Foraging Trips Research Articles

Assessing avian incubation behavior in response to environmental pollution with temperature-humidity loggers

The negative impact of environmental pollution on avian physiology and breeding success is well documented. However, pollution-related behavioral changes during reproduction remain underexplored, despite behavior often being one of the earliest indicators of environmental disturbances and having significant life-history consequences. For example, altered food availability in a polluted environment could potentially perturb the incubation behavior of income breeders. These birds typically alternate between staying in the nest and heating eggs (on-bout) and taking foraging trips (off-bout). In this two-year study (2020 and 2022), we investigated how the incubation behavior of an insectivorous passerine, the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca), varied with environmental pollution levels around a Cu-Ni smelter. Additionally, we compared two different metrics – temperature and humidity within the nest – to evaluate their use as indicators of incubation rhythm. We found that temperature- and humidity-based incubation rhythm parameters correlated, but those based on humidity matched better the true incubation behavior documented by simultaneous video recording. This was because the humidity curve showed a more immediate and intensive response to the female's incubation behavior. Birds in the polluted area took slightly more (11%) but shorter (11%) off-bouts, possibly reflecting smaller energetic constraints or better food availability in the polluted area. However, we found no difference in total incubation intensity between polluted and control areas, with F. hypoleuca females incubating their eggs 75% of the daytime in both environments. Hence, incubating females in the polluted area did not allocate more time for gathering their energy reserves than the birds in the control area, and there was also no difference in the hatching success. Our study is the first to use humidity variation to record incubation rhythm, and our results indicate that measuring humidity inside the nest is a promising technique to test and develop further. For example, further studies are needed to test if this method would work in different types of nests. From an environmental protection standpoint, our results also contribute valuable insights to the relatively limited information on pollution-related behavioral changes.

The Worker Flow at the Hive Entrance Predicts When Nest Cleaning is Intensified in Stingless Bees

Waste produced by living organisms is commonly disposed of as a prophylactic measure to avoid the spread of diseases and parasite infestation. For social insects, a proportion of workers is allocated to dispose the waste material outside the colony’s nest. However, most nests of social insects have a single entrance, where a high flow of individuals may create congestion, potentially compromising normal foraging activities and colony growth/health. Here, we investigated how two species of stingless bees (Tetragonisca fiebrigi and Plebeia droryana) deal with waste disposal and regular foraging activities, and the impacts of these activities on traffic flow at nest entrances. First, we compared the average traffic of bees assigned to waste removal activities. Following this, we investigated probabilities for waste removal as bee traffic increases. Then, we estimated a cutoff value to predict the likelihood that waste removal activities will be intensified over foraging trips. We found that, on average, the number of bees performing waste removal activities was lower than those undertaking foraging trips for both species. In addition, we observed that as overall bee traffic increases, the number of workers engaged in waste removal reduces or even ceases. Our models indicate that bee traffic of approximately 15 individuals/time is a cutoff score, below which, colonies invest in waste removal and above which, foraging trips are increased. It suggests that both species use the entrances of their colonies in an optimized way by adjusting which tasks should be intensified as the traffic of individuals increases.

Using telemetry data and the sea ice satellite record to identify vulnerabilities in critical moult habitat for emperor penguins in West Antarctica

AbstractWe tracked adult emperor penguins from Rothschild Island, west Antarctic Peninsula in 2015/2016 during a summer with extensive sea ice of long duration, contrasting with past years of reduced sea ice extent associated with the recent, rapid, warming trend across the region. We fitted ARGOS PTT devices to penguins of unknown breeding status. Of 33 penguins tracked, nine returned to the colony, presumably to provision offspring. Their foraging trips lasted 9.6 ± 3.7 days, with maximum distances of 75 ± 45 km from the colony within coastal waters. Also, 18 instruments transmitted until the initiation of the annual moult. Penguins travelled at ~ 2.3 km h−1 before slowing for moult. Post-moult, some devices continued to transmit, with speeds of ~ 0.8 km h−1, plausibly due to ice drift, which is rapid in this region. Penguins remained within the seasonal sea ice throughout, staying within 100 km of land, and generally within 5 to 10 km of features (open water, polynyas, leads, icebergs) that offered potential access to the ocean. Penguins were unlikely to have been constrained by the extensive sea ice habitat in 2015/2016. Similar habitats would also have been available in most years of the satellite record (since 1979); however, the moult locations in 2015/2016 would not have been available in many years, and penguins would have needed to find alternative moult locations during some years. Despite uncertainties, the moult period is a critical time for emperor penguins, particularly as sea ice declines, potentially affecting adult survival.

