Survival estimates strongly depend on capture-recapture designs in a disturbed environment inducing dispersal

Capture‐Recapture (CR) approaches are extensively used to estimate demographic parameters. Their robustness relies on the selection of suitable statistical models, but also on the sampling design and effort deployed in the field. In colonial or territorial species showing breeding site fidelity, recurrent local perturbations, such as predation‐induced breeding failure, may lead individuals to disperse locally or regionally. This might induce heterogeneity in individual CR histories and biases in demographic parameter estimates. Here, we assessed the effect of buffer areas and multi‐site designs on annual survival estimate accuracy and precision. First, using simulated data with and without a multi‐site design, we compared survival estimates for different scenarios involving contrasted local and regional dispersal. Then, using data from a local multi‐site long‐term monitoring survey carried out in a colony of black‐legged kittiwakes, we tested the homogeneity of individual CR histories a...