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...
Published in: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Language: | English |
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2019
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Online Access: | https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/individual-spatial-consistency-and-dietary-flexibility-in-the-migratory-behavior-of-northern-gannets-wintering-in-the-northeast-atlantic(790b827b-128a-4e83-b29d-8554e8589535).html https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00214 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/17888/1/Grecian_2019_Individual_spatial_FEVO_214_CC.pdf |
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ftunstandrewcris:oai:research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/790b827b-128a-4e83-b29d-8554e8589535 2024-09-15T18:25:28+00:00 Individual spatial consistency and dietary flexibility in the migratory behavior of northern gannets wintering in the Northeast Atlantic Grecian, W. James Williams, Hannah J. Votier, Stephen C. Bearhop, Stuart Cleasby, Ian R. Grémillet, David Hamer, Keith C. Le Nuz, Mélanie Lescroël, Amélie Newton, Jason Patrick, Samantha C. Phillips, Richard A. Wakefield, Ewan D. Bodey, Thomas W. 2019-06-12 application/pdf https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/individual-spatial-consistency-and-dietary-flexibility-in-the-migratory-behavior-of-northern-gannets-wintering-in-the-northeast-atlantic(790b827b-128a-4e83-b29d-8554e8589535).html https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00214 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/17888/1/Grecian_2019_Individual_spatial_FEVO_214_CC.pdf eng eng https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/individual-spatial-consistency-and-dietary-flexibility-in-the-migratory-behavior-of-northern-gannets-wintering-in-the-northeast-atlantic(790b827b-128a-4e83-b29d-8554e8589535).html info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Grecian , W J , Williams , H J , Votier , S C , Bearhop , S , Cleasby , I R , Grémillet , D , Hamer , K C , Le Nuz , M , Lescroël , A , Newton , J , Patrick , S C , Phillips , R A , Wakefield , E D & Bodey , T W 2019 , ' Individual spatial consistency and dietary flexibility in the migratory behavior of northern gannets wintering in the Northeast Atlantic ' , Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution , vol. 7 , 214 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00214 Individual variation Carry-over effects Geolocator (GLS) Stable isotope analysis (SIA) Animal migration article 2019 ftunstandrewcris https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00214 2024-07-03T23:33:43Z 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 (δ 15 N) and spatial (δ 13 C) 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 University of St Andrews: Research Portal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 7 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftunstandrewcris |
language |
English |
topic |
Individual variation Carry-over effects Geolocator (GLS) Stable isotope analysis (SIA) Animal migration |
spellingShingle |
Individual variation Carry-over effects Geolocator (GLS) Stable isotope analysis (SIA) Animal migration Grecian, W. James Williams, Hannah J. Votier, Stephen C. Bearhop, Stuart Cleasby, Ian R. Grémillet, David Hamer, Keith C. Le Nuz, Mélanie Lescroël, Amélie Newton, Jason Patrick, Samantha C. Phillips, Richard A. Wakefield, Ewan D. Bodey, Thomas W. 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 |
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 (δ 15 N) and spatial (δ 13 C) 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 |
Grecian, W. James Williams, Hannah J. Votier, Stephen C. Bearhop, Stuart Cleasby, Ian R. Grémillet, David Hamer, Keith C. Le Nuz, Mélanie Lescroël, Amélie Newton, Jason Patrick, Samantha C. Phillips, Richard A. Wakefield, Ewan D. Bodey, Thomas W. |
author_facet |
Grecian, W. James Williams, Hannah J. Votier, Stephen C. Bearhop, Stuart Cleasby, Ian R. Grémillet, David Hamer, Keith C. Le Nuz, Mélanie Lescroël, Amélie Newton, Jason Patrick, Samantha C. Phillips, Richard A. Wakefield, Ewan D. Bodey, Thomas W. |
author_sort |
Grecian, W. James |
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 |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/individual-spatial-consistency-and-dietary-flexibility-in-the-migratory-behavior-of-northern-gannets-wintering-in-the-northeast-atlantic(790b827b-128a-4e83-b29d-8554e8589535).html https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00214 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/17888/1/Grecian_2019_Individual_spatial_FEVO_214_CC.pdf |
genre |
Northeast Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Northeast Atlantic |
op_source |
Grecian , W J , Williams , H J , Votier , S C , Bearhop , S , Cleasby , I R , Grémillet , D , Hamer , K C , Le Nuz , M , Lescroël , A , Newton , J , Patrick , S C , Phillips , R A , Wakefield , E D & Bodey , T W 2019 , ' Individual spatial consistency and dietary flexibility in the migratory behavior of northern gannets wintering in the Northeast Atlantic ' , Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution , vol. 7 , 214 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00214 |
op_relation |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/individual-spatial-consistency-and-dietary-flexibility-in-the-migratory-behavior-of-northern-gannets-wintering-in-the-northeast-atlantic(790b827b-128a-4e83-b29d-8554e8589535).html |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00214 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
7 |
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1810465989604671488 |