Quantifying the impact of crop coverings on honey bee orientation and foraging in sweet cherry orchards using RFID

AbstractAdvancements in agricultural production have seen the rapid adoption of protected cropping systems globally. Such systems have been optimized for plant growth and efficiency, with little understanding of the potential impacts to key insect pollinators. Here, we investigate the effect of bird netting and polythene rain covers on the health and performance of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) during the pollination of sweet cherry crops. Over two consecutive seasons, 12 full‐strength colonies were equipped with tagged bees and radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. The colonies were equally divided between open control, bird netted and polythene (semi‐permanent VOEN in 2019 and retractable Cravo in 2020) groups. Over 1300 individual bees were monitored for the duration of the commercial pollination period to determine behavioural parameters such as foraging commencement age, number and duration of trips and overall survival. Bees began foraging within the optimum age range (mean 15.7–24.1 days) under all covering types, with little indication of prolonged stress or increased mortality during the short season. Polythene covers (VOEN & Cravo) were found to significantly increase the total time needed for bees to orientate successfully. Once orientated, bees placed under covers conducted up to 155% more foraging trips, with a longer cumulative duration. Covering type was found to significantly impact the amount and type of pollen collected, with the most restrictive system (VOEN) yielding the highest proportion of cherry pollen. Overall, we found little evidence to suggest that the tested protective covers have a detrimental impact to honey bee foraging in cherry crops.

Wolves alter the trajectory of forests by shaping the central place foraging behaviour of an ecosystem engineer.

Predators can directly and indirectly alter the foraging behaviour of prey through direct predation and the risk of predation, and in doing so, initiate indirect effects that influence myriad species and ecological processes. We describe how wolves indirectly alter the trajectory of forests by constraining the distance that beavers, a central place forager and prolific ecosystem engineer, forage from water. Specifically, we demonstrate that wolves wait in ambush and kill beavers on longer feeding trails than would be expected based on the spatio-temporal availability of beavers. This pattern is driven by temporal dynamics of beaver foraging: beavers make more foraging trips and spend more time on land per trip on longer feeding trails that extend farther from water. As a result, beavers are more vulnerable on longer feeding trails than shorter ones. Wolf predation appears to be a selective evolutionary pressure propelled by consumptive and non-consumptive mechanisms that constrain the distance from water beavers forage, which in turn limits the area of forest around wetlands, lakes and rivers beavers alter through foraging. Thus, wolves appear intricately linked to boreal forest dynamics by shaping beaver foraging behaviour, a form of natural disturbance that alters the successional and ecological states of forests.

Music production and its role in coalition signaling during foraging contexts in a hunter-gatherer society.

Music is a cultural activity universally present in all human societies. Several hypotheses have been formulated to understand the possible origins of music and the reasons for its emergence. Here, we test two hypotheses: (1) the coalition signaling hypothesis which posits that music could have emerged as a tool to signal cooperative intent and signal strength of alliances and (2) music as a strategy to deter potential predators. In addition, we further explore the link between tactile cues and the propensity of mothers to sing toward infants. For this, we investigated the singing behaviors of hunter-gatherer mothers during daily foraging trips among the Mbendjele BaYaka in the Republic of the Congo. Although singing is a significant component of their daily activities, such as when walking in the forest or collecting food sources, studies on human music production in hunter-gatherer societies are mostly conducted during their ritual ceremonies. In this study, we collected foraging and singing behavioral data of mothers by using focal follows of five BaYaka women during their foraging trips in the forest. In accordance with our predictions for the coalition signaling hypothesis, women were more likely to sing when present in large groups, especially when group members were less familiar. However, predictions of the predation deterrence hypothesis were not supported as the interaction between group size and distance from the village did not have a significant effect on the likelihood of singing. The latter may be due to limited variation in predation risk in the foraging areas, because of the intense bush meat trade, and hence, future studies should include foraging areas with higher densities of wild animals. Lastly, we found that mothers were more likely to sing when they were carrying infants compared to when infants were close, but carried by others, supporting the prediction that touch plays an important prerequisite role in musical interaction between the mother and child. Our study provides important insight into the role of music as a tool in displaying the intent between or within groups to strengthen potentially conflict-free alliances during joint foraging activities.

Tracking the foraging migrations of Marion Island southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) during their first year of life

AbstractThe first year of life is critical for large mammals to acquire foraging and predator avoidance skills. Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) pups wean at approximately three weeks of age and depart on their first foraging trips in midsummer, typically remaining at sea for three to four months before returning to their natal islands. We describe the foraging trips (n = 29) of 16 underyearling southern elephant seals from sub‐Antarctic Marion Island and compare these with trips (n = 152) of 94 older seals from the same population. While subadults (prebreeding age) and adult females (breeding age) displayed directional travel, underyearlings traveled in multiple directions from the island with no evidence of repeatability of travel directions within or between individuals and years. Maiden trips took longer to complete than subsequent trips during the first year of life, but we found no evidence for significant changes in other track metrics between the first three foraging trips. The comparatively inconsistent movement patterns of underyearlings suggest that foraging strategies of individuals are influenced by their learning and/or success during the first year of life and that individual level consistency in successful foraging strategies only become apparent in subsequent years.

Stingless bee (Tetragonula carbonaria) foragers prioritise resin and reduce pollen foraging after hive splitting

Stingless bees are increasingly in demand as pollinators in agricultural crops within the tropics and subtropics. Hive splitting, where one strong managed hive is “split” into two independent daughter colonies, is commonly used to increase hive numbers. However, how splitting impacts foraging behaviour or the time taken for the colony to recover from splitting has not previously been studied. We assessed the impact of splitting on the foraging behaviour of Tetragonula carbonaria colonies. The number of returning forager trips and foraged proportions of pollen, nectar and resin was observed after splitting and compared with unsplit control hives over a 31-day period. We found the total amount of returning foragers in split hives reduced to less than a third of unsplit hives (unsplit median, 184–288; split median, 19–61) for 16 days, while returning nectar (unsplit median, 89–147; split median, 16–28) and pollen (unsplit median, 55–155; split median, 1–7) foragers reduced to less than a quarter of unsplit hives for 9 days following splitting. After 31 days, the number of total, nectar and pollen foraging trips had still not recovered to levels observed in unsplit hives. Resin foraging trips however were not significantly different to unsplit hives after only 10 days. The colony foraging allocation to resin (proportion) increased after splitting and was significantly higher in split hives until day 16 of the experiment (unsplit median, 0.03–0.05; split median, 0.10–0.16). Our results demonstrate that split colonies prioritise resin collection and foraging on floral resources is reduced. We recommend that hives should not be split within 31 days of being used for pollination, and resin sources should be conserved where possible and supplemented where necessary due the vital roles of the resource.

How do resource distribution and taxonomy affect the use of dual foraging in seabirds? A review.

In many seabird species, parents feeding young switch between short and long foraging excursions in a strategy known as "dual foraging." To investigate whether habitat quality near breeding colonies drives the use of dual foraging, we conducted a review of the seabird literature, compiling the results of 102 studies which identified dual-foraging in 50 species across nine families from all six seabird orders. We estimated the mean distance from the colony of each species' short and long foraging trips and obtained remote-sensed data on chlorophyll-a concentrations within the radius of both short and long trips around each colony. We then assessed, for each seabird family, the relationship between the use of dual foraging strategies and the difference in the quality of foraging locations between short- and long-distance foraging trips. We found that the probability of dual foraging grew with increasing differences in the quality of foraging locations available during short- and long-distance trips. We also found that when controlling for differences in habitat quality, albatrosses and penguins were less likely to use dual foraging than Procellariidae, which in turn were less likely to use dual foraging than Sulids. This study helps clarify how environmental conditions and taxon-specific characteristics influence seabird foraging behavior.

Commuters: a waterbird provides a new view of how species may utilize cities and wildlands

AbstractTraditional classifications of vertebrates’ responses to urbanization fail to capture the behaviour of those that rely on both urban and wildland resources for population persistence. Here, we use the wood stork (Mycteria americana), a species that makes daily foraging trips up to 74 km away from its nest, as an example of a previously unrecognized response to urbanization. We monitored nests and sampled diets at stork colonies in south Florida (USA) during 2014–2020 to investigate how storks use urban habitats. We found that urban development now comprises up to 51.6% of the land cover within the 30-km core foraging area surrounding colonies and that storks access alternative prey types within these urban areas. Our results also showed that urban-nesting storks outperformed wildland-nesting storks when the hydrological condition of the wetlands was suboptimal for foraging. Though storks still require healthy wetlands for population persistence, urban habitat benefitted storks when hydrological patterns were not ideal for prey production in wildlands. This ‘commuter’ response to urbanization, whereby individuals opt to utilize both urban and wildland resources within short time periods, may apply to other vertebrates with large home ranges.

