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...
Published in: | Biology Letters |
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The Royal Society
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Online Access: | https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/7974/ https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/7974/7/Waggitt_BLT1_PrePrint.pdf http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/14/8/20180348 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 |
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ftplymouthml:oai:plymsea.ac.uk:7974 2024-01-14T10:06:12+01:00 Combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat selection in foraging seabirds Waggitt, JJ Cazenave, P Howarth, LM Evans, PGH van der Kooij, J Hiddink, JG 2018-08-01 text https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/7974/ https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/7974/7/Waggitt_BLT1_PrePrint.pdf http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/14/8/20180348 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 en eng The Royal Society https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/7974/7/Waggitt_BLT1_PrePrint.pdf Waggitt, JJ, Cazenave, P, Howarth, LM, Evans, PGH, van der Kooij, J and Hiddink, JG 2018 Combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat selection in foraging seabirds. Biology Letters, 14 (8). 5, pp. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 <https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348> cc_by_nc_4 Biology Earth Sciences Ecology and Environment Oceanography Planning Policies Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2018 ftplymouthml https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 2023-12-15T00:08:17Z 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 Plymouth Marine Science Electronic Archive (PlyMSEA - Plymouth Marine Laboratory, PML) Biology Letters 14 8 20180348 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Plymouth Marine Science Electronic Archive (PlyMSEA - Plymouth Marine Laboratory, PML) |
op_collection_id |
ftplymouthml |
language |
English |
topic |
Biology Earth Sciences Ecology and Environment Oceanography Planning Policies |
spellingShingle |
Biology Earth Sciences Ecology and Environment Oceanography Planning Policies Waggitt, JJ Cazenave, P Howarth, LM Evans, PGH van der Kooij, J Hiddink, JG Combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat selection in foraging seabirds |
topic_facet |
Biology Earth Sciences Ecology and Environment Oceanography Planning Policies |
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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Waggitt, JJ Cazenave, P Howarth, LM Evans, PGH van der Kooij, J Hiddink, JG |
author_facet |
Waggitt, JJ Cazenave, P Howarth, LM Evans, PGH van der Kooij, J Hiddink, JG |
author_sort |
Waggitt, JJ |
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 |
https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/7974/ https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/7974/7/Waggitt_BLT1_PrePrint.pdf http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/14/8/20180348 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 |
genre |
common guillemot Uria aalge uria |
genre_facet |
common guillemot Uria aalge uria |
op_relation |
https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/7974/7/Waggitt_BLT1_PrePrint.pdf Waggitt, JJ, Cazenave, P, Howarth, LM, Evans, PGH, van der Kooij, J and Hiddink, JG 2018 Combined measurements of prey availability explain habitat selection in foraging seabirds. Biology Letters, 14 (8). 5, pp. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 <https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348> |
op_rights |
cc_by_nc_4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0348 |
container_title |
Biology Letters |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
20180348 |
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1788060505352437760 |