On the ecological insights provided by a long-term study on an even longer-lived bird

Abstract

In Focus: Weimerskirch, H. (2018). Linking demographic processes and foraging ecology in wandering albatross—Conservation implications. Journal of Animal Ecology, 87, 945–955. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12817. Long-term individual-based studies are extremely valuable resources to study how life histories are shaped by selection on between-individual variation in the acquisition and allocation of resources. In this issue, Weimerskirch (2018) synthesises a 50-year study, uniquely including 20 years of individual-based movement tracking, of the majestic wandering albatross. The synthesis shows how variation in foraging distribution and efficiency in relation to sex and age is reflected in physiology, fitness and population dynamics, and how understanding of such patterns and processes can aid conservation efforts. It thereby exemplifies why long-term individual-based studies are especially productive and informative and require maintenance and safeguarding.