Nest defensibility decreases home-range size in central place foragers

TY - JOUR

T1 - Nest defensibility decreases home-range size in central place foragers

AU - Lameris, T.K.

AU - Brown, J.S.

AU - Kleyheeg, Erik

AU - Jansen, P.A.

AU - van Langevelde, F.

N1 - 6538, AnE; Data Archiving: no data, model study

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - Variation in the home-range size of nesting animals is thought to be driven by nutritional requirements, food availability, and predationrisk of the animals during foraging. Only few studies have considered that the risk of nest predation may also affect home-range sizebecause nests become more difficult to defend as animals move further away. We used a theoretical model to explore the combinedeffects of nest defensibility, nest predation risk, and food availability on foraging distance from the nest, and hence home-range size. Inour model, foragers adjust the foraging distance around the central place such that the required amount of food is collected within theavailable time with the lowest predation risk for the nest. We found that foraging distance decreased with food availability and the riskof nest predation during absence, but also with nest defensibility. When food was abundant, both nest predation risk and defensibilityhardly influenced foraging distance. When food was scarce, animals able to deter predators foraged close-by, whereas animals lessable to deter predators foraged further away. Likewise, animals that were themselves vulnerable to predation stayed closer to theirnest if the nest provided safety, as is typical for central place foragers. This study is the first to assess the importance of nest defenseand nest predation risk for foraging distance of central place foragers and provides a better understanding of the drivers of homerangesize

AB - Variation in the home-range size of nesting animals is thought to be driven by nutritional requirements, food availability, and predationrisk of the animals during foraging. Only few studies have considered that the risk of nest predation may also affect home-range sizebecause nests become more difficult to defend as animals move further away. We used a theoretical model to explore the combinedeffects of nest defensibility, nest predation risk, and food availability on foraging distance from the nest, and hence home-range size. Inour model, foragers adjust the foraging distance around the central place such that the required amount of food is collected within theavailable time with the lowest predation risk for the nest. We found that foraging distance decreased with food availability and the riskof nest predation during absence, but also with nest defensibility. When food was abundant, both nest predation risk and defensibilityhardly influenced foraging distance. When food was scarce, animals able to deter predators foraged close-by, whereas animals lessable to deter predators foraged further away. Likewise, animals that were themselves vulnerable to predation stayed closer to theirnest if the nest provided safety, as is typical for central place foragers. This study is the first to assess the importance of nest defenseand nest predation risk for foraging distance of central place foragers and provides a better understanding of the drivers of homerangesize

KW - international

U2 - 10.1093/beheco/ary077

DO - 10.1093/beheco/ary077

M3 - Article

SN - 1045-2249

VL - 29

SP - 1038

EP - 1045

JO - Behavioral Ecology

JF - Behavioral Ecology

IS - 5

M1 - ary077

ER -