Geographical variation in the foraging behaviour of the pantropical red-footed booby

L Mendez,J Hennicke,A Prudor,P Borsa,J Lallemand,S Cruz,H Weimerskirch,S De Grissac

doi:10.3354/meps12052

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 568:217-230 (2017) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12052 Geographical variation in the foraging behaviour of the pantropical red-footed booby Loriane Mendez1,2,*, Philippe Borsa3, Sebastian Cruz4, Sophie de Grissac1,2, Janos Hennicke1,5, Joëlle Lallemand1, Aurélien Prudor1,2, Henri Weimerskirch1,2 1Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR7372 CNRS, Université de La Rochelle, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France 2UMR 9220 UR CNRS IRD ENTROPIE, Faculté des Sciences et Technologies, Université de la Réunion, 15 avenue René Cassin - CS 92003, 97744 Saint Denis Cedex 9, La Réunion 3UMR 250 UR CNRS IRD ENTROPIE, 101 Promenade Roger Laroque, 98848 Nouméa, Nouvelle-Calédonie 4Department of Migration and Immuno-ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany 5Department of Ecology and Conservation, Institute of Zoology, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany *Corresponding author: loriane.mendez@cebc.cnrs.fr ABSTRACT: While interspecific differences in foraging behaviour have attracted much attention, less is known about how foraging behaviour differs between populations of the same species. Here we compared the foraging strategy of a pantropical seabird, the red-footed booby Sula sula, in 5 populations breeding in contrasted environmental conditions. The foraging strategy strongly differed between sites, from strictly diurnal short trips in Europa Island (Mozambique channel) to long trips including up to 5 nights at sea in Genovesa Island (Galapagos archipelago). The Expectation Maximisation binary Clustering (EMbC) algorithm was used to determine the different behaviours of individuals during their foraging trips (travelling, intensive foraging, resting and relocating). During the day, the activity budget was similar for all the breeding colonies. During the night, birds were primarily on the water, drifting with currents. At all sites, birds similarly performed intensive foraging in zones of area-restricted search (ARS), although the size and duration of ARS zones differed markedly. Red-footed boobies foraged over deep oceanic waters, with chlorophyll a concentrations varying between sites. Birds did not appear to target areas with higher productivity. We suggest that range differences between populations may be linked to other factors such as intra- and interspecific competition. KEY WORDS: Sula sula · Tropical · GPS tracking · Area-restricted search · ARS · Chlorophyll a · Expectation Maximisation binary Clustering · EMbC Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Mendez L, Borsa P, Cruz S, de Grissac S and others (2017) Geographical variation in the foraging behaviour of the pantropical red-footed booby. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 568:217-230. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12052 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 568. Online publication date: March 24, 2017 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2017 Inter-Research.

Highlights

The concept of species-typical behaviour assumes that behavioural traits are common among all members of a species (Greenberg & Haraway 1998)
The Expectation Maximisation binary Clustering (EMbC) algorithm was used to determine the different behaviours of individuals during their foraging trips
Red-footed boobies foraged over deep oceanic waters, with chlorophyll a concentrations varying between sites

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The concept of species-typical behaviour assumes that behavioural traits are common among all members of a species (Greenberg & Haraway 1998). The RFB mainly feeds on flying fishes (Exocoetidae) and flying squids (Ommastrephidae) (Nelson 1978, Schreiber et al 1996) Since these prey occupy a low trophic position, the chlorophyll a concentration (a common proxy of the water productivity) could be an indicator of their spatial distribution. Ashmole (1963) described the potential consequences of intraspecific competition on the fitness of central-place foragers like seabirds He hypothesised that the more individuals a colony hosts, the more the surrounding waters can be locally depleted. Few studies have compared the foraging behaviour of a seabird species between different sites to better understand the factors affecting foraging strategies (e.g. Kappes et al 2011, Oppel et al 2015). The wide distribution of RFB populations provides the opportunity to examine the influence of contrasted biotic and abiotic conditions from different breeding sites on foraging behaviour. Knowing that the foraging strategy of the RFB varies substantially between the stages of the breeding cycle (Mendez et al 2016), we focused our study on the incubation period only

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RESULTS

Findings

DISCUSSION