Abstract

Dispersal is a key life history trait impacting ecological and evolutionary processes. Yet, the fitness consequences of dispersal remain poorly investigated. Using a displacement experiment of 616 individuals in a patchy population of collared flycatchers, Ficedula albicollis, we investigated behavioural responses to forced movement in terms of settlement, subsequent breeding performance and return rate. Newly arrived birds were caught and displaced between patches or released back in the patch of capture. We analysed (1) the probability of successful settlement within the study area, (2) for displaced birds, the probability of accepting the forced movement rather than returning to the patch of capture, (3) components of reproductive performance and (4) return rate in subsequent years according to experimental treatment. The probability of settling within the study area tended to be lower for displaced than control birds and was lower for immigrants than local birds. This suggests that displacement induced long-distance dispersal movements or nonbreeding, which could reflect costs of unfamiliarity with the environment. Nondispersers (individuals caught early in the breeding season in the same patch as their previous one) were more likely to return to their patch of capture, probably because of higher benefits of familiarity. Once individuals had settled, their breeding performance did not vary markedly between treatments, although displaced individuals that did not return to their patch of capture raised lighter young than other individuals. This could indicate a lower phenotypic quality of these individuals or, again, a cost of breeding in an unfamiliar environment. Finally, individuals that settled (and non-dispersers) were more likely to return to the study area in subsequent years than individuals that disappeared (and immigrants/dispersers, respectively). Together, these results suggest that, in addition to the costs of transience, dispersal (here forced) may entail costs linked to settlement in an unfamiliar habitat. (C) 2017 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords

breeding decisions; collared flycatcher; dispersal consequences; familiarity; forced movement; return rate; settlement; translocation

Published in

Animal Behaviour
2017, Volume: 133, pages: 109-121
Publisher: ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

SLU Authors

• Pärt, Tomas

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Ecology


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.09.001

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/93253