Breeding performance, mate fidelity, and nest site fidelity in a long-lived seabird: behaving against the current?

• Published in: Oikos 2006-11, Vol.115 (2), p.263-276
• Main Authors: C. Naves, Liliana, Yves Monnat, Jean, Cam, Emmanuelle
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal behavior; Animal biology; Animal reproduction; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Autoecology; Aves; Aviculture; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Birds; Breeding; Breeding sites; Ecology, environment; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Habitat selection; Habitats; Life Sciences; Marine; Mating behavior; Nesting sites; Probability; Productivity; Reproductive success; Rissa tridactyla; Sea birds; Vertebrata; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution
• ISSN: 0030-1299; 1600-0706
• DOI: 10.1111/j.2006.0030-1299.14883.x

There is evidence that breeding failure is associated with divorce and dispersal in many bird species. However, deviations from the general pattern "success-stay/failure-leave" seem to be common, suggesting that factors other than breeding performance may importantly influence mate and habitat selection. Moreover, variability in response to performance suggests coexistence of different evolutionary strategies of mate and site selection within a population. In this study, we assessed how individuals conform to the success-stay/failure-leave pattern in kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), and aimed to identify categories of individuals presenting different behavioural patterns. We considered individual attributes (experience, prior residence at the nest site, performance in multiple breeding attempts), pair attributes (arrival asynchrony, timing of failure, pair duration), and productivity in habitat patches. Timing of failure was an important factor. Pair reunion probability was close to 0.5 in failed pairs, but it was consistently higher in early failed than in late failed pairs. Prior residence better explained variability in probability of reunion in failed pairs than pair duration. However, the positive influence of prior residence on the probability of reunion was perceptible only in early failed pairs. Divorce probability in successful pairs increased with arrival asynchrony, and was higher in first-time than in experienced breeders. Local productivity positively influenced site fidelity probability in early failed birds, but not in late failed ones. Using memory models, we found that dispersal decisions integrate information on individual breeding performance in a temporal scale longer than one year. This study contributed to the identification of relevant states to be considered when addressing mate and nest site choice. Natural selection may operate on slight fitness differences that cannot be detected without high levels of stratification according to the appropriate individual and habitat attributes.