Experimental reduction in blood oxygen-carrying capacity alters foraging behaviour in a colonial waterbird.

Oxidative metabolism is a key component of organismal physiology and it is primarily determined by aerobic capacity, which depends on the capacity of blood to carry oxygen. However, experimental manipulations of blood oxygen-carrying capacity are scarcely implemented to test ecophysiological hypotheses in vertebrate populations. Here we combined an experimental manipulation of blood oxygen-carrying capacity with GPS-tracking to test if suboptimal (reduced) haematological performance affects foraging behaviour in a colonial waterbird, the black-headed gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus. First, a validation of phenylhydrazine (PHZ) treatment in gulls revealed 9-18% reduction in haematocrit and blood haemoglobin concentration (via oxidative denaturation and haemolysis of erythrocytes). Then, GPS-tracking of experimental (PHZ-treated) and control (saline-treated) gulls during the incubation period provided no support for reduced or suspended engagement in energetically costly activities (long-distance foraging trips) by experimental birds. Instead, we found evidence for fine-scale alterations in foraging behaviour of PHZ-treated individuals, which resulted in fewer foraging trips per unit time, but trips that were longer in duration and in distance compared to control birds. This suggests reduced foraging performance of experimental birds (e.g. lower capacity to find and collect food during trips) or evasion of social competition, although no differences in the total investment in foraging may also suggest compensatory physiological responses to haemolytic anaemia. Our study contributes to better understanding of physio-ecological nexus in non-diving colonial avian species. At the same time, it should be subject to further investigation, if behavioural effects of reduced aerobic capacity may have any implications for gull condition and reproductive performance.

Multisensory navigation and neuronal plasticity in desert ants

Cataglyphis desert ants are skilled visual navigators. Here, I present a brief overview of multisensory learning and neuronal plasticity in ants, with a particular focus on the transition from the dark nest interior to performing first foraging trips. This highlights desert ants as experimental models for studying neuronal mechanisms underlying behavioral development into successful navigators.

Stay the course: maintenance of consistent orientation by commuting penguins both underwater and at the water surface

Many marine vertebrates traverse more than hundreds of kilometres of the ocean. To efficiently achieve such long-distance movements, the ability to maintain orientation in a three-dimensional space is essential; however, it remains unevaluated in most species. In this study, we examined the bearing distributions of penguins undertaking long-distance foraging trips and compared their bearing consistency between underwater and at the water surface, as well as between night and day, to quantify their orientation ability. The subject species, king penguins, Aptenodytes patagonicus, from Possession Island, Crozet archipelago (46°25′S, 51°45′E; January to March 2011), showed high bearing consistency both during dives and at the water surface whilst commuting towards/from their main foraging area, the Antarctic polar front. Their bearing consistency was particularly high during and after shallow dives, irrespective of the time of day. Meanwhile, their bearings tended to vary during and after deep dives, particularly in the middle of the trip, probably owing to underwater foraging movements. However, the overall directions of deep dives during the commuting phases were similar to those of shallow dives and post-dive periods at the water surface. These findings indicate that king penguins employ compass mechanism(s) that are equivalently reliable both underwater and at the water surface, at any time of the day. This orientation ability appears to enable them to achieve long-distance trips under strong temporal constraints. Further studies on the fine-scale bearing distributions of other diving vertebrates are needed to better understand movement strategies in marine environments.

Comparative nest attendance and chick provisioning strategies in coastal and desert nesting Grey Gulls (Leucophaeus modestus) in northern Chile

ABSTRACT Grey Gulls (Leucophaeus modestus) are unique among gulls in that they forage in the coast but breed up to 115 km inland in the barren Atacama Desert of northern Chile. By nesting in the desert, adults are limited to a single daily foraging trip to feed their chicks and relieve their incubating/brooding mates. Birds perform long-distance and energetically expensive trips between foraging and breeding grounds. We describe how Grey Gulls modify nest attendance and chick provisioning strategies from an unusual coastal colony established at Playa Brava, northern Chile, during the 2017–2018 season. Contrary to what it is usually observed in desert colonies, incubating, and brooding Grey Gulls at Playa Brava relieved mates at the nest regularly and fed chicks several times throughout the day. Some adults even left their chicks unattended at the nest to forage on the nearby shoreline (<0.15 km) for a variable amount of time (up to 57 min) before returning to resume brooding. These behaviours are likely to ease parental duties by allowing multiple pair changeovers, reduce energy expenditure by avoiding extensive trips between the desert and the coast, increase chick growth rates by allowing multiple meals during the day, among other advantages. Our observations show that, when moving their colonies from the desert to the coast, Grey Gulls accordingly adjust their breeding behaviour to cope with this new habitat.

