Local prey shortages drive foraging costs and breeding success in a declining seabird, the Atlantic puffin
1. As more and more species face anthropogenic threats, understanding the causes of population declines in vulnerable taxa is essential. However, long-term datasets, ideal to identify lasting or indirect effects on fitness measures such as those caused by environmental factors, are not always availa...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3055291 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13442 |
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ftninstnf:oai:brage.nina.no:11250/3055291 2023-05-15T15:27:56+02:00 Local prey shortages drive foraging costs and breeding success in a declining seabird, the Atlantic puffin Fayet, Annette L. Clucas, Gemma V. Anker-Nilssen, Tycho Syposz, Martyna Hansen, Erpur S. 2021 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3055291 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13442 eng eng Norges forskningsråd: 192141 urn:issn:0021-8790 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3055291 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13442 cristin:1899816 Navngivelse 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.no © 2021 The Authors CC-BY 1152-1164 90 Journal of Animal Ecology biologging diet DNA metabarcoding dual foraging foraging ecology intraspecific competition population decline seabirds VDP::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 VDP::Zoology and botany: 480 Peer reviewed Journal article 2021 ftninstnf https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13442 2023-03-08T23:46:24Z 1. As more and more species face anthropogenic threats, understanding the causes of population declines in vulnerable taxa is essential. However, long-term datasets, ideal to identify lasting or indirect effects on fitness measures such as those caused by environmental factors, are not always available. 2. Here we use a single year but multi-population approach on populations with contrasting demographic trends to identify possible drivers and mechanisms of seabird population changes in the north-east Atlantic, using the Atlantic puffin, a declining species, as a model system. 3. We combine miniature GPS trackers with camera traps and DNA metabarcoding techniques on four populations across the puffins’ main breeding range to provide the most comprehensive study of the species' foraging ecology to date. 4. We find that puffins use a dual foraging tactic combining short and long foraging trips in all four populations, but declining populations in southern Iceland and north-west Norway have much greater foraging ranges, which require more (costly) flight, as well as lower chick-provisioning frequencies, and a more diverse but likely less energy-dense diet, than stable populations in northern Iceland and Wales. 5. Together, our findings suggest that the poor productivity of declining puffin populations in the north-east Atlantic is driven by breeding adults being forced to forage far from the colony, presumably because of low prey availability near colonies, possibly amplified by intraspecific competition. Our results provide valuable information for the conservation of this and other important North-Atlantic species and highlight the potential of multi-population approaches to answer important questions about the ecological drivers of population trends. biologging, diet, DNA metabarcoding, dual foraging, foraging ecology, intraspecific competition, population decline, seabirds publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Atlantic puffin Iceland North Atlantic North East Atlantic Norwegian Institute for Nature Research: Brage NINA Norway Journal of Animal Ecology 90 5 1152 1164 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Norwegian Institute for Nature Research: Brage NINA |
op_collection_id |
ftninstnf |
language |
English |
topic |
biologging diet DNA metabarcoding dual foraging foraging ecology intraspecific competition population decline seabirds VDP::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 VDP::Zoology and botany: 480 |
spellingShingle |
biologging diet DNA metabarcoding dual foraging foraging ecology intraspecific competition population decline seabirds VDP::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 VDP::Zoology and botany: 480 Fayet, Annette L. Clucas, Gemma V. Anker-Nilssen, Tycho Syposz, Martyna Hansen, Erpur S. Local prey shortages drive foraging costs and breeding success in a declining seabird, the Atlantic puffin |
topic_facet |
biologging diet DNA metabarcoding dual foraging foraging ecology intraspecific competition population decline seabirds VDP::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480 VDP::Zoology and botany: 480 |
description |
1. As more and more species face anthropogenic threats, understanding the causes of population declines in vulnerable taxa is essential. However, long-term datasets, ideal to identify lasting or indirect effects on fitness measures such as those caused by environmental factors, are not always available. 2. Here we use a single year but multi-population approach on populations with contrasting demographic trends to identify possible drivers and mechanisms of seabird population changes in the north-east Atlantic, using the Atlantic puffin, a declining species, as a model system. 3. We combine miniature GPS trackers with camera traps and DNA metabarcoding techniques on four populations across the puffins’ main breeding range to provide the most comprehensive study of the species' foraging ecology to date. 4. We find that puffins use a dual foraging tactic combining short and long foraging trips in all four populations, but declining populations in southern Iceland and north-west Norway have much greater foraging ranges, which require more (costly) flight, as well as lower chick-provisioning frequencies, and a more diverse but likely less energy-dense diet, than stable populations in northern Iceland and Wales. 5. Together, our findings suggest that the poor productivity of declining puffin populations in the north-east Atlantic is driven by breeding adults being forced to forage far from the colony, presumably because of low prey availability near colonies, possibly amplified by intraspecific competition. Our results provide valuable information for the conservation of this and other important North-Atlantic species and highlight the potential of multi-population approaches to answer important questions about the ecological drivers of population trends. biologging, diet, DNA metabarcoding, dual foraging, foraging ecology, intraspecific competition, population decline, seabirds publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fayet, Annette L. Clucas, Gemma V. Anker-Nilssen, Tycho Syposz, Martyna Hansen, Erpur S. |
author_facet |
Fayet, Annette L. Clucas, Gemma V. Anker-Nilssen, Tycho Syposz, Martyna Hansen, Erpur S. |
author_sort |
Fayet, Annette L. |
title |
Local prey shortages drive foraging costs and breeding success in a declining seabird, the Atlantic puffin |
title_short |
Local prey shortages drive foraging costs and breeding success in a declining seabird, the Atlantic puffin |
title_full |
Local prey shortages drive foraging costs and breeding success in a declining seabird, the Atlantic puffin |
title_fullStr |
Local prey shortages drive foraging costs and breeding success in a declining seabird, the Atlantic puffin |
title_full_unstemmed |
Local prey shortages drive foraging costs and breeding success in a declining seabird, the Atlantic puffin |
title_sort |
local prey shortages drive foraging costs and breeding success in a declining seabird, the atlantic puffin |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3055291 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13442 |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Atlantic puffin Iceland North Atlantic North East Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Atlantic puffin Iceland North Atlantic North East Atlantic |
op_source |
1152-1164 90 Journal of Animal Ecology |
op_relation |
Norges forskningsråd: 192141 urn:issn:0021-8790 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3055291 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13442 cristin:1899816 |
op_rights |
Navngivelse 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.no © 2021 The Authors |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13442 |
container_title |
Journal of Animal Ecology |
container_volume |
90 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1152 |
op_container_end_page |
1164 |
_version_ |
1766358324115144704 |