Informed Dispersal

Prospecting can reduce the costs of unfamiliar environments by allowing assessment of patch quality. Information use may affect recruitment, dispersal, colonization, and persistence in spatially structured populations. Informed dispersal may contribute to resilience when occupied patches are disturbed by environmental stressors. Informed dispersal theory frames dispersal and recruitment as risky decisions made under incomplete information. For colonial seabirds, social cues may speed breeding decisions and affect population or community dynamics.