Leafcutter ants adjust foraging behaviours when exposed to noise disturbance.

We investigate the impact of anthropogenic noise on the foraging efficiency of leafcutter ants (Acromyrmex octospinosus) in a controlled laboratory experiment. Anthropogenic noise is a widespread, pervasive and increasing environmental pollutant and its negative impacts on animal fitness and behaviour have been well documented. Much of this evidence has come from studies concerning vertebrate species with very little evidence for terrestrial invertebrates, especially social living invertebrates. We compare movement speed, forage fragment size, and colony activity levels of ants exposed to intermittent elevated noise and in ambient noise conditions. We use intermittent and temporally unpredictable bursts of white noise produced from a vibration speaker to create the elevated noise profile. Ant movement speed increased under elevated noise conditions when travelling to collect forage material and when returning to the colony nest. The size of individually measured foraged material was significantly reduced under elevated noise conditions. Colony activity, the number of ants moving along the forage route, was not affected by elevated noise and was consistent throughout the foraging events. Increased foraging speed and smaller forage fragments suggests that the ants had to make more foraging trips over an extended period, which is likely to affect energy expenditure and increases exposure to predators. This is likely to have significant fitness impacts for the colony over time.

Mutual mother-pup vocal recognition in the highly colonial Cape fur seal: evidence of discrimination of calls with a high acoustic similarity.

The Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) is one of the most colonial mammal species in the world. Females exclusively nurse their pups for 9 to 11months, during which they alternate frequent foraging trips at sea with suckling periods ashore. The survival of the pup thus depends on the ability of the mother-pup pair to relocate each other among thousands of individuals. Previous work has demonstrated identity information encoded in pup-attraction (PAC) and female-attraction (FAC) calls. Here, we investigated vocal recognition between mother and pup using playbacks of PAC and FAC performed during the breeding season at Pelican Point, Namibia. Both females and pups were able to specifically discriminate the voice of their pup or their mother from non-affiliated pup or mother. Females were able to memorize previous versions of their pup's calls (evidence of recognition up to 73days after pup's calls recording). Vocal recognition was demonstrated in pups from 1- to 13-weeks old age. Females and pups did not respond differently to the non-filial or non-mother (for pups) stimulus even if it had a strong acoustic similarity with the filial or mother stimulus. This suggested that Cape fur seal mother-pup pairs have high perceptual and cognitive abilities, allowing individuals to identify kin's vocalizations in a very noisy and confusing environment.

A new touchscreen for behavioural research on bees

AbstractFlying insects encounter a considerable amount of multisensorial information during their first foraging trip and need to extract and process relevant cues to efficiently navigate their environment and locate food sources. Previous studies used static stimuli to investigate visual information processing during flight and the role of floral features on detection, landing, and flower handling behaviours. However, bees come across visual information sequentially, while sampling the visual scene and presenting visual features that change after landing would allow further understanding of the chronological aspect of visual information processing. Here, we describe a new methodology that uses the ShadowSense™ Multitouch technology to present interactive floral displays where a change in visual features is triggered upon a bee's landing. Two colonies of flower naïve bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) were exposed to unicoloured and bicoloured unrewarded floral images in which floral guides in the form of dummy stamens were added, removed, or remained unchanged in the centre upon landing. Our findings confirm preference by flower‐naïve bumblebees for bicoloured flowers and corroborate that small central visual guides direct the place of landing. Therefore, we establish proof‐of‐concept of this new methodology for bee research by reproducing previously demonstrated behaviours and by reporting that bees react to a change in visual information on the touchscreen. To our knowledge, this is the first research providing a touchscreen technology that can reliably be used with bees. While its efficiency with similar‐sized insects is yet to be confirmed, this technology provides new approaches for research on visual information processing as well as various behaviours in insects.

