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Multi-scale foraging variability in Northern gannet (Morus bassanus) fuels potential foraging plasticity

Marine Biology volume 159, pages 2743–2756 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

The survival of marine predators depends on behavioural plasticity to cope with changes in prey distribution. Variability in behaviour might predict plasticity and is easier to assess than plasticity. Using miniaturized GPS loggers over several breeding seasons in two Norwegian Northern gannet (Morus bassanus) colonies, we investigated if and how the variability within and between individuals, but also between colonies and years, affected foraging strategies. Results revealed strong individual variability (foraging trip durations, foraging effort and different foraging areas). Individuals from both colonies showed preferred commuting routes, flight bearings and feeding hotspots. Individuals from the largest colony used larger and more foraging areas than individuals from the small colony. Feeding hotspots and foraging ranges varied amongst years in the largest colony only. Our study demonstrated that gannets show flexibility by changing prey fields that are driven by shifting oceanographic conditions.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the SEAPOP program (financed by the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and the Norwegian Oil Industry Association), the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management, and Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique. We warmly thank Sigbjørn Johnsen and Bjørn Dag Jenssen and his family for their logistical help in the field and Cyril Bernard at Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive Montpellier for his precious GIS help. We acknowledge Lorien Pichegru and Jérome Fort and the two reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5175, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Emeline Pettex, David Grémillet, Olivier Gimenez, Jean-Baptiste Pons & Francesco Bonadonna

  2. Centre de Recherche sur les Ecosystèmes d’Altitude, Observatoire du Mont-Blanc, 67 lacets du Belvédère, 74400, Chamonix, France

    Emeline Pettex

  3. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, 7485, Trondheim, Norway

    Svein-Håkon Lorentsen

  4. FitzPatrick Institute, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa

    David Grémillet

  5. Department of Natural Sciences, Tromsø University Museum, 9037, Tromsø, Norway

    Robert T. Barrett

  6. Société d’Echantillonnage et d’Ingénierie Scientifique en Environnement, Le Bourg, 29259, Ile Molène, France

    Jean-Baptiste Pons

  7. Department of Biology, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066, 0316, Blindern, Oslo, Norway

    Céline Le Bohec

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  1. Emeline Pettex
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  2. Svein-Håkon Lorentsen
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  3. David Grémillet
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  4. Olivier Gimenez
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  5. Robert T. Barrett
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  7. Céline Le Bohec
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  8. Francesco Bonadonna
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Correspondence to Emeline Pettex.

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Communicated by S. Garthe.

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Pettex, E., Lorentsen, SH., Grémillet, D. et al. Multi-scale foraging variability in Northern gannet (Morus bassanus) fuels potential foraging plasticity. Mar Biol 159, 2743–2756 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-2035-1

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Keywords

  • Flight Speed
  • Minimum Convex Polygon
  • Gentoo Penguin
  • Trip Duration
  • Total Path Length