High frequency of prospecting for informed dispersal and colonisation in a social species at large spatial scale.

ABSTRACT: Animals explore and prospect space searching for resources and individuals may disperse, targeting suitable patches to increase fitness. Nevertheless, dispersal is costly because it implies leaving the patch where the individual has gathered information and reduced uncertainty. In social species, information gathered during the prospection process for deciding whether and where to disperse is not only personal but also public, i.e. conspecific density and breeding performance. In empty patches, public information is not available and dispersal for colonisation would be more challenging. Here we study the prospecting in a metapopulation of colonial Audouin's gulls using PTT platform terminal transmitters tagging for up to 4 years and GPS tagging during the incubation period. A large percent

SUBMITTER: Oro D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8505276 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature