Title
Strong temporal consistency in the individual foraging behaviour of Imperial Shags Phalacrocorax atriceps
Date Issued
01 January 2014
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Publisher(s)
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Abstract
Individual consistency in foraging behaviour can generate behavioural variability within populations and may, ultimately, lead to species diversification. However, individual-based long-term behavioural studies are particularly scarce in seabird species. Between 2008 and 2011, breeding Imperial Shags Phalacrocorax atriceps at the Punta León colony, Argentina, were tracked with GPS devices to evaluate behavioural consistency during their foraging trips. Within a breeding season, individuals were highly consistent in the maximum distances they reached from the shore and the colony, as well as in the time invested in flight and diving across consecutive days during early chick rearing. In addition, each individual had its specific foraging area distinct from the foraging area of other individuals. Comparing between early and late chick rearing in the same season, individuals were consistent, to a lesser degree, in the maximum distance they reached from the colony and the shore, increasing in consistency later on in the season. Within the season, females were more consistent than males in the maximum distance they moved from the colony and the shore, the sexes segregated in their foraging areas and individual females were segregated from one another. Twenty-eight individuals tracked in different breeding seasons were marginally consistent in their trip durations and maximum distance reached from shore across seasons. Among seasons, foraging locations differed between sexes and among individual females. Individuals from this colony exhibited consistency over time in several aspects of foraging behaviour, which may be due to a combination of individual characteristics such as learning abilities, breeding experience or health, as well as targeted prey type and stability of the environment at this location. © 2014 British Ornithologists' Union.
Start page
523
End page
533
Volume
156
Issue
3
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Biología
Zoología, Ornitología, Entomología, ciencias biológicas del comportamiento
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84901999777
Source
Ibis
ISSN of the container
00191019
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus