How animals distribute themselves in space: changing energy landscapes

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The foraging efficiency of animals determines whether they will be able to raise healthy broods, maintain their own condition, avoid predators and ultimately increase their fitness. Most studies of the foraging behaviour of animals have concentrated on the description of movements. However, the mechanisms underlying animal foraging behaviour remain mostly unexplained. Recent advances in animal movement tracking and data analyses have a great potential to fill this gap in our knowledge. With the use of accelerometers, features of the habitat and the way animals deal with variable conditions can be translated into energetic costs of movement, which, in turn, can be viewed as energy landscapes (or energy-scapes). I here propose to take advantage of the newly available technology and methods in order to reveal the underlying mechanisms of animal foraging, using Gentoo Penguins as a model species known for their flexibility in foraging behaviour. The results will also help to reveal how these mechanisms allow animals to adapt to changing conditions, such as those expected under current climate change.