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7 results for “foraging specialisation”
Data from: Specialisation reduces foraging effort and improves breeding performance in a generalist bird
While competition is generally presumed to promote intraspecific niche diversification, populations of many apparent generalist species still exhibit considerable individual variation in foraging specialisation. This suggests that different cost-benefit trade-offs may underlie individual variation in foraging specialisation. Indeed, while specialisation may improve foraging efficiency by a better knowledge of the spatio-temporal availability of resources, individuals may also become more vulnerable to fluctuations in these resources. In this study, we used multi-year GPS tracking data of 19 Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) breeding along the Belgian coast to assess whether foraging effort and reproductive success varied among different levels of foraging specialisation. First, we quantified spatial and habitat specialisation during incubation and chick-rearing for 31 individual breeding cycles during which birds raised young until the age of 21 days. Next, we tested whether spatial and habitat specialisation were related to the daily distance covered (as a proxy for foraging effort), and to chick growth (as a proxy for reproductive success). We found that birds primarily varied in their extent of habitat specialisation. Habitat specialisation was associated with reduced daily distances covered and increased offspring growth rates, in particular the growth rate of the youngest chicks. Yet, positive effects of habitat specialisation on chick growth decreased at high levels of spatial specialisation. Our results thus demonstrate fitness benefits of foraging specialisation during our five-year study period, but also highlight the need for longer-term studies as environmental changes may cause benefits to vary throughout a lifetime.
Data from: Specialisation reduces foraging effort and improves breeding performance in a generalist bird
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Data from: Determinants of individual foraging specialisation in large marine vertebrates, the Antarctic and Subantarctic fur seals
1. The degree of individual specialization in resource use differs widely among wild populations where individuals range from fully generalized to highly specialized. This interindividual variation has profound implications in many ecological and evolutionary processes. A recent review proposed four main ecological causes of individual specialization: interspecific and intraspecific competition, ecological opportunity and predation. 2. Using the isotopic signature of subsampled whiskers, we investigated to what degree three of these factors (interspecific and intraspecific competition and ecological opportunity) affect the population niche width and the level of individual foraging specialization in two fur seal species, the Antarctic and subantarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella and Arctocephalus tropicalis), over several years. 3. Population niche width was greater when the two seal species bred in allopatry (low interspecific competition) than in sympatry or when seals bred in high-density stabilized colonies (high intraspecific competition). In agreement with the niche variation hypothesis (NVH), higher population niche width was associated with higher interindividual niche variation. However, in contrast to the NVH, all Antarctic females increased their niche width during the interbreeding period when they had potential access to a wider diversity of foraging grounds and associated prey (high ecological opportunities), suggesting they all dispersed to a similar productive area. 4. The degree of individual specialization varied among populations and within the annual cycle. Highest levels of interindividual variation were found in a context of lower interspecific or higher intraspecific competition. Contrasted results were found concerning the effect of ecological opportunity. Depending on seal species, females exhibited either a greater or lower degree of individual specialization during the interbreeding period, reflecting species-specific biological constraints during that period. 5. These results suggest a significant impact of ecological interactions on the population niche width and degree of individual specialization. Such variation at the individual level may be an important factor in the species plasticity with significant consequences on how it may respond to environmental variability.
Data from: Determinants of individual foraging specialisation in large marine vertebrates, the Antarctic and Subantarctic fur seals
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Generalised host-plant feeding can hide sterol specialised foraging behaviours in bee-plant interactions
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Host-plant selection is a key factor driving the ecology and evolution of insects. While the majority of phytophagous insects are highly host specific, generalist behaviour is quite widespread among bees and presumably involves physiological adaptations that remain largely unexplored. However floral visitation patterns suggest that generalist bees do not forage randomly on all available resources. While resource availability and accessibility as well as nectar composition have been widely explored, pollen chemistry could also have an impact on the range of suitable host-plants. This study focuses on particular pollen nutrients that cannot be synthesised de novo by insects but are key compounds of cell membranes and the precursor for moulting process: the sterols. We compared the sterol composition of pollen from the main host-plants of three generalist bees: <i>Anthophora plumipes</i>,<i>Colletes cunicularius</i>and <i>Osmia cornuta</i>, as well as one specialist bee <i>Andrena vaga</i>. We also analysed the sterols of their brood cell provisions, the tissues of larvae and non-emerged females to determine which sterols are used by the different species. Our results show that sterols are not used accordingly to foraging strategy: Both the specialist species <i>Andrena vaga</i>and the generalist species <i>Colletes cunicularius</i>might metabolise a rare C<sub>27</sub>sterol, while the two generalist species <i>Anthophora plumipes</i>and <i>Osmia</i><i>cornuta</i>might rather use a very common C<sub>28</sub>sterol. Our results suggest that shared sterolic compounds among plant species could facilitate the exploitation of multiple host-plants by <i>A. plumipes</i>and <i>O. cornuta</i>whereas the generalist <i>C. cunicularius</i>might be more constrained due to its physiological requirements of a more uncommon dietary sterol. Our findings suggest that a bee displaying a generalist foraging behaviour may sometimes hide a sterol-specialised species. This evidence challenges the hypothesis that all generalist free-living bee species are all able to develop on a wide range of different pollen types.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
Generalised host-plant feeding can hide sterol specialised foraging behaviours in bee-plant interactions
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Data from: Lifelong foraging and individual specialisation are influenced by temporal changes of resource availability
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