wider range of prey due to larger body size. Similarly, individuals that encountered a greater diversity of prey tended to be more specialized. Our results confirmed that ecological opportunity was a key determinant of individual specialization; however, contrary to predictions, per capita resource availability (and by extension, intraspecific competition) did not affect the degree of specialization exhibited by individuals. Surprisingly, dietary specialization appeared to disadvantage male leopards. Specialist males overlapped with fewer resident females, had fewer cubs born on their home ranges and had fewer cubs survive to independence on their home ranges than generalist males. This may have resulted from the high degree of environmental stochasticity experienced during our study, as dietary specialization is expected to advantage individuals more during periods of resource predictability. In summary, we showed that a species usually considered to be a dietary generalist was in fact a heterogeneous collection of specialist and generalist individuals. Individual specialization is typically assumed to be maintained by disruptive and/or fluctuating selection; hence, the somewhat paradoxical coexistence of both in the same population might be explained by a dynamic evolutionary equilibrium that exists between specialists and generalists, in which each benefit under different conditions.

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Short‐term prey field lability constrains individual specialisation in resource selection and foraging site fidelity in a marine predator

Cited by 34 publications

References 74 publications

High frequency GPS bursts and path-level analysis reveal linear feature tracking by red foxes

High frequency GPS bursts and path-level analysis reveal linear feature tracking by red foxes

A guide for studying among-individual behavioral variation from movement data in the wild

Ecological opportunity drives individual dietary specialization in leopards

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