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Chan YC, Chan DTC, Tibbitts TL, Hassell CJ, Piersma T. Site fidelity of migratory shorebirds facing habitat deterioration: insights from satellite tracking and mark-resighting. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:79. [PMID: 38129912 PMCID: PMC10740345 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00443-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Site fidelity, the tendency to return to a previously visited site, is commonly observed in migratory birds. This behaviour would be advantageous if birds returning to the same site, benefit from their previous knowledge about local resources. However, when habitat quality declines at a site over time, birds with lower site fidelity might benefit from a tendency to move to sites with better habitats. As a first step towards understanding the influence of site fidelity on how animals cope with habitat deterioration, here we describe site fidelity variation in two species of sympatric migratory shorebirds (Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica and Great Knots Calidris tenuirostris). Both species are being impacted by the rapid loss and deterioration of intertidal habitats in the Yellow Sea where they fuel up during their annual long-distance migrations. METHODS Using satellite tracking and mark-resighting data, we measured site fidelity in the non-breeding (austral summer) and migration periods, during which both species live and co-occur in Northwest Australia and the Yellow Sea, respectively. RESULTS Site fidelity was generally high in both species, with the majority of individuals using only one site during the non-breeding season and revisiting the same sites during migration. Nevertheless, Great Knots did exhibit lower site fidelity than Bar-tailed Godwits in both Northwest Australia and the Yellow Sea across data types. CONCLUSIONS Great Knots encountered substantial habitat deterioration just before and during our study period but show the same rate of decline in population size and individual survival as the less habitat-impacted Bar-tailed Godwits. This suggests that the lower site fidelity of Great Knots might have helped them to cope with the habitat changes. Future studies on movement patterns and their consequences under different environmental conditions by individuals with different degrees of site fidelity could help broaden our understanding of how species might react to, and recover from, local habitat deterioration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying-Chi Chan
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands.
- Rudi Drent Chair in Global Flyway Ecology, Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - David Tsz Chung Chan
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - T Lee Tibbitts
- Alaska Science Center, U. S. Geological Survey, 4210 University Drive, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA
| | - Chris J Hassell
- Global Flyway Network, PO Box 3089, Broome, WA, 6725, Australia
- Australasian Wader Studies Group, PO Box 3089, Broome, WA, 6725, Australia
| | - Theunis Piersma
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
- Rudi Drent Chair in Global Flyway Ecology, Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Global Flyway Network, PO Box 3089, Broome, WA, 6725, Australia
- BirdEyes, Centre for Global Ecological Change at the Faculties of Science and Engineering and Campus Fryslân, University of Groningen, Zaailand 110, 8911 BN, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
- Center for East Asian-Australasian Flyway Studies, School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
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Peng HB, Choi CY, Ma Z, Bijleveld AI, Melville DS, Piersma T. Individuals of a group-living shorebird show smaller home range overlap when food availability is low. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:70. [PMID: 37891665 PMCID: PMC10612227 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00427-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Group living animals, such as shorebirds foraging on intertidal mudflats, may use social information about where to find hidden food items. However, flocking also increases intraspecific competition for resources, which may be exacerbated by food scarcity. Therefore, although aggregation may bring benefits, it may also increase the intensity of intraspecific competition. METHODS We examined this trade-off in adult great knots Calidris tenuirostris, a molluscivorous long-distance migrating shorebird species, using interannual variation based on 2 years with different levels of food availability during their northward migratory staging in the northern Yellow Sea, China. We estimated individual home ranges and the extent of spatial overlap of home ranges of individually tagged birds in 2012 and 2015, whilst discounting for possible differences in body size, body mass, sex and migration schedule between years. RESULTS We found that home range size was not associated with body mass, arrival date, body size, or sex of the individual. Despite a significant difference in food availability between the two study years, there was no significant change in the 50% and 95% home range size of great knots in the contrasting situations. However, there was a significantly smaller spatial overlap between individuals in the year when food was less available, suggesting that great knots operated more independently when food was scarce than when it was abundant. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that minimizing intraspecific competition became more important when food was scarce. Where it is impossible to monitor all habitats en route, monitoring the local movements of shorebirds may offer a way to detect changes in habitat quality in real time.
