Lévy flight movement patterns in marine predators may derive from turbulence cues

Abstract

The Lévy-flight foraging hypothesis states that because Lévy flights can optimize search efficiencies, natural selection should have led to adaptations for Lévy flight foraging. Some of the strongest evidence for this hypothesis has come from telemetry data for sharks, bony fish, sea turtles and penguins. Here, I show that the programming for these Lévy movement patterns does not need to be very sophisticated or clever on the predator's part, as these movement patterns would arise naturally if the predators change their direction of travel only after encountering patches of relatively strong turbulence (a seemingly natural response to buffeting). This is established with the aid of kinematic simulations of three-dimensional turbulence. Lévy flights movement patterns are predicted to arise in all but the most quiescent of oceanic waters.