Taking a trip to the shelf: behavioural decisions are mediated by the proximity to foraging habitats in the black-legged kittiwake

1. For marine top predators like seabirds, the oceans represent a multitude of habitats regarding oceanographic conditions and food availability. Worldwide, these habitats are undergoing alterations due to changes in climate and increased anthropogenic impact. This is causing a growing concern on how seabird populations might adapt to these changes. 2. Understanding how seabird populations respond to fluctuating environmental conditions and to what extent behavioural flexibility can buffer variations in food availability, can help predict how seabirds may cope with changes in the marine environment. Such knowledge is important to implement proper long-term conservation measures intended to protect marine predators. 3. We explored behavioural flexibility in choice of foraging habitat of chick-rearing black-legged kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla during multiple years. By comparing foraging behaviour of individuals from two colonies with large differences in oceanographic conditions and distan...

1. 对于海鸟等海洋顶级捕食者而言，海洋在海洋学条件与食物可获得性层面涵盖了多样的栖息生境。全球范围内，此类栖息生境正因气候变化与日益加剧的人为活动干扰而发生改变，这使得学界愈发担忧海鸟种群将如何适应这些环境变化。2. 明晰海鸟种群如何响应波动的环境条件，以及行为可塑性可在多大程度上缓冲食物可获得性的变化，有助于预测海鸟应对海洋环境改变的潜在路径。此类研究成果对于制定合理的长期保护措施以保护海洋捕食者而言至关重要。3. 本研究针对多年间育雏阶段的黑腿三趾鸥（Rissa tridactyla）的觅食栖息地选择行为可塑性展开了探究。通过对比两个海洋学条件与距离（原文此处文本截断）差异显著的繁殖种群个体的觅食行为……