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Affiliation(s)
- He-Bo Peng
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
- BirdEyes, Centre for Global Ecological Change at Faculties of Science and Engineering and Campus Fryslân, University of Groningen, Zaailand 110, 8911 BN, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
| | - Chi-Yeung Choi
- Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, 215316, Jiangsu, China.
- Environmental Research Center, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, 215316, Jiangsu, China.
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Zhijun Ma
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity, Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, and Institute of Eco-Chongming (SIEC), School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Allert I Bijleveld
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - David S Melville
- Global Flyway Network, c/o 1261 Dovedale Road, RD2 Wakefield, Nelson, 7096, New Zealand
| | - Theunis Piersma
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, PO Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
- CEAAF Center for East Asian-Australasian Flyway Studies, Beijing Forestry University, Qinghua East Road 35, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China
- BirdEyes, Centre for Global Ecological Change at Faculties of Science and Engineering and Campus Fryslân, University of Groningen, Zaailand 110, 8911 BN, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
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Basso E, Horstmann J, Rakhimberdiev E, Abad-Gómez JM, Masero JA, Gutiérrez JS, Valenzuela J, Ruiz J, Navedo JG. GPS tracking analyses reveal finely-tuned shorebird space use and movement patterns throughout the non-breeding season in high-latitude austral intertidal areas. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:55. [PMID: 37658459 PMCID: PMC10474677 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00411-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Long-distance migratory birds spend most of their annual cycle in non-breeding areas. During this period birds must meet their daily nutritional needs and acquire additional energy intake to deal with future events of the annual cycle. Therefore, patterns of space use and movement may emerge as an efficient strategy to maintain a trade-off between acquisition and conservation of energy during the non-breeding season. However, there is still a paucity of research addressing this issue, especially in trans-hemispheric migratory birds. METHODS Using GPS-tracking data and a recently developed continuous-time stochastic process modeling framework, we analyzed fine-scale movements in a non-breeding population of Hudsonian godwits (Limosa haemastica), a gregarious long-distance migratory shorebird. Specifically, we evaluated if these extreme migrants exhibit restricted, shared, and periodic patterns of space use on one of their main non-breeding grounds in southern South America. Finally, via a generalized additive model, we tested if the observed patterns were consistent within a circadian cycle. RESULTS Overall, godwits showed finely-tuned range-residence and periodic movements (each 24-72 h), being similar between day and night. Remarkably, range-resident individuals segregated spatially into three groups. In contrast, a smaller fraction of godwits displayed unpredictable and irregular movements, adding functional connectivity within the population. CONCLUSIONS In coastal non-breeding areas where resource availability is highly predictable due to tidal cycles, range-resident strategies during both the day and night are the common pattern in a long-distance shorebird population. Alternative patterns exhibited by a fraction of non-resident godwits provide functional connectivity and suggest that the exploratory tendency may be essential for information acquisition and associated with individual traits. The methodological approach we have used contributes to elucidate how the composition of movement phases operates during the non-breeding season in migratory species and can be replicated in non-migratory species as well. Finally, our results highlight the importance of considering movement as a continuum within the annual cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enzo Basso
- Bird Ecology Lab, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile.
- Programa de Doctorado en Ecología y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile.
| | - Johannes Horstmann
- Bird Ecology Lab, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Eldar Rakhimberdiev
- Department of Theoretical and Computational Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - José M Abad-Gómez
- Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
| | - José A Masero
- Ecology in the Anthropocene, Associated Unit CSIC-UEX, Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
| | - Jorge S Gutiérrez
- Ecology in the Anthropocene, Associated Unit CSIC-UEX, Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
| | - Jorge Valenzuela
- Centro de Estudios y Conservación del Patrimonio Natural (CECPAN), Chiloé, Chile
| | - Jorge Ruiz
- Bird Ecology Lab, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
- Estación Experimental Quempillén, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Chiloé, Chile
| | - Juan G Navedo
- Bird Ecology Lab, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
- Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
- Estación Experimental Quempillén, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Chiloé, Chile
- Millennium Institute Biodiversity of Antarctic and Subantarctic Ecosystems (BASE), Santiago, Chile
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Cain S, Solomon T, Leshem Y, Toledo S, Arnon E, Roulin A, Spiegel O. Movement predictability of individual barn owls facilitates estimation of home range size and survival. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:10. [PMID: 36750910 PMCID: PMC9906850 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00366-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is growing attention to individuality in movement, its causes and consequences. Similarly to other well-established personality traits (e.g., boldness or sociability), conspecifics also differ repeatedly in their spatial behaviors, forming behavioral types ("spatial-BTs"). These spatial-BTs are typically described as the difference in the mean-level among individuals, and the intra-individual variation (IIV, i.e., predictability) is only rarely considered. Furthermore, the factors determining predictability or its ecological consequences for broader space-use patterns are largely unknown, in part because predictability was mostly tested in captivity (e.g., with repeated boldness assays). Here we test if (i) individuals differ in their movement and specifically in their predictability. We then investigate (ii) the consequences of this variation for home-range size and survival estimates, and (iii) the factors that affect individual predictability. METHODS We tracked 92 barn owls (Tyto alba) with an ATLAS system and monitored their survival. From these high-resolution (every few seconds) and extensive trajectories (115.2 ± 112.1 nights; X̅ ± SD) we calculated movement and space-use indices (e.g., max-displacement and home-range size, respectively). We then used double-hierarchical and generalized linear mix-models to assess spatial-BTs, individual predictability in nightly max-displacement, and its consistency across time. Finally, we explored if predictability levels were associated with home-range size and survival, as well as the seasonal, geographical, and demographic factors affecting it (e.g., age, sex, and owls' density). RESULTS Our dataset (with 74 individuals after filtering) revealed clear patterns of individualism in owls' movement. Individuals differed consistently both in their mean movement (e.g., max-displacement) and their IIV around it (i.e., predictability). More predictable individuals had smaller home-ranges and lower survival rates, on top and beyond the expected effects of their spatial-BT (max-displacement), sex, age and ecological environments. Juveniles were less predictable than adults, but the sexes did not differ in their predictability. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate that individual predictability may act as an overlooked axis of spatial-BT with potential implications for relevant ecological processes at the population level and individual fitness. Considering how individuals differ in their IIV of movement beyond the mean-effect can facilitate understanding the intraspecific diversity, predicting their responses to changing ecological conditions and their population management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shlomo Cain
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Tovale Solomon
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Yossi Leshem
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Sivan Toledo
- Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Eitam Arnon
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Alexandre Roulin
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Building Biophore, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Orr Spiegel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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Picardi S, Abrahms B, Gelzer E, Morrison TA, Verzuh T, Merkle JA. Defining null expectations for animal site fidelity. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:157-169. [PMID: 36453059 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Site fidelity-the tendency to return to previously visited locations-is widespread across taxa. Returns may be driven by several mechanisms, including memory, habitat selection, or chance; however, pattern-based definitions group different generating mechanisms under the same label of 'site fidelity', often assuming memory as the main driver. We propose an operational definition of site fidelity as patterns of return that deviate from a null expectation derived from a memory-free movement model. First, using agent-based simulations, we show that without memory, intrinsic movement characteristics and extrinsic landscape characteristics are key determinants of return patterns and that even random movements may generate substantial probabilities of return. Second, we illustrate how to implement our framework empirically to establish ecologically meaningful, system-specific null expectations for site fidelity. Our approach provides a conceptual and operational framework to test hypotheses on site fidelity across systems and scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Picardi
- Department of Wildland Resources, Jack H. Berryman Institute, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
| | - Briana Abrahms
- Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Emily Gelzer
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | - Thomas A Morrison
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Tana Verzuh
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | - Jerod A Merkle
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
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Coelho AP, Henriques M, Rocha AD, Paulino J, Schaars LK, Ramos C, de Barros AR, Catry T, Granadeiro JP, Piersma T, Alves JA. Spatial and seasonal variation in macrozoobenthic density, biomass and community composition in a major tropical intertidal area, the Bijagós Archipelago, West-Africa. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0277861. [PMID: 36441788 PMCID: PMC9704600 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The coastal intertidal ecosystem of the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau, one of the largest and most important in West Africa, sustains a considerable proportion of the migratory shorebird populations of the East Atlantic Flyway and operates as a nursery area for benthic fish in the region. The macrozoobenthos in these mudflats constitute the main food source for both groups so that spatial and temporal variation in their abundance and community composition is likely to influence the abundance and distribution of fish and birds. In this study we described the spatial and temporal dynamics in the density, biomass, and community composition of macrozoobenthos across six intertidal flats in three islands of the Bijagós Archipelago. Overall, the Bijagós Archipelago was characterised by a highly species-rich macrozoobenthic community, with ca. 88 taxa identified across all sites, reaching a mean density of 1871 ± 58.3 ind.m-2 (mean ± SE) and mean biomass of 5.65 ± 0.41 g of AFDM.m-2 (ash-free dry mass per m2), values much lower than what was described for nearby intertidal areas, namely the Band d'Arguin, Mauritania. Density and biomass of major macrozoobenthos classes (Bivalvia, Polychaeta, Malacostraca and Gastropoda) differed across sites and months, displaying an overall increase in density towards the final months of the dry season (March and April). Similarly, community composition also differed significantly between sites and throughout the season. The site with most distinct community composition (Adonga) supported low diversity and high abundance of a few bivalve species, whilst other two sites that hosted the most diverse communities, were also the most similar between them (Anrumai and Abu). These spatial and temporal patterns constitute an important baseline to improve knowledge of this intertidal ecosystem and will contribute towards a better understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of their consumers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Pinto Coelho
- Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
- * E-mail:
| | - Mohamed Henriques
- Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Department of Animal Biology, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Afonso Duarte Rocha
- Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
- Conservation Biology Research Group, Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Zoology, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
| | - João Paulino
- Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Department of Animal Biology, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Loran Kleine Schaars
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - Catarina Ramos
- Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Aissa Regalla de Barros
- Instituto da Biodiversidade e das Áreas Protegidas Dr. Alfredo Simão da Silva (IBAP), Bissau, Guiné-Bissau
| | - Teresa Catry
- Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Department of Animal Biology, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - José Pedro Granadeiro
- Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Department of Animal Biology, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Theunis Piersma
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, The Netherlands
| | - José Augusto Alves
- Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
- South Iceland Research Centre, University of Iceland, Laugarvatn, Iceland
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Oortwijn T, de Fouw J, Petersen JM, van Gils JA. Sulfur in lucinid bivalves inhibits intake rates of a molluscivore shorebird. Oecologia 2022; 199:69-78. [PMID: 35486255 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05170-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
A forager's energy intake rate is usually constrained by a combination of handling time, encounter rate and digestion rate. On top of that, food intake may be constrained when a forager can only process a maximum amount of certain toxic compounds. The latter constraint is well described for herbivores with a limited tolerance to plant secondary metabolites. In sulfidic marine ecosystems, many animals host chemoautotrophic endosymbionts, which store sulfur compounds as an energy resource, potentially making their hosts toxic to predators. The red knot Calidris canutus canutus is a molluscivore shorebird that winters on the mudflats of Banc d'Arguin, where the most abundant bivalve prey Loripes orbiculatus hosts sulfide-oxidizing bacteria. In this system, we studied the potential effect of sulfur on the red knots' intake rates, by offering Loripes with various sulfur content to captive birds. To manipulate toxicity, we starved Loripes for 10 days by removing them from their symbiont's energy source sulfide. As predicted, we found lower sulfur concentrations in starved Loripes. We also included natural variation in sulfur concentrations by offering Loripes collected at two different locations. In both cases lower sulfur levels in Loripes resulted in higher consumption rates in red knots. Over time the red knots increased their intake rates on Loripes, showing their ability to adjust to a higher intake of sulfur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Oortwijn
- Department Coastal Systems (COS), NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg (Texel), The Netherlands.
| | - Jimmy de Fouw
- Department Coastal Systems (COS), NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg (Texel), The Netherlands
- Faculty of Science, Department of Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jillian M Petersen
- Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jan A van Gils
- Department Coastal Systems (COS), NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg (Texel), The Netherlands
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
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8
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Milles A, Dammhahn M, Jeltsch F, Schlägel U, Grimm V. Fluctuations in density-dependent selection drive the evolution of a pace-of-life-syndrome within and between populations. Am Nat 2021; 199:E124-E139. [DOI: 10.1086/718473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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9
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Baert JM, Stienen EWM, Verbruggen F, Van de Weghe N, Lens L, Müller W. Resource predictability drives interannual variation in migratory behavior in a long-lived bird. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
There is a growing awareness that experience may play a major role in migratory decisions, especially in long-lived species. However, empirical support remains to date scarce. Here, we use multiyear GPS-tracking data on 28 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus), a long-lived species for which migratory strategies typically consist of a series of long stopovers, to assess how experience affects interannual variation in stopover selection. We expect that food source reliability should play a pivotal role, as it both reduces the uncertainty on food availability across years, and enables for more efficient foraging during stopovers by reducing searching efforts. We found that during stopovers gulls indeed developed high fidelity to particular foraging locations, which strongly reduced the daily distance travelled for foraging. When revisiting stopovers in consecutive years, birds used over 80% of foraging locations from the previous year. Although the average fidelity to stopovers across years was a high as 85%, stopovers where birds showed high foraging site fidelity were up to 60% more likely to be revisited compared to stopover with low foraging site fidelity. Accordingly, birds using more stopovers with reliable foraging opportunities showed significantly less interannual variation in their stopover use than birds using stopovers with less reliable foraging opportunities. Our results thus highlight the need to further deepen our understanding of the role of cognitive processes in individual variation in migratory behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan M Baert
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, Antwerp, Belgium
- Department of Biology, Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Eric W M Stienen
- Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Frederick Verbruggen
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Nico Van de Weghe
- Department of Geography, CartoGIS Unit, Ghent University, Krijgslaan, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Luc Lens
- Department of Biology, Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Wendt Müller
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, Antwerp, Belgium
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10
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Gupte PR, Beardsworth CE, Spiegel O, Lourie E, Toledo S, Nathan R, Bijleveld AI. A guide to pre-processing high-throughput animal tracking data. J Anim Ecol 2021; 91:287-307. [PMID: 34657296 PMCID: PMC9299236 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Modern, high‐throughput animal tracking increasingly yields ‘big data’ at very fine temporal scales. At these scales, location error can exceed the animal's step size, leading to mis‐estimation of behaviours inferred from movement. ‘Cleaning’ the data to reduce location errors is one of the main ways to deal with position uncertainty. Although data cleaning is widely recommended, inclusive, uniform guidance on this crucial step, and on how to organise the cleaning of massive datasets, is relatively scarce. A pipeline for cleaning massive high‐throughput datasets must balance ease of use and computationally efficiency, in which location errors are rejected while preserving valid animal movements. Another useful feature of a pre‐processing pipeline is efficiently segmenting and clustering location data for statistical methods while also being scalable to large datasets and robust to imperfect sampling. Manual methods being prohibitively time‐consuming, and to boost reproducibility, pre‐processing pipelines must be automated. We provide guidance on building pipelines for pre‐processing high‐throughput animal tracking data to prepare it for subsequent analyses. We apply our proposed pipeline to simulated movement data with location errors, and also show how large volumes of cleaned data can be transformed into biologically meaningful ‘residence patches’, for exploratory inference on animal space use. We use tracking data from the Wadden Sea ATLAS system (WATLAS) to show how pre‐processing improves its quality, and to verify the usefulness of the residence patch method. Finally, with tracks from Egyptian fruit bats Rousettus aegyptiacus, we demonstrate the pre‐processing pipeline and residence patch method in a fully worked out example. To help with fast implementation of standardised methods, we developed the R package atlastools, which we also introduce here. Our pre‐processing pipeline and atlastools can be used with any high‐throughput animal movement data in which the high data‐volume combined with knowledge of the tracked individuals' movement capacity can be used to reduce location errors. atlastools is easy to use for beginners while providing a template for further development. The common use of simple yet robust pre‐processing steps promotes standardised methods in the field of movement ecology and leads to better inferences from data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pratik Rajan Gupte
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.,Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, The Netherlands
| | - Christine E Beardsworth
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, The Netherlands
| | - Orr Spiegel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.,Minerva Center for Movement Ecology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Emmanuel Lourie
- Minerva Center for Movement Ecology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.,Movement Ecology Lab, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Sivan Toledo
- Minerva Center for Movement Ecology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.,Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ran Nathan
- Minerva Center for Movement Ecology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.,Movement Ecology Lab, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Allert I Bijleveld
- Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, The Netherlands
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11
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Wave-like Patterns of Plant Phenology Determine Ungulate Movement Tactics. Curr Biol 2020; 30:3444-3449.e4. [PMID: 32619482 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Revised: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Animals exhibit a diversity of movement tactics [1]. Tracking resources that change across space and time is predicted to be a fundamental driver of animal movement [2]. For example, some migratory ungulates (i.e., hooved mammals) closely track the progression of highly nutritious plant green-up, a phenomenon called "green-wave surfing" [3-5]. Yet general principles describing how the dynamic nature of resources determine movement tactics are lacking [6]. We tested an emerging theory that predicts surfing and the existence of migratory behavior will be favored in environments where green-up is fleeting and moves sequentially across large landscapes (i.e., wave-like green-up) [7]. Landscapes exhibiting wave-like patterns of green-up facilitated surfing and explained the existence of migratory behavior across 61 populations of four ungulate species on two continents (n = 1,696 individuals). At the species level, foraging benefits were equivalent between tactics, suggesting that each movement tactic is fine-tuned to local patterns of plant phenology. For decades, ecologists have sought to understand how animals move to select habitat, commonly defining habitat as a set of static patches [8, 9]. Our findings indicate that animal movement tactics emerge as a function of the flux of resources across space and time, underscoring the need to redefine habitat to include its dynamic attributes. As global habitats continue to be modified by anthropogenic disturbance and climate change [10], our synthesis provides a generalizable framework to understand how animal movement will be influenced by altered patterns of resource phenology.
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12
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Mu T, Wilcove DS. Upper tidal flats are disproportionately important for the conservation of migratory shorebirds. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200278. [PMID: 32486983 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0278rspb20200278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Migratory animals play vital ecological roles in ecosystems worldwide, yet many species are threatened by human activities. Understanding the detailed patterns of habitat use throughout the migration cycle is critical to developing effective conservation strategies for these species. Migratory shorebirds undertake some of the longest known migrations, but they are also declining precipitously worldwide. To better understand the dynamics of shorebird declines along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, we quantified the spatiotemporal foraging distribution of 17 migratory shorebirds at two critical stopover sites. We found that shorebirds exhibit substantial interspecific and site-specific differences in their foraging distributions. Notwithstanding these differences, however, the upper tidal flats appear to be especially important to most shorebirds by providing more than 70% of the birds' cumulative foraging time, twofold greater than their proportional area. Because the upper tidal flats are also more prone to coastal development, our findings may help to explain why shorebird populations along the flyway have declined much faster than the overall rate of tidal flat loss. Our work highlights the importance of protecting upper tidal flats to conserve migratory shorebirds and demonstrates the value of a detailed ecological understanding of habitat usage by migratory animals for conservation planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Mu
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - David S Wilcove
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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13
