Why knot Calidris canutus take medium-sized Macoma balthica when six prey species are available
We quantified the prey selection and intake rate of a wading bird, knot Calidris canutus, when 6 different, intertidal prey species, the mud snail Peringia ulvae and the bivalves Macoma balthica, Cerastoderma edule, Mya arenaria, Scrobicularia plana and Mytilus edulis, were abundant. Knot usually se...
Published in: | Marine Ecology Progress Series |
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Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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1992
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11370/3492c7bf-0f27-49cb-8e4d-ea9dfc153743 https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/3492c7bf-0f27-49cb-8e4d-ea9dfc153743 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps083113 https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/62553710/Why_knot_Calidris_canutus_take_medium_sized.pdf |
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ftunigroningenpu:oai:pure.rug.nl:publications/3492c7bf-0f27-49cb-8e4d-ea9dfc153743 2024-02-04T09:59:26+01:00 Why knot Calidris canutus take medium-sized Macoma balthica when six prey species are available Zwarts, L. Blomert, Anne-Marie 1992-07-16 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11370/3492c7bf-0f27-49cb-8e4d-ea9dfc153743 https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/3492c7bf-0f27-49cb-8e4d-ea9dfc153743 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps083113 https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/62553710/Why_knot_Calidris_canutus_take_medium_sized.pdf eng eng https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/3492c7bf-0f27-49cb-8e4d-ea9dfc153743 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Zwarts , L & Blomert , A-M 1992 , ' Why knot Calidris canutus take medium-sized Macoma balthica when six prey species are available ' , Marine Ecology Progress Series , vol. 83 , no. 2-3 , pp. 113-128 . https://doi.org/10.3354/meps083113 OYSTERCATCHER HAEMATOPUS-OSTRALEGUS WADING BIRDS CHARADRII DUTCH WADDEN SEA BANC-DARGUIN SPRING MIGRATION ENERGY MAXIMIZATION SEASONAL-VARIATION MYTILUS-EDULIS MORECAMBE BAY BURYING DEPTH article 1992 ftunigroningenpu https://doi.org/10.3354/meps083113 2024-01-10T23:51:17Z We quantified the prey selection and intake rate of a wading bird, knot Calidris canutus, when 6 different, intertidal prey species, the mud snail Peringia ulvae and the bivalves Macoma balthica, Cerastoderma edule, Mya arenaria, Scrobicularia plana and Mytilus edulis, were abundant. Knot usually search for food by randomly probing into the mud. Prey selection may be described by 5 rules: (1) Prey are not ingestible by knot if the circumference is more than 30 mm. (2) Prey are not accessible to knot when they lie buried deeper than 2 to 3 cm. (3) The probability of a prey organism being detected depends on its surface area, measured in the horizontal plane. (4) Prey are ignored when they are unprofitable, i.e. when the rate of intake while handling the prey is below the current overall average intake rate during feeding. (5) Knot prefer thin-shelled to thick-shelled prey species, possibly because a high inorganic content has an inhibitory effect on the rate at which energy can be extracted from the food. The first rule of ingestion is set by the gape width, and is therefore invariable. The fraction of the prey which is accessible varies according to the probing depth of the bird. The lower size threshold of prey taken is determined by the profitability rule and so varies according to the current feeding rate of knot. Unfortunately for knot, the majority of the preferred thin-shelled prey live out of reach of the bill, whereas the thick-shelled species live at the surface. Medium-sized Macoma balthica is the best compromise available in the 6-species mix. Article in Journal/Newspaper Calidris canutus University of Groningen research database Marine Ecology Progress Series 83 113 128 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Groningen research database |
op_collection_id |
ftunigroningenpu |
language |
English |
topic |
