Individual Spatial Consistency and Dietary Flexibility in the Migratory Behavior of Northern Gannets Wintering in the Northeast Atlantic
Migration is a fundamental behavioral process prevalent among a wide variety of animal taxa. As individuals are increasingly shown to present consistent responses to environmental cues for breeding or foraging, it may be expected that approaches to migration would present similar among-individual co...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f52ba41d09ec4305a9cb545845161b63 2023-05-15T17:41:42+02:00 Individual Spatial Consistency and Dietary Flexibility in the Migratory Behavior of Northern Gannets Wintering in the Northeast Atlantic W. James Grecian Hannah J. Williams Stephen C. Votier Stuart Bearhop Ian R. Cleasby David Grémillet Keith C. Hamer Mélanie Le Nuz Amélie Lescroël Jason Newton Samantha C. Patrick Richard A. Phillips Ewan D. Wakefield Thomas W. Bodey 2019-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00214 https://doaj.org/article/f52ba41d09ec4305a9cb545845161b63 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2019.00214/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-701X 2296-701X doi:10.3389/fevo.2019.00214 https://doaj.org/article/f52ba41d09ec4305a9cb545845161b63 Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 7 (2019) individual variation carry-over effects Geolocator (GLS) stable isotope analysis (SIA) animal migration Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00214 2022-12-31T00:18:48Z Migration is a fundamental behavioral process prevalent among a wide variety of animal taxa. As individuals are increasingly shown to present consistent responses to environmental cues for breeding or foraging, it may be expected that approaches to migration would present similar among-individual consistencies. Seabirds frequently show consistent individual differences in a range of traits related to foraging and space-use during both the breeding and non-breeding seasons, but the causes and consequences of this consistency are poorly understood. In this study, we combined analysis of geolocation and stable isotope data across multiple years to investigate individual variation in the non-breeding movements and diets of northern gannets Morus bassanus, and the consequences for changes in body condition. We found that individuals were highly repeatable in their non-breeding destination over consecutive years even though the population-level non-breeding distribution spanned >35° of latitude. Isotopic signatures were also strongly repeatable, with individuals assigned to one of two dietary clusters defined by their distinct trophic (δ15N) and spatial (δ13C) position. The only non-breeding destination in which the two dietary clusters co-occurred was off the coast of northwest Africa. The majority of individuals adopted a consistent foraging strategy, as they remained within the same dietary cluster across years, with little variation in body mass corrected for size among these consistent individuals. In contrast, the few individuals that switched clusters between years were in better condition relative to the rest of the population, suggesting there may be benefits to flexibility during the non-breeding period. Our results indicate that a consistent migratory strategy can be effective regardless of wintering region or diet, but that there may be benefits to those individuals able to display flexibility. This appears to be an important behavioral strategy that may enhance individual condition. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northeast Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 7 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
individual variation carry-over effects Geolocator (GLS) stable isotope analysis (SIA) animal migration Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
individual variation carry-over effects Geolocator (GLS) stable isotope analysis (SIA) animal migration Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 W. James Grecian Hannah J. Williams Stephen C. Votier Stuart Bearhop Ian R. Cleasby David Grémillet Keith C. Hamer Mélanie Le Nuz Amélie Lescroël Jason Newton Samantha C. Patrick Richard A. Phillips Ewan D. Wakefield Thomas W. Bodey Individual Spatial Consistency and Dietary Flexibility in the Migratory Behavior of Northern Gannets Wintering in the Northeast Atlantic |
topic_facet |
individual variation carry-over effects Geolocator (GLS) stable isotope analysis (SIA) animal migration Evolution QH359-425 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Migration is a fundamental behavioral process prevalent among a wide variety of animal taxa. As individuals are increasingly shown to present consistent responses to environmental cues for breeding or foraging, it may be expected that approaches to migration would present similar among-individual consistencies. Seabirds frequently show consistent individual differences in a range of traits related to foraging and space-use during both the breeding and non-breeding seasons, but the causes and consequences of this consistency are poorly understood. In this study, we combined analysis of geolocation and stable isotope data across multiple years to investigate individual variation in the non-breeding movements and diets of northern gannets Morus bassanus, and the consequences for changes in body condition. We found that individuals were highly repeatable in their non-breeding destination over consecutive years even though the population-level non-breeding distribution spanned >35° of latitude. Isotopic signatures were also strongly repeatable, with individuals assigned to one of two dietary clusters defined by their distinct trophic (δ15N) and spatial (δ13C) position. The only non-breeding destination in which the two dietary clusters co-occurred was off the coast of northwest Africa. The majority of individuals adopted a consistent foraging strategy, as they remained within the same dietary cluster across years, with little variation in body mass corrected for size among these consistent individuals. In contrast, the few individuals that switched clusters between years were in better condition relative to the rest of the population, suggesting there may be benefits to flexibility during the non-breeding period. Our results indicate that a consistent migratory strategy can be effective regardless of wintering region or diet, but that there may be benefits to those individuals able to display flexibility. This appears to be an important behavioral strategy that may enhance individual condition. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
W. James Grecian Hannah J. Williams Stephen C. Votier Stuart Bearhop Ian R. Cleasby David Grémillet Keith C. Hamer Mélanie Le Nuz Amélie Lescroël Jason Newton Samantha C. Patrick Richard A. Phillips Ewan D. Wakefield Thomas W. Bodey |
author_facet |
W. James Grecian Hannah J. Williams Stephen C. Votier Stuart Bearhop Ian R. Cleasby David Grémillet Keith C. Hamer Mélanie Le Nuz Amélie Lescroël Jason Newton Samantha C. Patrick Richard A. Phillips Ewan D. Wakefield Thomas W. Bodey |
author_sort |
W. James Grecian |
title |
Individual Spatial Consistency and Dietary Flexibility in the Migratory Behavior of Northern Gannets Wintering in the Northeast Atlantic |
title_short |
Individual Spatial Consistency and Dietary Flexibility in the Migratory Behavior of Northern Gannets Wintering in the Northeast Atlantic |
title_full |
Individual Spatial Consistency and Dietary Flexibility in the Migratory Behavior of Northern Gannets Wintering in the Northeast Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
Individual Spatial Consistency and Dietary Flexibility in the Migratory Behavior of Northern Gannets Wintering in the Northeast Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Individual Spatial Consistency and Dietary Flexibility in the Migratory Behavior of Northern Gannets Wintering in the Northeast Atlantic |
title_sort |
individual spatial consistency and dietary flexibility in the migratory behavior of northern gannets wintering in the northeast atlantic |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00214 https://doaj.org/article/f52ba41d09ec4305a9cb545845161b63 |
genre |
Northeast Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Northeast Atlantic |
op_source |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 7 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2019.00214/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-701X 2296-701X doi:10.3389/fevo.2019.00214 https://doaj.org/article/f52ba41d09ec4305a9cb545845161b63 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00214 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
7 |
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1766143392960479232 |