DOI: 10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t6g
title: Data from: From inexperience to proficiency: Age-related improvements shape the use of novel anthropogenic food subsidies in a long-lived bird

description: Worldwide, humans have altered ecosystems not only by reducing and
 changing the distribution of resources, but also by providing new foraging
 opportunities to wildlife. However, little is known about the early-life
 development and maintenance of new foraging behaviours, which are crucial
 for species to adapt to human-induced environmental changes. Using a
 longitudinal GPS tracking dataset from 71 adult and 147 juvenile white
 storks (Ciconia ciconia) tracked for up to six years, this study
 investigates shifts in the exploitation of landfill resources during
 ontogeny and explores whether selective survival, within-individual
 improvements, or both shape the emergence of this behaviour. Landfill use
 was found to increase with age. From their second year of life onwards,
 white storks visit landfills more often than in their first year, forage
 more in areas with abundant organic waste, and reduce their foraging
 energy expenditure. Overall, this study reveals that the age-related
 increase in the use of anthropogenic food sources is driven primarily by
 within-individual improvements operating most strongly in early life,
 rather than by selective survival of individuals that most frequently and
 proficiently use landfill sites. As more species rely on anthropogenic
 food subsidies, this work highlights how opportunistic species cope with
 and adapt to human-driven environmental change, influencing individual
 lifetime decisions and potentially impacting population dynamics.
description: # Data from: From inexperience to proficiency: Age-related improvements
 shape the use of novel anthropogenic food subsidies in a long-lived bird
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t6g](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t6g) ## Description of the data and file structure All animal handling and device deployment procedures were approved by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests in Portugal (license numbers: 493/2016/CAPT; 661-663/2017/CAPT; 548-550/2018/CAPT; 247-250/2019/CAPT; 364-368/2020/CAPT; 198-202/2021/CAPT) and carried out in agreement with their recommendations. ### Files and variables #### File: Whitestorks_dataset.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * field_1: GPS location code * individual: Individual ID code * Year: Calendar year * X: GPS location ID * timestamp: Timestamp * Record_typ: GPS Device Registration Type * PCBType: GPS device type * predBeh: Predictable behaviour * dist_km_lo: Distance from previous location in km * dif_min_lo: Minimum difference from previous location * speed_km_h: Speed of GPS location in km/h * Site: GPS location at landfill or other * Deployment: Deployment calendar year * Age: Age of bird in deployment year * location.l: latitudinal GPS location * location_1: longitudinal GPS location * Mean_groun: Mean ground speed * ODBA: Overall dynamic body acceleration (proxy for energy expenditure) * ground.spe: Estimated Ground speed * Date: Date * Day: Day * Month: Month * flying: Flying or ground GPS location * Age_evolut: Age in categories * Age_rank: Age rank * Age_years: Age in years * Age_catego: Age in categories 2 * fledging.d: Fledging day if applicable * BirdID_yea: Bird ID and calendar year * id: GPS location ID ## Code/software R software