Space partitioning without territoriality in gannets

Wakefield, E.D. et al. (2013) Space partitioning without territoriality in gannets. Science, 341(6141), pp. 68-70. (doi: 10.1126/science.1236077)

Abstract

Colonial breeding is widespread among animals. Some, such as eusocial insects, may use agonistic behavior to partition available foraging habitat into mutually exclusive territories; others, such as breeding seabirds, do not. We found that northern gannets, satellite-tracked from 12 neighboring colonies, nonetheless forage in largely mutually exclusive areas and that these colony-specific home ranges are determined by density-dependent competition. This segregation may be enhanced by individual-level public information transfer, leading to cultural evolution and divergence among colonies.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Wakefield, Dr Ewan
• Authors: Wakefield, E.D., Bodey, T.W., Bearhop, S., Blackburn, J., Colhoun, K., Davies, R., Dwyer, R.G., Green, J.A., Gremillet, D., Jackson, A.L., Jessopp, M.J., Kane, A., Langston, R.H.W., Lescroel, A., Murray, S., Le Nuz, M., Patrick, S.C., Peron, C., Soanes, L.M., Wanless, S., Votier, S.C., and Hamer, K.C.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Science
• ISSN: 0036-8075
• ISSN (Online): 1095-9203