Reproductive success is driven by local site fidelity despite stronger specialisation by individuals for large scale habitat preference

1. There is widespread evidence that within populations, specialists and generalists can coexist and this is particularly prevalent in marine ecosystems, where foraging specialisations are evident.
2. While individuals may limit niche overlap by consistently foraging in specific areas, site fidelity may also emerge as an artefact of habitat choice but both drivers and fitness consequences of site fidelity are poorly understood.
3. Here we examine an individual metric of site and habitat fidelity, using tracking data collected over 11 years for black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophris). Fidelity was calculated as the similarity between pairs of foraging zones, quantifying measures for within and between years. Foraging areas were identified using area restricted search, defined as periods during which birds decrease speed and increase turning.
4. Our results demonstrate that birds were considerably more specialised in the habitat in which they forage than the exact location ...