1
|
Time activity budget and foraging behavior: important determinants of resource sharing and guild structure in wintering waterbirds. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-023-01648-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
|
2
|
|
3
|
Busia L, Griggio M. The dawn of social bonds: what is the role of shared experiences in non-human animals? Biol Lett 2020; 16:20200201. [PMID: 32673550 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Group-living animals can develop social bonds. Social bonds can be considered a type of social relationship characterized by frequent and consistent affiliative (non-reproductive) interactions. Social bonds with conspecifics bring many advantages, also in terms of direct fitness. A characteristic of social bonds is that they need time to develop. Several studies on humans have emphasized the fact that sharing experiences can affect the strength of social bonds. A similar trend can be spotted in non-human species. For example, a recent experiment showed that if chimpanzees watched a video together with a conspecific, they spent more time in proximity compared to conspecifics with whom they did not actively watch a video. Another experiment on fish showed that individuals who experienced a situation of high predation risk together, showed preference for each other compared to those who did not. As the link between shared experiences and social bonds is not explicitly recognized in non-human animals, the main goal of this work is to propose the exploration of this novel research path. This exploration would contribute to shed light on the evolutionary mechanisms of social bond (or friendship) development and maintenance between individuals in different vertebrate species, from fish to non-human primates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Busia
- School of Sociology and Anthropology, Sun Yat-sen University, Kang Le Lu, Haizhu Qu, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
| | - Matteo Griggio
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Ligorio E, Tuliozi B, Hoi H, Griggio M. Flock-dependent exploitation of a limited resource in House Sparrow. Sci Rep 2020; 10:7301. [PMID: 32350395 PMCID: PMC7190850 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64283-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The performances of different social groups can depend on various characteristics, such as familiarity among their members or the presence of individuals with specific traits. However, it has rarely been investigated how groups perform during an encounter with other conspecifics, even if in the natural environment social groups often run into each other and compete for resources. We investigated whether a certain characteristic of the group (i.e., familiarity) could benefit its members when they are confronted with another group. We designed a novel experimental set-up, creating triads of captive house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and examining whether in a situation of competition for limited resources one triad could gain benefits over the other (consume more mealworms, Tenebrio molitor). While we did not find an effect of previous familiarity among triad members on the triads’ performances, we discovered a group-based difference in the number of mealworms eaten per capita. Group-mates of the very first individual to eat a mealworm (first feeder) ate more mealworms than those in the opposing triad. First feeder individuals also foraged sooner and more than other birds in a subsequent prey consumption assay. Our results suggest that individual performances were influenced by group membership, even when groups were exploiting the same resource simultaneously.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Ligorio
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, I-35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Beniamino Tuliozi
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, I-35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Herbert Hoi
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1a, A-1160, Vienna, Austria
| | - Matteo Griggio
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, I-35131, Padova, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Cantarero A, Carrasco Naranjo J, Casas F, Mougeot F, Viñuela J, Alonso-Alvarez C. The fractal dimension of a conspicuous ornament varies with mating status and shows assortative mating in wild red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa). THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2018; 105:45. [PMID: 29959540 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-018-1565-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2018] [Revised: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Complex body designs, such as plumage ornaments in birds, can be described by fractal geometry. These complex patterns could have a role as visual signals during courtship and social interactions, but an empirical validation in the wild is currently lacking. Here, we investigated whether the fractal dimension (FD) of a complex plumage pattern displayed by red-legged partridges Alectoris rufa could function as a potential sexual signal. We captured wild birds early in the breeding season and tested if mated and unmated birds differed in the FD of their conspicuous melanin-based black bib. We also tested if the FD of the black bib was correlated within the pair, looking for evidence of assortative mating based on the expression of this trait. We simultaneously assessed similar effects in other ornamental traits (black bib size, white throat patch and black flank band surface, redness of the eye rings and bill). Mated birds showed higher black bib FD values than unmated ones. Mated males, but not females, also displayed a larger black bib. Moreover, the black bib FD (but not the trait size) and the white throat patch surface showed assortative mating. Finally, females with higher black bib FD showed smaller black flank band surface, suggesting a trade-off in the expression of the two melanin-pigmented plumage traits. This provides unique and novel indication for the shape complexity of a pigmented trait, here described by its fractal dimension, to be potentially under sexual selection in a wild animal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Cantarero
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, C/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Jesús Carrasco Naranjo
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo 12, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Fabián Casas
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo 12, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Carretera de Sacramento s/n. 04120 La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, Spain
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Francois Mougeot
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo 12, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Javier Viñuela
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo 12, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Carlos Alonso-Alvarez
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, C/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Tuliozi B, Fracasso G, Hoi H, Griggio M. House sparrows' ( Passer domesticus) behaviour in a novel environment is modulated by social context and familiarity in a sex-specific manner. Front Zool 2018; 15:16. [PMID: 29721031 PMCID: PMC5910580 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-018-0267-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2017] [Accepted: 04/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Exploratory behaviour is one of the best-investigated behavioural traits. However, little is known about how differences in familiarity, i.e. in the knowledge and previous experience with a companion can influence the exploration of a novel environment. However, to our knowledge, such a critical feature of the social environment has never been the target of a study relating it to exploratory behaviour in birds. Here we examined if familiarity with a conspecific could affect behavioural responses of individuals confronted with a novel environment. We recorded the latency to land on the ground, latency to feed, time spent feeding and number of sectors visited of 48 female and 48 male house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in an indoor aviary in three contexts: alone (individual context), with an unfamiliar and with a familiar same-sex companion. Results House sparrows landed sooner on the ground when in the familiar context than when in the individual context. Birds in unfamiliar pairs followed each other less than familiar birds, but this difference diminished with time spent exploring. Moreover, males and females differed in their behavioural responses in the unfamiliar context. Females with a familiar companion landed sooner than when they were paired with an unfamiliar conspecific, whereas only the presence of a companion but not familiarity reduced males latency to land on the ground. Finally, when considering the unfamiliar context males had shorter latencies to forage and thus spent more time eating than females. Conclusions The presence or absence of a companion and its familiarity with the focal individual influenced differently the behavioural responses of male and female house sparrows in a novel environment. As house sparrows are strongly sociable, the influence of the social environment is likely to be of paramount importance to understand the selective pressures acting on them, particularly in recently colonized areas with ephemeral food sources. Our results shed light on the complex influence that the social environment has on the behavioural responses of a cosmopolitan bird.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Beniamino Tuliozi
- 1Department of Biology, University of Padova, Via U. Bassi 58/B, I-35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Gerardo Fracasso
- 1Department of Biology, University of Padova, Via U. Bassi 58/B, I-35131 Padova, Italy.,2Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Herbert Hoi
- 3Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Matteo Griggio
- 1Department of Biology, University of Padova, Via U. Bassi 58/B, I-35131 Padova, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Soma M, Garamszegi LZ. Evolution of patterned plumage as a sexual signal in estrildid finches. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Masayo Soma
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, c/Americo Vespucio, Seville, Spain
- MTA-ELTE, Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány, Budapest, Hungary
| |
Collapse
|