Laysan albatross exhibit complex behavioral plasticity in the subtropical and subarctic North Pacific Ocean

Animals that regularly traverse habitat extremes between the subtropics and subarctic are expected to exhibit foraging behaviors that respond to changes in dynamic ocean habitats, and these behaviors may facilitate adaptations to novel and changing climates. During the chick-provisioning stage, Laysan albatrossPhoebastria immutabilisparents regularly undertake short- and long-distance foraging trips throughout the vast central North Pacific Ocean. We examined GPS tracking data among chick-provisioning albatrosses in Hawai‘i to characterize habitats during short- and long-distance trips. The study period encompassed a marine heatwave (2014) and the cooling period after an extreme El Niño event (2016), enabling us to examine foraging habitats under novel and changing climates. First passage time and generalized additive mixed models indicated that during 183 short and 110 long trips (n = 32 birds), wind-assisted flight efficiency, proximity to productive areas, and moonlit-searching were important in both subtropical and subarctic habitats. Laysan albatross took foraging trips that had similar lengths and durations in 2014 and 2016 and visited similar areas, indicating that their foraging range did not expand in response to climatic variability. A strategy that uses similar foraging areas across years combined with reliance on environmental processes that enhance flight efficiency (wind) and that enable searching behaviors (moonlight) indicate that Laysan albatross exhibit complex behavioral plasticity that allows them to utilize subtropical and subarctic habitats affected by dynamic climate variability. This strategy may benefit their ability to respond to oceanographic and climatic change, including expanding warm water regions and changing atmospheric conditions influenced by global warming.

Unexpectedly deep diving in an albatross

Albatrosses are the iconic aerial wanderers of the oceans, supremely adapted for long-distance dynamic soaring flight. Perhaps because of this they are considered poorly adapted for diving1, in contrast to many smaller shearwater and petrel relatives, despite having amphibious eyes2, and an a priori mass advantage for oxygen-storage tolerance3. Modern biologging studies have largely confirmed this view4,5, casting doubt on earlier observations using capillary tube maximum depth gauges1, which may exaggerate depths, and emphasising albatrosses' reliance on near-surface feeding. Nevertheless, uncertainty about albatross diving remains an important knowledge gap since bycatch in human fisheries (e.g. birds becoming hooked when diving for longline bait fish) is thought to be driving many population declines in this most threatened group of birds6. Here we show, using miniature electronic depth loggers (TDRs), that black-browed albatross, Thalassarche melanophris, can dive to much greater depths (19 m) and for much longer (52 s) than previously thought - three times the maxima previously recorded for this species (6 m and 15 s), and more than twice the maxima reliably recorded previously for any albatross (from 113.7 bird-days of tracking4,5,7). Further evidence that diving may be a significant behavioural adaptation in some albatrosses comes from co-deployed 3-axis accelerometers showing that these deeper dives, which occur in most individuals we tracked, involve active under-water propulsion without detectable initial assistance from momentum, sometimes with bottom phases typical of active prey pursuit. Furthermore, we find (from co-deployed GPS) that diving occurs primarily in the distal portions of long-distance foraging trips, with deeper dives occurring exclusively during daylight or civil twilight, confirming the importance of visual guidance.

Environmental drivers of foraging behaviour during long-distance foraging trips of male Antarctic fur seals

Animals may use long-distance foraging trips to capitalize on spatiotemporal variation in food availability, allowing individuals to maximize resource gain from foraging effort. This is particularly important for dimorphic species with polygynous mating where males face strong selection pressures to attain large size and access to reproductive females. We tracked 17 male Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella , during their prolonged postbreeding trips and assessed links between their movements and environmental predictors of profitable feeding areas. Males made one of two types of trips: a long trip to the Antarctic ice edge or shorter trips to areas where the southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current fronts generate high biological activity. The trip type was not determined by body size but was related to departure date from the breeding area, suggesting that males must trade off opportunities at the breeding area (reproductive, social interactions) and foraging opportunities between breeding seasons. Regardless of trip structure, males focused search effort far from foraging areas of central-place foraging seabirds and seals including female Antarctic fur seals provisioning offspring. Males showed clear spatiotemporal patterns in dive behaviour, with deep dives in shelf waters during the day and predominantly shallower dives in pelagic waters at night. Diel dive patterns showed monthly changes in photoperiod and lunar phase, consistent with feeding on vertically migrating prey. However, males did not use area-restricted search to focus dive effort, instead performing a mix of foraging and nonforaging behaviour within and between restricted search areas. We discuss the scale and type of inference that can be made from movement models, given the behavioural constraints that govern long-distance trips in vast, heterogeneous environments like the Southern Ocean. • Males made two types of long-distance trip, related to departure date not body size. • Foraging and nonforaging behaviour occurred throughout these trips. • Males foraged mostly away from breeding seals, in areas of high biological activity. • Diel dive behaviour aligned with changes in solar and lunar light.