Journal Article

Sex differences in individual foraging site fidelity of Campbell albatross

Department of Fisheries and Wildlife [USA] ; Oregon State University (OSU), National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research [Auckland] (NIWA), Fayet, Annette L, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research [Wellington] (NIWA), Sztukowski, Lisa A, Votier, Stephen C, Knights, Antony M, Thompson, David R, Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Torres, Leigh G, Department of Zoology [Oxford, UK] ; University of Oxford, Cotton, Peter A, Weimerskirch, Henri, Sagar, Paul M, Marine Biology & Ecology Research Centre ; Plymouth University, Environment and Sustainability Institute [UK] ; University of Exeter

2018

Overview

Inter-individual variation in behavioural traits has important implications for evolutionary and ecological processes. Site fidelity, where individuals consistently use the same foraging site, is common among marine predators. Sex differences in foraging are also well studied in marine vertebrates, but the extent to which consistent inter-individual differences in foraging vary between the sexes is poorly known. Here we quantify the effects of sex on individual foraging site fidelity (IFSF), both within and between years, in chick brooding Campbell albatross (Thalassarche impavida). Using bird-borne Global Positioning System loggers, we calculated route fidelity (nearest neighbour distance), repeatability of site fidelity (terminal latitude and longitude), and foraging effort (total distance travelled and trip duration) during two to ten repeat trips. Overall, Campbell albatrosses showed a high degree of site fidelity. Birds travelled to similar sites not only within the same year, but also between two consecutive years, suggesting that the within-year consistency is not simply in response to short-term patches of food. Moreover, within the same year there were differences in terms of IFSF between the sexes. Females that foraged closer to the colony in neritic and shelf waters were more likely to follow similar routes on repeated foraging trips and were more consistent in their foraging effort than males. Males that foraged further offshore in pelagic waters had more repeatable foraging longitudes than females. Our study provides further evidence of the importance of IFSF among marine vertebrates. However, it also reveals that the strength of such specialisations may vary with sex.

• Publisher: Inter Research,CCSD,Inter-Research,Inter-Research Science Center
• Subject: Animal behavior / Birds / Distance / Duration / Environmental Sciences / Females / Forage / Foraging / Gender aspects / Gender differences / Global positioning systems / GPS / Habitat selection / Males / Offshore / Positioning systems / Predators / Seabirds / Sex / Sex differences / Site fidelity / Vertebrates