The Effects of Spatially Heterogeneous Prey Distributions on Detection Patterns in Foraging Seabirds

摘要: Many attempts to relate animal foraging patterns landscape heterogeneity are focused on the analysis of foragers movements. Resource detection in space and time not commonly studied, yet they tightly coupled properties add relevant information behavior. By exploring simple models unpredictable environments we show that distribution intervals between detected prey (detection statistics) is mostly determined by spatial structure field essentially distinct from predator displacement statistics. Detections expected be Poissonian uniform random for markedly different movements (e.g. Levy ballistic). This prediction supported data diving events short-range seabirds such as thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia). However, statistics observed long-range wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) due fractal nature field, covering a wide range scales. For this scenario, fields induce non-Poissonian good agreement with two sets. We find specific shape mainly driven meso submeso-scale structures depends little forager strategy or behavioral responses.