Impact of spatial variation of a crucial prey, the molecricket, on hoopoe territory occupancy and reproduction

Direct benefits accrued from securing a territory of sufficient quality are important determinants of individual fitness and population persistence. Food supply is one of the main factors of animal territory quality, with spatial and temporal variation in prey availability largely dictating reproductive output and thus population dynamics. In a Swiss hoopoe population, molecrickets Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa, the most profitable prey locally, can constitute most of the food biomass delivered to chicks by parents. We first investigated the impact of molecricket prey on hoopoes' fitness-related traits by quantifying the spatial variation in the food allocation pattern of both male and female parents to chicks across the whole population range; and second, analysed the impact of this prey on current reproduction and, using a 11 yr dataset, on the temporal occupancy rate of each territory. We found considerable but spatially repeatable variation, over the years, of molecricket biomass in the d...