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Mu T, Wilcove DS. Upper tidal flats are disproportionately important for the conservation of migratory shorebirds. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200278. [PMID: 32486983 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Migratory animals play vital ecological roles in ecosystems worldwide, yet many species are threatened by human activities. Understanding the detailed patterns of habitat use throughout the migration cycle is critical to developing effective conservation strategies for these species. Migratory shorebirds undertake some of the longest known migrations, but they are also declining precipitously worldwide. To better understand the dynamics of shorebird declines along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, we quantified the spatiotemporal foraging distribution of 17 migratory shorebirds at two critical stopover sites. We found that shorebirds exhibit substantial interspecific and site-specific differences in their foraging distributions. Notwithstanding these differences, however, the upper tidal flats appear to be especially important to most shorebirds by providing more than 70% of the birds' cumulative foraging time, twofold greater than their proportional area. Because the upper tidal flats are also more prone to coastal development, our findings may help to explain why shorebird populations along the flyway have declined much faster than the overall rate of tidal flat loss. Our work highlights the importance of protecting upper tidal flats to conserve migratory shorebirds and demonstrates the value of a detailed ecological understanding of habitat usage by migratory animals for conservation planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Mu
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - David S Wilcove
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.,Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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14
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Shimada T, Limpus CJ, Hamann M, Bell I, Esteban N, Groom R, Hays GC. Fidelity to foraging sites after long migrations. J Anim Ecol 2019; 89:1008-1016. [PMID: 31785174 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2019] [Accepted: 10/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Patterns of animal movement associated with foraging lie at the heart of many ecological studies and often animals face decisions of staying in an environment they know versus relocating to new sites. The lack of knowledge of new foraging sites means there is risk associated with a decision to relocate (e.g. poor foraging) as well as a potential benefit (e.g. improved foraging). Using a unique long-term satellite tracking dataset for several sea turtle species, combined with capture-mark-recapture data extending over 50 years, we show how, across species, individuals generally maintain tight fidelity to specific foraging sites after extended (up to almost 10,000 km) migration to and from distant breeding sites as well as across many decades. Migrating individuals often travelled through suitable foraging areas en route to their 'home' site and so extended their journeys to maintain foraging site fidelity. We explore the likely mechanistic underpinnings of this trait, which is also seen in some migrating birds, and suggest that individuals will forgo areas of suitable forage encountered en route during migration when they have poor knowledge of the long-term suitability of those sites, making relocation to those sites risky.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Shimada
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, Australia.,Australian Institute of Marine Science, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Colin J Limpus
- Threatened Species Unit, Department of Environment and Science, Queensland Government, Brisbane, Qld, Australia
| | - Mark Hamann
- College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld, Australia
| | - Ian Bell
- Threatened Species Unit, Department of Environment and Science, Queensland Government, Brisbane, Qld, Australia
| | - Nicole Esteban
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Rachel Groom
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Northern Territory Government of Australia, Palmerston, NT, Australia
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15
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Oudman T, Piersma T, Ahmedou Salem MV, Feis ME, Dekinga A, Holthuijsen S, ten Horn J, van Gils JA, Bijleveld AI. Erratum: Publisher Correction: Resource landscapes explain contrasting patterns of aggregation and site fidelity by red knots at two wintering sites. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2019; 7:5. [PMID: 30834127 PMCID: PMC6385434 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-019-0151-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 12/20/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s40462-018-0142-4.].
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Oudman
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9TF UK
| | - Theunis Piersma
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
- Rudi Drent Chair in Global Flyway Ecology, Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Mohamed V. Ahmedou Salem
- EBIOME Ecobiologie Marine et Environnement, Département de Biologie, L’université de Nouakchott Al-Aasriya, BP 880 Nouakchott, Mauritania
| | - Marieke E. Feis
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
- Present Address: Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Laboratoire Adaptation et Diversité en Milieu Marin, UMR 7144, CS90074, 29688 Roscoff Cedex, France
| | - Anne Dekinga
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
| | - Sander Holthuijsen
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
| | - Job ten Horn
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
| | - Jan A. van Gils
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
| | - Allert I. Bijleveld
- NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems, and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel The Netherlands
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