Presentation Details
| A landscape approach for quantifying the ecological causes and consequences of Common Tern aggression Kay Garlick-Ott1, 2, Justine A.Smith1, Donald E.Lyons2, 3, Gail Patricelli1, Elisha M.Hull1. 1University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA.2National Audubon Society Seabird Institute, Bremen, Maine, USA.3Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA |
Abstract
For social animals, feedback between individual behavior and the emergent social environment it creates is an important yet often overlooked phenomenon. To address this, researchers must examine behavior across social and spatial scales. Here, we introduce a spatially explicit method for investigating the causes and consequences of intraspecific aggression in Common Terns (Sterna hirundo), which use this behavior to maintain cohesion and guard resources at their breeding colonies. Our method combines continuous behavioral observation with kernel density estimation to create a smoothed aggression surface, or aggression landscape. We confirm the presence of an emergent social environment in which behaviors cluster at distances of up to four meters, quadruple the median nearest neighbor distance in the subcolony. Aggression exhibits a strong non-linear response to date, peaking early as chicks hatch and later when they fledge. Spatial patterns in aggression also vary over time, increasing on the subcolony outskirts during incubation and at the center when hatch begins. We conclude with recommendations for managing the social environment of threatened species, informed by our approach.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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