Environmental heterogeneity decreases reproductive success via effects on foraging behaviour
Environmental heterogeneity shapes the uneven distribution of resources available to foragers, and is ubiquitous in nature. Optimal foraging theory predicts that an animal's ability to exploit resource patches is key to foraging success. However, the potential fitness costs and benefits of fora...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0795 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2019.0795 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2019.0795 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rspb.2019.0795 2024-06-02T08:13:49+00:00 Environmental heterogeneity decreases reproductive success via effects on foraging behaviour Trevail, Alice M. Green, Jonathan A. Sharples, Jonathan Polton, Jeff A. Miller, Peter I. Daunt, Francis Owen, Ellie Bolton, Mark Colhoun, Kendrew Newton, Stephen Robertson, Gail Patrick, Samantha C. Natural Environment Research Council 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0795 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2019.0795 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2019.0795 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 286, issue 1904, page 20190795 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 journal-article 2019 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0795 2024-05-07T14:16:56Z Environmental heterogeneity shapes the uneven distribution of resources available to foragers, and is ubiquitous in nature. Optimal foraging theory predicts that an animal's ability to exploit resource patches is key to foraging success. However, the potential fitness costs and benefits of foraging in a heterogeneous environment are difficult to measure empirically. Heterogeneity may provide higher-quality foraging opportunities, or alternatively could increase the cost of resource acquisition because of reduced patch density or increased competition. Here, we study the influence of physical environmental heterogeneity on behaviour and reproductive success of black-legged kittiwakes, Rissa tridactyla . From GPS tracking data at 15 colonies throughout their British and Irish range, we found that environments that were physically more heterogeneous were associated with longer trip duration, more time spent foraging while away from the colony, increased overlap of foraging areas between individuals and lower breeding success. These results suggest that there is greater competition between individuals for finite resources in more heterogeneous environments, which comes at a cost to reproduction. Resource hotspots are often considered beneficial, as individuals can learn to exploit them if sufficiently predictable. However, we demonstrate here that such fitness gains can be countered by greater competition in more heterogeneous environments. Article in Journal/Newspaper rissa tridactyla The Royal Society Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 286 1904 20190795 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Environmental heterogeneity shapes the uneven distribution of resources available to foragers, and is ubiquitous in nature. Optimal foraging theory predicts that an animal's ability to exploit resource patches is key to foraging success. However, the potential fitness costs and benefits of foraging in a heterogeneous environment are difficult to measure empirically. Heterogeneity may provide higher-quality foraging opportunities, or alternatively could increase the cost of resource acquisition because of reduced patch density or increased competition. Here, we study the influence of physical environmental heterogeneity on behaviour and reproductive success of black-legged kittiwakes, Rissa tridactyla . From GPS tracking data at 15 colonies throughout their British and Irish range, we found that environments that were physically more heterogeneous were associated with longer trip duration, more time spent foraging while away from the colony, increased overlap of foraging areas between individuals and lower breeding success. These results suggest that there is greater competition between individuals for finite resources in more heterogeneous environments, which comes at a cost to reproduction. Resource hotspots are often considered beneficial, as individuals can learn to exploit them if sufficiently predictable. However, we demonstrate here that such fitness gains can be countered by greater competition in more heterogeneous environments. |
author2 |
Natural Environment Research Council |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Trevail, Alice M. Green, Jonathan A. Sharples, Jonathan Polton, Jeff A. Miller, Peter I. Daunt, Francis Owen, Ellie Bolton, Mark Colhoun, Kendrew Newton, Stephen Robertson, Gail Patrick, Samantha C. |
spellingShingle |
Trevail, Alice M. Green, Jonathan A. Sharples, Jonathan Polton, Jeff A. Miller, Peter I. Daunt, Francis Owen, Ellie Bolton, Mark Colhoun, Kendrew Newton, Stephen Robertson, Gail Patrick, Samantha C. Environmental heterogeneity decreases reproductive success via effects on foraging behaviour |
author_facet |
Trevail, Alice M. Green, Jonathan A. Sharples, Jonathan Polton, Jeff A. Miller, Peter I. Daunt, Francis Owen, Ellie Bolton, Mark Colhoun, Kendrew Newton, Stephen Robertson, Gail Patrick, Samantha C. |
author_sort |
Trevail, Alice M. |
title |
Environmental heterogeneity decreases reproductive success via effects on foraging behaviour |
title_short |
Environmental heterogeneity decreases reproductive success via effects on foraging behaviour |
title_full |
Environmental heterogeneity decreases reproductive success via effects on foraging behaviour |
title_fullStr |
Environmental heterogeneity decreases reproductive success via effects on foraging behaviour |
title_full_unstemmed |
Environmental heterogeneity decreases reproductive success via effects on foraging behaviour |
title_sort |
environmental heterogeneity decreases reproductive success via effects on foraging behaviour |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0795 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2019.0795 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2019.0795 |
genre |
rissa tridactyla |
genre_facet |
rissa tridactyla |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 286, issue 1904, page 20190795 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0795 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
286 |
container_issue |
1904 |
container_start_page |
20190795 |
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1800737441761460224 |