Bertrand, Philip 
ORCID: 0000-0003-4519-6556, Bêty, Joël ORCID: 0000-0002-8775-6411, Yoccoz, Nigel Gilles ORCID: 0000-0003-2192-1039, Vihtakari, Mikko ORCID: 0000-0003-0371-4319, Elliott, Kyle ORCID: 0000-0002-4313-0345, Harris, Stephanie M ORCID: 0000-0002-8580-9444, Patrick, Samantha C ORCID: 0000-0003-4498-944X, Strøm, Hallvard ORCID: 0000-0002-4823-0409, Steen, Harald ORCID: 0000-0001-6965-0472 and Descamps, Sébastien ORCID: 0000-0003-0590-9013
(2025)
Interannual variation in foraging decisions in chick-rearing black-legged kittiwakes.
Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology, 36 (4).
araf018-.
ISSN 1045-2249, 1465-7279
Abstract
Long-lived species must balance allocation between reproduction and self-maintenance, and such a trade-off is expected to affect their foraging behavior. A bimodal foraging strategy, where individuals alternate between long trips for self-maintenance and short trips for offspring provisioning, may reflect this compromise. Using tracking data collected over three breeding seasons, we investigated the occurrence of a bimodal foraging strategy and inter-annual variation in foraging decisions among black-legged kittiwakes (<i>Rissa tridactyla</i>) breeding in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Kongsfjorden, a glacial fjord with six tidewater glacier fronts, provides close foraging opportunities to breeding sites. The continental shelf break outside the fjord offers another foraging area but involves higher commuting costs. We tested the hypothesis that breeding adults perform foraging trips outside the fjord for self-maintenance. We predicted that (1) adults were more likely to undertake foraging trips outside the fjord when their body condition was low and that (2) individuals foraging outside the fjord were likelier to improve their body condition than those foraging within. Our results indicate that kittiwakes in Kongsfjorden may adopt a bimodal foraging strategy during chick-rearing, but not every year. Contrary to our first prediction, we found no evidence that adult body condition affected the probability of foraging at distant sites. However, adults were more likely to maintain or improve body condition during outside-fjord foraging trips, supporting the hypothesis that long-distance trips can be used for self-maintenance. Overall, our results suggest that bimodal foraging is not a fixed characteristic of kittiwake foraging behavior and may be influenced by environmental conditions.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Arctic, Rissa tridactyla, bimodal foraging strategy, biologging, central place foraging, foraging decisions |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Science and Engineering Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Environmental Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Aug 2025 14:51 |
| Last Modified: | 16 Aug 2025 01:50 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/beheco/araf018 |
| Open Access URL: | https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/36/4/araf0... |
| Related Websites: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3194049 |
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