Eccard, Jana

Liesenjohann, Monica

Liesenjohann, Thilo

Sundell, Janne Juhani

Trebaticka, Lenka

Ylönen, Hannu

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

PubMed

Thilo Liesenjohann

Monique Liesenjohann

Lenka Trebaticka

Janne Sundell

Marko Haapakoski

Hannu Ylönen

Jana A. Eccard

Crossref

State-dependent foraging: lactating voles adjust their foraging behavior according to the presence of a potential nest predator and season

Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto

State-dependent foraging : lactating voles adjust their foraging behavior according to the presence of a potential nest predator and season

Parental care often produces a trade-off between meeting nutritional demands of offspring and the duties of offspring protection, especially in altricial species. Parents have to leave their young unattended for foraging trips, during which nestlings are exposed to predators. We investigated how rodent mothers of altricial young respond to risk of nest predation in their foraging decisions. We studied foraging behavior of lactating bank voles (Myodes glareolus) exposed to a nest predator, the common shrew (Sorex araneus). We conducted the experiment in summer (high resource provisioning for both species) and autumn (less food available) in 12 replicates with fully crossed factors "shrew presence" and "season." We monitored use of feeding stations near and far from the nest as measurement of foraging activity and strategic foraging behavior. Vole mothers adapted their strategies to shrew presence and optimized their foraging behavior according to seasonal constraints, resulting in an interaction of treatment and season. In summer, shrew presence reduced food intake from feeding stations, while it enhanced intake in autumn. Shrew presence decreased the number of visited feeding stations in autumn and concentrated mother's foraging efforts to fewer stations. Independent of shrew presence or season, mothers foraged more in patches further away from the nest than near the nest. Results indicate that females are not investing in nest guarding but try to avoid the accumulation of olfactory cues near the nest leading a predator to the young. Additionally, our study shows how foraging strategies and nest attendance are influenced by seasonal food provision

Liesenjohann, Monique

Sundell, Janne

Haapakoski, Marko

Ylonen, Hannu

Eccard, Jana (Prof. Dr.)

publish.UP (Univ. Potsdam)

Parental care often produces a trade-off between
meeting nutritional demands of offspring and the duties of
offspring protection, especially in altricial species. Parents
have to leave their young unattended for foraging trips, during
which nestlings are exposed to predators. We investigated
how rodent mothers of altricial young respond to risk of nest
predation in their foraging decisions. We studied foraging behavior
of lactating bank voles (Myodes glareolus) exposed to
a nest predator, the common shrew (Sorex araneus). We conducted
the experiment in summer (high resource provisioning
for both species) and autumn (less food available) in 12 replicates
with fully crossed factors Bshrew presence^ and
Bseason.^ We monitored use of feeding stations near and far
from the nest as measurement of foraging activity and strategic
foraging behavior. Vole mothers adapted their strategies to
shrew presence and optimized their foraging behavior according
to seasonal constraints, resulting in an interaction of treatment
and season. In summer, shrew presence reduced food
intake from feeding stations, while it enhanced intake in autumn.
Shrew presence decreased the number of visited feeding
stations in autumn and concentrated mother’s foraging efforts
to fewer stations. Independent of shrew presence or season,
mothers foraged more in patches further away from the nest
than near the nest. Results indicate that females are not
investing in nest guarding but try to avoid the accumulation
of olfactory cues near the nest leading a predator to the young.
Additionally, our study shows how foraging strategies and
nest attendance are influenced by seasonal food provision.peerReviewe

Trebatická, Lenka

Eccard, Jana A.

Jyväskylä University Digital Archive

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs00265-015-1889-x.pdf

State-dependent foraging : lactating voles adjust their foraging behavior according to the presence of a potential nest predator and season

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Crossref

Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto

publish.UP (Univ. Potsdam)

Jyväskylä University Digital Archive