OYSTERCATCHER HAEMATOPUS-OSTRALEGUS WADING BIRDS CHARADRII DUTCH WADDEN SEA BANC-DARGUIN SPRING MIGRATION ENERGY MAXIMIZATION SEASONAL-VARIATION MYTILUS-EDULIS MORECAMBE BAY BURYING DEPTH |
spellingShingle |
OYSTERCATCHER HAEMATOPUS-OSTRALEGUS WADING BIRDS CHARADRII DUTCH WADDEN SEA BANC-DARGUIN SPRING MIGRATION ENERGY MAXIMIZATION SEASONAL-VARIATION MYTILUS-EDULIS MORECAMBE BAY BURYING DEPTH Zwarts, L. Blomert, Anne-Marie Why knot Calidris canutus take medium-sized Macoma balthica when six prey species are available |
topic_facet |
OYSTERCATCHER HAEMATOPUS-OSTRALEGUS WADING BIRDS CHARADRII DUTCH WADDEN SEA BANC-DARGUIN SPRING MIGRATION ENERGY MAXIMIZATION SEASONAL-VARIATION MYTILUS-EDULIS MORECAMBE BAY BURYING DEPTH |
description |
We quantified the prey selection and intake rate of a wading bird, knot Calidris canutus, when 6 different, intertidal prey species, the mud snail Peringia ulvae and the bivalves Macoma balthica, Cerastoderma edule, Mya arenaria, Scrobicularia plana and Mytilus edulis, were abundant. Knot usually search for food by randomly probing into the mud. Prey selection may be described by 5 rules: (1) Prey are not ingestible by knot if the circumference is more than 30 mm. (2) Prey are not accessible to knot when they lie buried deeper than 2 to 3 cm. (3) The probability of a prey organism being detected depends on its surface area, measured in the horizontal plane. (4) Prey are ignored when they are unprofitable, i.e. when the rate of intake while handling the prey is below the current overall average intake rate during feeding. (5) Knot prefer thin-shelled to thick-shelled prey species, possibly because a high inorganic content has an inhibitory effect on the rate at which energy can be extracted from the food. The first rule of ingestion is set by the gape width, and is therefore invariable. The fraction of the prey which is accessible varies according to the probing depth of the bird. The lower size threshold of prey taken is determined by the profitability rule and so varies according to the current feeding rate of knot. Unfortunately for knot, the majority of the preferred thin-shelled prey live out of reach of the bill, whereas the thick-shelled species live at the surface. Medium-sized Macoma balthica is the best compromise available in the 6-species mix. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Zwarts, L. Blomert, Anne-Marie |
author_facet |
Zwarts, L. Blomert, Anne-Marie |
author_sort |
Zwarts, L. |
title |
Why knot Calidris canutus take medium-sized Macoma balthica when six prey species are available |
title_short |
Why knot Calidris canutus take medium-sized Macoma balthica when six prey species are available |
title_full |
Why knot Calidris canutus take medium-sized Macoma balthica when six prey species are available |
title_fullStr |
Why knot Calidris canutus take medium-sized Macoma balthica when six prey species are available |
title_full_unstemmed |
Why knot Calidris canutus take medium-sized Macoma balthica when six prey species are available |
title_sort |
why knot calidris canutus take medium-sized macoma balthica when six prey species are available |
publishDate |
1992 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11370/3492c7bf-0f27-49cb-8e4d-ea9dfc153743 https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/3492c7bf-0f27-49cb-8e4d-ea9dfc153743 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps083113 https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/62553710/Why_knot_Calidris_canutus_take_medium_sized.pdf |
genre |
Calidris canutus |
genre_facet |
Calidris canutus |
op_source |
Zwarts , L & Blomert , A-M 1992 , ' Why knot Calidris canutus take medium-sized Macoma balthica when six prey species are available ' , Marine Ecology Progress Series , vol. 83 , no. 2-3 , pp. 113-128 . https://doi.org/10.3354/meps083113 |
op_relation |
https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/3492c7bf-0f27-49cb-8e4d-ea9dfc153743 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps083113 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
83 |
container_start_page |
113 |
op_container_end_page |
128 |
_version_ |
1789964227523379200 |