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Dispersal strategies, few dominating or many coexisting: the effect of environmental spatial structure and multiple sources of mortality.

ABSTRACT: Interspecific competition, life history traits, environmental heterogeneity and spatial structure as well as disturbance are known to impact the successful dispersal strategies in metacommunities. However, studies on the direction of impact of those factors on dispersal have yielded contradictory results and often considered only few competing dispersal strategies at the same time. We used a unifying modeling approach to contrast the combined effects of species traits (adult survival, specialization), environmental heterogeneity and structure (spatial autocorrelation, habitat availability) and disturbance on the selected, maintained and coexisting dispersal strategies in heterogeneous metacommunities. Using a negative exponential dispersal kernel, we allowed for variation of both species dispersal distance and dispersal rate. We showed that strong disturbance promotes species with high dispersal abilities, while low local adult survival and habitat availability select against them. Spatial autocorrelation favors species with higher dispersal ability when adult survival and disturbance rate are low, and selects against them in the opposite situation. Interestingly, several dispersal strategies coexist when disturbance and adult survival act in opposition, as for example when strong disturbance regime favors species with high dispersal abilities while low adult survival selects species with low dispersal. Our results unify apparently contradictory previous results and demonstrate that spatial structure, disturbance and adult survival determine the success and diversity of coexisting dispersal strategies in competing metacommunities.

SUBMITTER: Buchi L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3321035 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Dispersal strategies, few dominating or many coexisting: the effect of environmental spatial structure and multiple sources of mortality.

Büchi Lucie L Vuilleumier Séverine S

PloS one 20120406 4

Interspecific competition, life history traits, environmental heterogeneity and spatial structure as well as disturbance are known to impact the successful dispersal strategies in metacommunities. However, studies on the direction of impact of those factors on dispersal have yielded contradictory results and often considered only few competing dispersal strategies at the same time. We used a unifying modeling approach to contrast the combined effects of species traits (adult survival, specializa ...[more]

PMID: 22493712

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Project description:BackgroundIn species with biparental care both members of the breeding pair cooperate to raise the offspring either by assisting each other in every reproductive task or by specializing in different ones. The latter case is known as reproductive role specialization. Raptors are considered one of the most role-specialized groups, but little is known about parental behavior away from the nest. Until the advent of biologgers, avian role specialization was traditionally studied with direct observations at the nest because of the difficulties of following and recording the behavior of free-ranging individuals. In this paper we analyze how the role specialization of the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) influences foraging movement patterns throughout the breeding season. We tracked 30 lesser kestrel breeders from two breeding colonies using high-frequency GPS-dataloggers during four consecutive breeding seasons.ResultsWe found no differences between sexes in lesser kestrel foraging movements early in the breeding season before the formation of the breeding pair. However, we observed sexually distinct foraging movement strategies later in the breeding season once breeding pairs were formed. Lesser kestrel males performed a large number of short foraging trips while females made a few long ones. This maximized the provisioning rate by males to feed their mates and offspring. Meanwhile, lesser kestrel females spent more time at the colony than males in order to defend the nest, incubate the eggs and brood the nestlings. Females also helped their mates to provision the nestling once these had grown and required more food and less protection. Furthermore, lesser kestrels showed a sexual spatial segregation in foraging areas, with males foraging closer to the colony than females.ConclusionsThe lesser kestrel responds to changes in energy demand throughout the breeding season with its foraging movement strategy, but in a different way depending on parental sex. The sexual spatial segregation observed is likely to be the result of an adaptive foraging strategy based on role specialization to reduce prey depletion close to the colony and intersexual competition in order to improve breeding success.

Dataset Information

Dispersal strategies, few dominating or many coexisting: the effect of environmental spatial structure and multiple sources of mortality.

Publications

Dispersal strategies, few dominating or many coexisting: the effect of environmental spatial structure and multiple sources of mortality.

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