Tools
Tools
Patrick, Samantha C and Weimerskirch, H (2014) Consistency pays: sex differences and fitness consequences of behavioural specialization in a wide-ranging seabird. Biology Letters, 10 (10). pp. 1-4. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0630
|
Text
Consistency pays.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License All Rights Reserved. Download (109kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Specialists and generalists often coexist within a single population, but the biological drivers of individual strategies are not fully resolved. When sexes differ in their foraging strategy, this can lead them to different environmental conditions and stability across their habitat range. As such, sexual segregation, combined with dominance, may lead to varying levels of specialization between the sexes. Here, we examine spatial and temporal niche width (intraindividual variability in aspects of foraging behaviour) of male and female black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophrys), and its consequences for fitness. We show that females, where maximum foraging range is under fluctuating selection, exhibit more variable behaviours and appear more generalist than males, who are under directional selection to forage close to the colony. However within each sex, successful birds had a much narrower niche width across most behaviours, suggesting some specialization is adaptive in both sexes. These results demonstrate that while there are sex differences in niche width, the fitness benefit of specialization in spatial distribution is strong in this wide-ranging seabird.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Article Type: | Article |
| Additional Information: | Full text freely available from the publisher link above |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Intraindividual variability, Seabirds, Foraging, Niche width, Generalist |
| Related URLs: | |
| Subjects: | Q Science > QL Zoology > QL605 Chordates. Vertebrates > QL671-699 Birds |
| Divisions: | Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education and Science |
| Research Priority Areas: | Place, Environment and Community |
| Depositing User: | Susan Turner |
| Date Deposited: | 23 May 2016 15:48 |
| Last Modified: | 31 Aug 2023 08:58 |
| URI: | https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/3533 |
University Staff: Request a correction | Repository Editors: Update this record
