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Using behavioural and state variables to identify proximate causes of population change in a seabird

  • Population Ecology
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Abstract

Changes in animal population size are driven by the interactions between intrinsic processes and extrinsic forces, and identifying the proximate mechanisms behind population change remains a fundamental question in ecology. Here we report on how measuring behavioural and state proxies of food availability among populations experiencing different growth rates can be used to rapidly identify proximate drivers of population trends. In recent decades, the Cape gannet Morus capensis has shown a major distributional shift with historically large colonies in Namibia decreasing rapidly, whilst numbers at South African colonies have increased, suggesting contrasting environmental conditions in the two regions. We compared per capita growth rates of five of the six extant colonies with foraging range (using miniaturised Global Positioning System loggers), foraging work rate, food delivery rates and body condition of breeding adults. We found significant associations between the rate of population change, individual behaviour, energetic gain and body condition that indicate that recent population changes are associated with extrinsic effects. This study shows that behavioural and state data can be used to identify important drivers of population change, and their cost-effectiveness ensures that they are an appealing option for measuring the health of animal populations in numerous situations.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by grants from the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour, the British Council, the UK Embassy Paris, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, the South African National Research Foundation and the University of Cape Town. The authors sincerely thank P. Bartlett, Y. Ropert-Coudert, B. Dundee, M. P. Harris, J. James, R. Jones, N. Uhongora and S. Wepener for their help with fieldwork and logistics. Thanks also to G. Peters and G. Dell’Omo for support with the loggers and to S. Albon, P. Becker, M. Frederiksen, S. Hatch, M. Marquiss, F. Mougeot, K. Peard, J-P. Roux, T. Sherratt and an anonymous referee for commenting on various drafts of this paper, and for very helpful discussions. The South African National Parks, Cape Nature Conservation and the Namibian Ministry of Fisheries & Marine Resources granted access to the islands and provided permission to attach loggers to the gannets.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, AB9 2TN, Aberdeen, UK

    Sue Lewis

  2. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Banchory, NERC, Hill of Brathens, AB31 4BW, Banchory, Aberdeenshire, UK

    Sue Lewis, Francis Daunt & Sarah Wanless

  3. Centre d’Ecologie et Physiologie Energétiques, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 23 rue Becquerel, 67087, Strasbourg Cedex 02, France

    David Grémillet

  4. DST/NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, 7701, Rondebosch, South Africa

    Peter G. Ryan

  5. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marine and Coastal Management, Private Bag X2, 8012, Rogge Bay, South Africa

    Robert J.M. Crawford

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  1. Sue Lewis
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  2. David Grémillet
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Correspondence to Sue Lewis.

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Communicated by Roland Brandl

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Lewis, S., Grémillet, D., Daunt, F. et al. Using behavioural and state variables to identify proximate causes of population change in a seabird. Oecologia 147, 606–614 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0321-z

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