Data from: Behavioral adjustments in the social associations of a precocial shorebird mediate the costs and benefits of grouping decisions ...

• Main Authors: Wilde, Luke, Swift, Rose, Senner, Nathan
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2020
• Subjects: FOS Biological sciences; protective association; heterospecific grouping; spatiotemporal variation; precocial chick; Limosa haemastica; Hudsonian Godwit; Short-billed Gull; Larus brachyrhynchus; Beluga; Beluga*
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.x95x69pfq; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.x95x69pfq

Animals weigh multiple costs and benefits when making grouping decisions. The cost-avoidance grouping framework proposes that group density, information quality, and risk affect an individual’s preference for con- or heterospecific groups. However, this assumes the cost-benefit balance of a particular grouping is constant spatiotemporally, which may not always be true. Investigating how spatiotemporal context influences grouping choices is therefore key to understanding how animals contend with changing conditions. Changes in body size during development lead to variable conditions for individuals over short timescales that can influence their ecological interactions. Hudsonian godwits (Limosa haemastica), for instance, form a protective nesting association with a major predator of young godwit chicks, colonial short-billed gulls (Larus brachyrhynchus). Godwit broods may avoid areas of higher gull densities when chicks are susceptible to gull predation but likely experience higher risk from alternative ... : We located all Hudsonian godwit (Limosa haemastica) and short-billed gull (Larus brachyrhynchus) nests in two plots near Beluga River, AK from 2009 to 2019. We followed nests to hatch and captured 1-2 chicks per brood to be continuously monitored by VHF telemetry. We resighted chicks to confirm survival every 2-3 days. Mortality was confirmed by carcass recovery or if a chick was not found for 3 consecutive attempts. We recaptured chicks weekly to monitor the attachment media of the radio and collect morphometric data. ...