Seasonal constraints and landscape structure drive space use strategies in Dalmatian Pelicans

Animals using patchy landscapes often repeatedly visit sites, but changes in the size and internal pattern of their seasonal home‐ranges through the year remain poorly understood. We analysed GPS telemetry data from 96 Dalmatian Pelicans Pelecanus crispus tracked at 11 breeding colonies across south‐eastern Europe to test how season, life stage and wetland landscape structure were associated with the area used and the distribution of activity within it. Using dynamic Brownian bridge movement models, we quantified seasonal space use. Adults ranged over larger areas during breeding while concentrating their activity more strongly within their ranges. Outside breeding, the overall area used was 59% smaller during the post‐breeding period and 52% smaller during winter, while space use became more even. Core use areas showed a weaker seasonal pattern, with larger cores in winter. Across individuals and colonies, larger seasonal ranges showed an increasing tendency to contain more patches, and these patches were more widely separated. Wetland patch density was associated with larger areas used during breeding, but smaller areas used after breeding and in winter, while greater wetland diversity was associated with shorter distances among patches in core use areas. Overall, Dalmatian Pelicans reorganize both the size and internal spatial organization of their seasonal home‐ranges across the annual cycle, with wetland configuration modulating these strategies across colonies. These results highlight the importance of conserving networks of complementary wetlands rather than focusing only on single large sites.