Sex promotes spatial and dietary segregation in a migratory shorebird during the non-breeding season.

ABSTRACT: Several expressions of sexual segregation have been described in animals, especially in those exhibiting conspicuous dimorphism. Outside the breeding season, segregation has been mostly attributed to size or age-mediated dominance or to trophic niche divergence. Regardless of the recognized implications for population dynamics, the ecological causes and consequences of sexual segregation are still poorly understood. We investigate the foraging habits of a shorebird showing reversed sexual dimorphism, the black-tailed godwit Limosa limosa, during the winter season, and found extensive segregation between sexes in spatial distribution, microhabitat use and dietary composition. Males and females exhibited high site-fidelity but differed in their distributions at estuary-scale. Male godwits (s

SUBMITTER: Catry T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3316497 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature