Site-dependent regulation of breeding success: Evidence for the buffer effect in the common guillemot, a colonially breeding seabird
Density-dependent regulation can offer resilience to wild populations experiencing fluctuations in environmental conditions because, at lower population sizes, the average quality of habitats or resources is predicted to increase. Site-dependent regulation is a mechanism whereby individuals breed at...
Published in: | Journal of Animal Ecology |
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Online Access: | http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3156206/ https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13674 |
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ftunivliverpool:oai:livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk:3156206 2023-05-15T15:56:01+02:00 Site-dependent regulation of breeding success: Evidence for the buffer effect in the common guillemot, a colonially breeding seabird Bennett, Sophie Wanless, Sarah Harris, Michael P Newell, Mark A Searle, Kate Green, Jonathan A Daunt, Francis 2022 http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3156206/ https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13674 eng eng Wiley Bennett, Sophie, Wanless, Sarah, Harris, Michael P, Newell, Mark A, Searle, Kate, Green, Jonathan A orcid:0000-0001-8692-0163 and Daunt, Francis (2022) Site-dependent regulation of breeding success: Evidence for the buffer effect in the common guillemot, a colonially breeding seabird. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 91 (4). pp. 752-765. Article NonPeerReviewed 2022 ftunivliverpool https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13674 2023-01-20T00:16:49Z Density-dependent regulation can offer resilience to wild populations experiencing fluctuations in environmental conditions because, at lower population sizes, the average quality of habitats or resources is predicted to increase. Site-dependent regulation is a mechanism whereby individuals breed at the highest quality, most successful, sites, leaving poorer quality, less successful sites vacant. As population size increases, higher quality sites become limiting but when populations decline, lower quality sites are vacated first, offering resilience. This process is known as the 'buffer effect'. However, few studies have tested whether such regulation operates in populations experiencing changes in size and trend. We used data from a population of common guillemots Uria aalge, a colonially breeding seabird, to investigate the relationship between site occupancy probability, site quality and population size and trend. These data were collected at five sub-colonies spanning a 38-year period (1981-2018) comprising phases of population increase, decrease and recovery. We first tested whether site quality and population size in sub-colonies explained which sites were occupied for breeding, and if this was robust to changes in sub-colony trend. We then investigated whether disproportionate use of higher quality sites drove average site quality and breeding success across sub-colony sizes and trends. Finally, we tested whether individuals consistently occupied higher quality sites during periods of decline and recovery. Higher quality sites were disproportionality used when sub-colony size was smaller, resulting in higher average site quality and breeding success at lower population sizes. This relationship was unaffected by changes in sub-colony trend. However, contrary to the predictions of the buffer effect, new sites were established at a similar rate to historically occupied sites during sub-colony decline and recovery despite being of lower quality. Our results provide support for the buffer effect conferring ... Article in Journal/Newspaper common guillemot Uria aalge uria The University of Liverpool Repository Journal of Animal Ecology 91 4 752 765 |
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The University of Liverpool Repository |
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ftunivliverpool |
language |
English |
description |
Density-dependent regulation can offer resilience to wild populations experiencing fluctuations in environmental conditions because, at lower population sizes, the average quality of habitats or resources is predicted to increase. Site-dependent regulation is a mechanism whereby individuals breed at the highest quality, most successful, sites, leaving poorer quality, less successful sites vacant. As population size increases, higher quality sites become limiting but when populations decline, lower quality sites are vacated first, offering resilience. This process is known as the 'buffer effect'. However, few studies have tested whether such regulation operates in populations experiencing changes in size and trend. We used data from a population of common guillemots Uria aalge, a colonially breeding seabird, to investigate the relationship between site occupancy probability, site quality and population size and trend. These data were collected at five sub-colonies spanning a 38-year period (1981-2018) comprising phases of population increase, decrease and recovery. We first tested whether site quality and population size in sub-colonies explained which sites were occupied for breeding, and if this was robust to changes in sub-colony trend. We then investigated whether disproportionate use of higher quality sites drove average site quality and breeding success across sub-colony sizes and trends. Finally, we tested whether individuals consistently occupied higher quality sites during periods of decline and recovery. Higher quality sites were disproportionality used when sub-colony size was smaller, resulting in higher average site quality and breeding success at lower population sizes. This relationship was unaffected by changes in sub-colony trend. However, contrary to the predictions of the buffer effect, new sites were established at a similar rate to historically occupied sites during sub-colony decline and recovery despite being of lower quality. Our results provide support for the buffer effect conferring ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bennett, Sophie Wanless, Sarah Harris, Michael P Newell, Mark A Searle, Kate Green, Jonathan A Daunt, Francis |
spellingShingle |
Bennett, Sophie Wanless, Sarah Harris, Michael P Newell, Mark A Searle, Kate Green, Jonathan A Daunt, Francis Site-dependent regulation of breeding success: Evidence for the buffer effect in the common guillemot, a colonially breeding seabird |
author_facet |
Bennett, Sophie Wanless, Sarah Harris, Michael P Newell, Mark A Searle, Kate Green, Jonathan A Daunt, Francis |
author_sort |
Bennett, Sophie |
title |
Site-dependent regulation of breeding success: Evidence for the buffer effect in the common guillemot, a colonially breeding seabird |
title_short |
Site-dependent regulation of breeding success: Evidence for the buffer effect in the common guillemot, a colonially breeding seabird |
title_full |
Site-dependent regulation of breeding success: Evidence for the buffer effect in the common guillemot, a colonially breeding seabird |
title_fullStr |
Site-dependent regulation of breeding success: Evidence for the buffer effect in the common guillemot, a colonially breeding seabird |
title_full_unstemmed |
Site-dependent regulation of breeding success: Evidence for the buffer effect in the common guillemot, a colonially breeding seabird |
title_sort |
site-dependent regulation of breeding success: evidence for the buffer effect in the common guillemot, a colonially breeding seabird |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3156206/ https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13674 |
genre |
common guillemot Uria aalge uria |
genre_facet |
common guillemot Uria aalge uria |
op_relation |
Bennett, Sophie, Wanless, Sarah, Harris, Michael P, Newell, Mark A, Searle, Kate, Green, Jonathan A orcid:0000-0001-8692-0163 and Daunt, Francis (2022) Site-dependent regulation of breeding success: Evidence for the buffer effect in the common guillemot, a colonially breeding seabird. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, 91 (4). pp. 752-765. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13674 |
container_title |
Journal of Animal Ecology |
container_volume |
91 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
752 |
op_container_end_page |
765 |
_version_ |
1766391497284911104 |