Combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat selection in foraging seabirds
Understanding links between habitat characteristics and foraging efficiency helps predict how environmental changes influence populations of top predators. This study examines whether measurements of prey (clupeids) availability varied over stratification gradients, and determined if any of those me...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 2024-09-15T18:02:42+00:00 Combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat selection in foraging seabirds Waggitt, James J. Cazenave, Pierre W. Howarth, Leigh M. Evans, Peter G. H. van der Kooij, Jeroen Hiddink, Jan G. UK Energy Research Centre Natural Environment Research Council 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Biology Letters volume 14, issue 8, page 20180348 ISSN 1744-9561 1744-957X journal-article 2018 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 2024-08-05T04:35:22Z Understanding links between habitat characteristics and foraging efficiency helps predict how environmental changes influence populations of top predators. This study examines whether measurements of prey (clupeids) availability varied over stratification gradients, and determined if any of those measurements coincided with aggregations of foraging seabirds (common guillemot Uria aalge and Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus ) in the Celtic Sea, UK. The probability of encountering foraging seabirds was highest around fronts between mixed and stratified water. Prey were denser and shallower in mixed water, whilst encounters with prey were most frequent in stratified water. Therefore, no single measurement of increased prey availability coincided with the location of fronts. However, when considered in combination, overall prey availability was highest in these areas. These results show that top predators may select foraging habitats by trading-off several measurements of prey availability. By showing that top predators select areas where prey switch between behaviours, these results also identify a mechanism that could explain the wider importance of edge habitats for these taxa. As offshore developments (e.g. marine renewable energy installations) change patterns of stratification, their construction may have consequences on the foraging efficiency of seabirds. Article in Journal/Newspaper common guillemot Uria aalge uria The Royal Society Biology Letters 14 8 20180348 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Understanding links between habitat characteristics and foraging efficiency helps predict how environmental changes influence populations of top predators. This study examines whether measurements of prey (clupeids) availability varied over stratification gradients, and determined if any of those measurements coincided with aggregations of foraging seabirds (common guillemot Uria aalge and Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus ) in the Celtic Sea, UK. The probability of encountering foraging seabirds was highest around fronts between mixed and stratified water. Prey were denser and shallower in mixed water, whilst encounters with prey were most frequent in stratified water. Therefore, no single measurement of increased prey availability coincided with the location of fronts. However, when considered in combination, overall prey availability was highest in these areas. These results show that top predators may select foraging habitats by trading-off several measurements of prey availability. By showing that top predators select areas where prey switch between behaviours, these results also identify a mechanism that could explain the wider importance of edge habitats for these taxa. As offshore developments (e.g. marine renewable energy installations) change patterns of stratification, their construction may have consequences on the foraging efficiency of seabirds. |
author2 |
UK Energy Research Centre Natural Environment Research Council |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Waggitt, James J. Cazenave, Pierre W. Howarth, Leigh M. Evans, Peter G. H. van der Kooij, Jeroen Hiddink, Jan G. |
spellingShingle |
Waggitt, James J. Cazenave, Pierre W. Howarth, Leigh M. Evans, Peter G. H. van der Kooij, Jeroen Hiddink, Jan G. Combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat selection in foraging seabirds |
author_facet |
Waggitt, James J. Cazenave, Pierre W. Howarth, Leigh M. Evans, Peter G. H. van der Kooij, Jeroen Hiddink, Jan G. |
author_sort |
Waggitt, James J. |
title |
Combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat selection in foraging seabirds |
title_short |
Combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat selection in foraging seabirds |
title_full |
Combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat selection in foraging seabirds |
title_fullStr |
Combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat selection in foraging seabirds |
title_full_unstemmed |
Combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat selection in foraging seabirds |
title_sort |
combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat selection in foraging seabirds |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 |
genre |
common guillemot Uria aalge uria |
genre_facet |
common guillemot Uria aalge uria |
op_source |
Biology Letters volume 14, issue 8, page 20180348 ISSN 1744-9561 1744-957X |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 |
container_title |
Biology Letters |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
20180348 |
_version_ |
1810440129532133376 |