Year of Publication
2018

Journal

Ecology Letters
Volume
21
Issue
7
Date Published
07-2018
Number of Pages
1043 - 1054
DOI
10.1111/ele.2018.21.issue-710.1111/ele.12970
URL
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/ele.12970
HCERES category
ACL - Articles in international or national peer-reviewed journals indexed by HCERES or in international databases
Abstract

Spatio‐temporally stable prey distributions coupled with individual foraging site fidelity are predicted to favour individual resource specialisation. Conversely, predators coping with dynamic prey distributions should diversify their individual diet and/or shift foraging areas to increase net intake. We studied individual specialisation in Scopoli's shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) from the highly dynamic Western Mediterranean, using daily prey distributions together with resource selection, site fidelity and trophic‐level analyses. As hypothesised, we found dietary diversification, low foraging site fidelity and almost no individual specialisation in resource selection. Crucially, shearwaters switched daily foraging tactics, selecting areas with contrasting prey of varying trophic levels. Overall, information use and plastic resource selection of individuals with reduced short‐term foraging site fidelity allow predators to overcome prey field lability. Our study is an essential step towards a better understanding of individual responses to enhanced environmental stochasticity driven by global changes, and of pathways favouring population persistence.