Foraging Proficiency During the Nonbreeding Season of a Specialized Forager: Are Juvenile American Oystercatchers 'Bumble-Beaks'1Compared to Adults?

Autor:	Christine E. Hand, Patrick G. R. Jodice, Felicia J. Sanders
Rok vydání:	2010
Předmět:	South carolina Forage (honey bee) Ecology Foraging Diet composition Juvenile Animal Science and Zoology Biology Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Predation
Zdroj:	The Condor. 112:670-675
ISSN:	1938-5129 0010-5422
DOI:	10.1525/cond.2010.100031
Popis:	In many species, immature individuals are less proficient at foraging than are adults, and this difference may be especially critical during winter when survival can be at its minimum. We investigated the foraging proficiency of adult and immature American Oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus) during the nonbreeding season. Oystercatchers forage on prey that must be handled with specialized skills, so age-related differences in foraging behavior may be expected. We found that adults spent more time searching than did immatures, a trend toward immatures taking longer to handle prey than did adults, and immatures more often handling prey unsuccessfully than did adults. Feeding rates and diet composition did not differ by age class. We posit that the immature birds traded off longer handling times with shorter searching times and that ultimately the abundant prey in the region may contribute to the ability of immature birds to feed at rates similar to those of adults.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
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