CIBIO-BIOPOLIS, the Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources of U.Porto, states that early life experience shapes how opportunistic species exploit landfills, taking advantage of the abundance of human food waste.

The research, published Wednesday in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, shows that white storks learn to exploit these food resources more efficiently as they age.

In the study, scientists used GPS tracking data from 218 white storks (71 adults and 147 juveniles) collected over up to 6 years.

The researchers “observed clear changes in feeding behaviour at landfills over time.”

According to the research centre, “younger birds begin by exploring a variety of habitats,” but “as they gain experience, they begin to visit landfills more frequently.”

They access areas with more organic waste, reducing the energy needed to feed.

“From the second year of life onwards, these improvements become particularly evident, indicating a process of progressive learning. The results show that this specialisation results primarily from individual improvements over time, and not from the survival of the individuals best able to exploit these resources,” the institution notes.

Quoted in the press release, Bruno Herlander Martins, researcher at CIBIO-BIOPOLIS and first author of the study, observes that “understanding the mechanisms that allow these species to exploit new food resources is fundamental to anticipating ecological changes in humanised landscapes and supporting conservation strategies based on scientific evidence.”

For Inês Catry, coordinator of the study, “the conclusions are particularly relevant in a context of changes in European waste management policies, which should significantly reduce the availability of food in landfills in the coming decades.”

CIBIO-BIOPOLIS states that, “with the possible closure or transformation of these sites, understanding how birds adjust their decisions becomes essential to predicting the future of wild populations.”

The study was developed as part of Bruno Herlander Martins' doctoral thesis, carried out at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto and the School of Environmental Sciences of the University of East Anglia.