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Environmental context explains Lévy and Brownian movement patterns of marine predators

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  • Nicolas E. Humphries

    (Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK
    Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Marine Institute, School of Marine Sciences and Engineering, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK)

  • Nuno Queiroz

    (Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK
    CIBIO – Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-668 Vairão, Portugal
    Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK)

  • Jennifer R. M. Dyer

    (Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK)

  • Nicolas G. Pade

    (Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK
    Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK)

  • Michael K. Musyl

    (Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Kewalo Research Facility/NOAA Fisheries, 1125-B Ala Mona Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814, USA)

  • Kurt M. Schaefer

    (Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, 8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, California 92037-1508, USA)

  • Daniel W. Fuller

    (Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, 8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, California 92037-1508, USA)

  • Juerg M. Brunnschweiler

    (ETH Zurich, Raemistrasse 101, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland)

  • Thomas K. Doyle

    (Coastal and Marine Resources Centre, ERI, University College Cork, Glucksman Marine Facility, Naval Base, Haulbowline, Cobh, Cork, Ireland)

  • Jonathan D. R. Houghton

    (School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK)

  • Graeme C. Hays

    (Institute of Environmental Sustainability, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK)

  • Catherine S. Jones

    (Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK)

  • Leslie R. Noble

    (Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK)

  • Victoria J. Wearmouth

    (Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK)

  • Emily J. Southall

    (Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK)

  • David W. Sims

    (Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, UK
    Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Marine Institute, School of Marine Sciences and Engineering, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK)

Abstract

Patterns of predation What is the best way to find food in a habitat where food sources are patchy and unpredictable? Theory suggests that organisms hunting for food should adopt a Lévy-flight search strategy, a variant of a 'random walk' in which short exploratory hops are interspersed with occasional longer trips. But when predators find themselves amid abundant food, simple erratic or 'Brownian' movement should suffice. Clear evidence for true Lévy-flight-style foraging in wild animals has proved elusive, but an analysis of a large data set of 14 species of marine predators, including sharks, marlin and tuna, now proves the point. Electronic tagging reveals that the fish use Lévy behaviour when swimming in less productive waters where prey is sparse and Brownian movement in productive habitats.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicolas E. Humphries & Nuno Queiroz & Jennifer R. M. Dyer & Nicolas G. Pade & Michael K. Musyl & Kurt M. Schaefer & Daniel W. Fuller & Juerg M. Brunnschweiler & Thomas K. Doyle & Jonathan D. R. Hought, 2010. "Environmental context explains Lévy and Brownian movement patterns of marine predators," Nature, Nature, vol. 465(7301), pages 1066-1069, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:465:y:2010:i:7301:d:10.1038_nature09116
    DOI: 10.1038/nature09116
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    Cited by:

    1. Bi, Zhimin & Liu, Shutang & Ouyang, Miao, 2022. "Three-dimensional pattern dynamics of a fractional predator-prey model with cross-diffusion and herd behavior," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 421(C).
    2. Wei, Wenqi & Ouyang, Haibin & Li, Steven & Zhao, Xuanbo & Zou, Dexuan, 2022. "A modified fireworks algorithm with dynamic search interval based on closed-loop control," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 329-360.
    3. Nauta, Johannes & Simoens, Pieter & Khaluf, Yara, 2022. "Group size and resource fractality drive multimodal search strategies: A quantitative analysis on group foraging," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 590(C).
    4. Shinohara, Shuji & Okamoto, Hiroshi & Manome, Nobuhito & Gunji, Pegio-Yukio & Nakajima, Yoshihiro & Moriyama, Toru & Chung, Ung-il, 2022. "Simulation of foraging behavior using a decision-making agent with Bayesian and inverse Bayesian inference: Temporal correlations and power laws in displacement patterns," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. Muhammad Irfan & Abdul Wadood & Tahir Khurshaid & Bakht Muhammad Khan & Ki-Chai Kim & Seung-Ryle Oh & Sang-Bong Rhee, 2021. "An Optimized Adaptive Protection Scheme for Numerical and Directional Overcurrent Relay Coordination Using Harris Hawk Optimization," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-21, September.
    6. Bi, Zhimin & Liu, Shutang & Ouyang, Miao, 2022. "Spatial dynamics of a fractional predator-prey system with time delay and Allee effect," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    7. Serrano, Alfredo Blanco & Allen-Perkins, Alfonso & Andrade, Roberto Fernandes Silva, 2022. "Efficient approach to time-dependent super-diffusive Lévy random walks on finite 2D-tori using circulant analogues," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 592(C).
    8. Toman, Kellan & Voulgarakis, Nikolaos K., 2022. "Stochastic pursuit-evasion curves for foraging dynamics," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 597(C).
    9. Hao, Mengli & Jia, Wantao & Wang, Liang & Li, Fuxiao, 2022. "Most probable trajectory of a tumor model with immune response subjected to asymmetric Lévy noise," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 165(P1).

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