Skuas at penguin carcass: patch use and state-dependent leaving decisions in a top-predator.

ABSTRACT: Foraging decisions depend not only on simple maximization of energy intake but also on parallel fitness-relevant activities that change the forager's 'state'. We characterized patch use and patch leaving rules of a top-predatory seabird, the Brown Skua (Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi), which during its reproductive period in the Antarctic establishes feeding territories in penguin colonies. In feeding trials, we observed how skuas foraged at penguin carcass patches and analysed patch leaving decisions by incorporating the estimated state of foraging birds and patch availability. Patches were exploited in a characteristic temporal pattern with exponentially decreasing remaining patch sizes (RPSs) and intake rates. Patch size decreased particularly fast in small compared to large patches an

SUBMITTER: Hahn S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1559825 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature