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Prey size of single‐prey loaders as an indicator of prey abundance
Author(s) -
Houston A.I.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1461-0248.2000.00110.x
Subject(s) - predation , abundance (ecology) , foraging , ecology , biology , fish <actinopterygii> , optimal foraging theory , fishery
In this paper I am concerned with the behaviour of seabirds that bring back just one prey item at a time to their young. I use a simple model from central place foraging theory to show that the size of fish that a parent bird brings back may increase or decrease with an increase in the abundance of fish. This means that it may not be possible to use the size of fish that is fed to the young as an indicator of prey abundance.