Avian habitat selection in space and time: Connecting individual behaviours to population patterns

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Variation in behaviour among individuals in different situations is crucial to understanding population ecology. Similarly, ignoring the effects of density-dependence and population processes on animal behaviour limits our ability to understand why animals select particular habitat elements. To gain insight into why animals select one habitat element over another requires information on the biotic processes occurring within habitat elements and how this differs across spatial scales. Ecologists have long recognized the connections between optimal foraging, Fretwell's behavioural models of ideal habitat selection, and the importance of density-dependence in population ecology. However, empirical tests that demonstrate these connections remain limited. My research program is centered on using empirical tests and computer simulation tools to make these connections, as well as using these theories to improve conservation decision making. In this proposal I focus on: