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Loader A, Rose P. Age-Related Change in the Association Choices of Two Species of Juvenile Flamingos. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2623. [PMID: 37627414 PMCID: PMC10451657 DOI: 10.3390/ani13162623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Flamingos are colonial species commonly kept in zoos, well known for their bright plumage and elaborate courtship displays. This project aimed to determine the differences in flock position and association preferences of juvenile Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) and Caribbean Flamingos (P. ruber) housed in the same zoological collection. Little research has been conducted on the association preferences of juvenile flamingos, especially in captive flocks, and therefore this study collected data using photographs taken throughout 2014 and 2015 to further understand association patterns. Data were collected on the age category of each juvenile flamingo observed, the age of their nearest neighbour and their position within the flock, and the location within an enclosure zone at different times of the day. The results showed that Greater Flamingo juveniles mainly associated with individuals of their own age and were most likely positioned at the periphery of their flock significantly more of the time until approximately 24 months of age. Sub-adult Greater Flamingos spent significantly more time associating with adult flamingos at the centre of the flock. In contrast, data collected on Caribbean Flamingos indicated that juveniles did not segregate themselves from the adults as distinctively. Birds aged 13-24 months were observed significantly more at the centre of the flock and had more associations with adult flamingos, in a similar manner to that observed in Greater Flamingos. Due to population management needs, juvenile Caribbean Flamingos were removed from the flock at the start of 2015 and this may have influenced the association and location preferences of the remaining young flamingos. In conclusion, these results indicated that captive juvenile flamingos were often seen away from adult birds and that sub-adult flamingos returned to the heart of their natal flock to associate significantly more with other adult individuals, potentially preparing for mate selection and breeding. Captive enclosure should therefore be spacious enough to enable young flamingos to remove themselves from adult birds so that behavioural development can be unaffected by artificially high rates of aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abbie Loader
- University Centre Sparsholt, Sparsholt College Hampshire, Sparsholt, Winchester SO21 2NF, UK;
- Cotswold Wildlife Park, Bradwell Grove, Burford OX18 4JP, UK
| | - Paul Rose
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, Psychology, University of Exeter, Perry Road, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
- WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire GL2 7BT, UK
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2
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Fuirst M, Strickland D, Freeman NE, Sutton AO, Ryan Norris D. Early-life sibling conflict in Canada jays has lifetime fitness consequences. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20221863. [PMID: 37072037 PMCID: PMC10113022 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/20/2023] Open
Abstract
While delaying natal dispersal can provide short-term benefits for juveniles, lifetime fitness consequences are rarely assessed. Furthermore, competition for limited positions on a natal territory could impose an indirect fitness cost on the winner if the outcome has negative effects on its siblings. We use radio-tracking and 58 years of nesting data in Ontario, Canada to examine the lifetime fitness consequences of sibling expulsion in the Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis). Six weeks after fledging, intra-brood dominance struggles result in one 'dominant juvenile' (DJ) remaining on the natal territory after expelling its subordinate siblings, the 'ejectees' (EJs). Despite an older age-at-first-reproduction, DJs produced more recruits over their lifetime and had higher first-year survival than EJs, leading to substantially higher direct fitness. Even though DJs incurred an indirect fitness cost by expelling their siblings and there was no evidence that their presence on the natal territory increased their parents' reproductive output the following year, they still had substantially higher inclusive fitness than EJs. Our results demonstrate how early-life sibling conflict can have lifetime consequences and that such fitness differences in Canada jays are driven by the enhanced first-year survival of DJs pursuant to the early-summer expulsion of their sibling competitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Fuirst
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1
| | | | - Nikole E. Freeman
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1
- Division of Biology and Department of Statistics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
| | - Alex O. Sutton
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2UR, UK
| | - D. Ryan Norris
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1
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Bradter U, Ozgul A, Griesser M, Layton‐Matthews K, Eggers J, Singer A, Sandercock BK, Haverkamp PJ, Snäll T. Habitat suitability models based on opportunistic citizen science data: Evaluating forecasts from alternative methods versus an individual‐based model. DIVERS DISTRIB 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ute Bradter
- SLU Swedish Species Information Centre Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala Sweden
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Trondheim Norway
| | - Arpat Ozgul
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Michael Griesser
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- Department of Biology University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour University of Konstanz Konstanz Germany
| | - Kate Layton‐Matthews
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Tromsø Norway
| | - Jeannette Eggers
- SLU Swedish Species Information Centre Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala Sweden
- Department of Forest Resource Management Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Umeå Sweden
| | - Alexander Singer
- SLU Swedish Species Information Centre Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala Sweden
| | - Brett K. Sandercock
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Trondheim Norway
| | - Paul J. Haverkamp
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Tord Snäll
- SLU Swedish Species Information Centre Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala Sweden
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5
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Armansin NC, Stow AJ, Cantor M, Leu ST, Klarevas-Irby JA, Chariton AA, Farine DR. Social Barriers in Ecological Landscapes: The Social Resistance Hypothesis. Trends Ecol Evol 2020; 35:137-148. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 10/01/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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7
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Culbert BM, Balshine S. Visual threat signals influence social interactions in a cooperatively breeding fish. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
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8
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Huck M, Fernandez-Duque E. The floater's dilemma: use of space by wild solitary Azara's owl monkeys, Aotus azarae, in relation to group ranges. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.02.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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9
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Griesser M, Wagner GF, Drobniak SM, Ekman J. Reproductive trade-offs in a long-lived bird species: condition-dependent reproductive allocation maintains female survival and offspring quality. J Evol Biol 2017; 30:782-795. [PMID: 28135017 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2016] [Revised: 01/18/2017] [Accepted: 01/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Life history theory is an essential framework to understand the evolution of reproductive allocation. It predicts that individuals of long-lived species favour their own survival over current reproduction, leading individuals to refrain from reproducing under harsh conditions. Here we test this prediction in a long-lived bird species, the Siberian jay Perisoreus infaustus. Long-term data revealed that females rarely refrain from breeding, but lay smaller clutches in unfavourable years. Neither offspring body size, female survival nor offspring survival until the next year was influenced by annual condition, habitat quality, clutch size, female age or female phenotype. Given that many nests failed due to nest predation, the variance in the number of fledglings was higher than the variance in the number of eggs and female survival. An experimental challenge with a novel pathogen before egg laying largely replicated these patterns in two consecutive years with contrasting conditions. Challenged females refrained from breeding only in the unfavourable year, but no downstream effects were found in either year. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that condition-dependent reproductive allocation may serve to maintain female survival and offspring quality, supporting patterns found in long-lived mammals. We discuss avenues to develop life history theory concerning strategies to offset reproductive costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Griesser
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - G F Wagner
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - S M Drobniak
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - J Ekman
- Department of Ecology and Genetic/Population Biology and Conservation Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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10
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Social dynamics in nonbreeding flocks of a cooperatively breeding bird: causes and consequences of kin associations. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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11
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Griesser M, Suzuki TN. Naive Juveniles Are More Likely to Become Breeders after Witnessing Predator Mobbing. Am Nat 2016; 189:58-66. [PMID: 28035889 DOI: 10.1086/689477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Responding appropriately during the first predatory attack in life is often critical for survival. In many social species, naive juveniles acquire this skill from conspecifics, but its fitness consequences remain virtually unknown. Here we experimentally demonstrate how naive juvenile Siberian jays (Perisoreus infaustus) derive a long-term fitness benefit from witnessing knowledgeable adults mobbing their principal predator, the goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). Siberian jays live in family groups of two to six individuals that also can include unrelated nonbreeders. Field observations showed that Siberian jays encounter predators only rarely, and, indeed, naive juveniles do not respond to predator models when on their own but do when observing other individuals mobbing them. Predator exposure experiments demonstrated that naive juveniles had a substantially higher first-winter survival after observing knowledgeable group members mobbing a goshawk model, increasing their likelihood of acquiring a breeding position later in life. Previous research showed that naive individuals may learn from others how to respond to predators, care for offspring, or choose mates, generally assuming that social learning has long-term fitness consequences without empirical evidence. Our results demonstrate a long-term fitness benefit of vertical social learning for naive individuals in the wild, emphasizing its evolutionary importance in animals, including humans.
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Weldon KB, Fanson KV, Smith CL. Effects of Isolation on Stress Responses to Novel Stimuli in Subadult Chickens (Gallus gallus
). Ethology 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly B. Weldon
- Department of Cognitive Science; Macquarie University; Marsfield NSW Australia
| | - Kerry V. Fanson
- Centre for Integrative Ecology; Deakin University; Waurn Ponds Vic. Australia
- Department of Biological Sciences; Macquarie University; North Ryde NSW Australia
| | - Carolynn L. Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences; Macquarie University; North Ryde NSW Australia
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Cote J, Bocedi G, Debeffe L, Chudzińska ME, Weigang HC, Dytham C, Gonzalez G, Matthysen E, Travis J, Baguette M, Hewison AJM. Behavioural synchronization of large-scale animal movements - disperse alone, but migrate together? Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2016; 92:1275-1296. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Revised: 03/23/2016] [Accepted: 04/06/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Julien Cote
- ENFA and UMR 5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique), CNRS; Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier; Toulouse cedex 9 F-31062 France
| | - Greta Bocedi
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences; University of Aberdeen; Aberdeen AB24 2TZ UK
| | - Lucie Debeffe
- CEFS, INRA; Université de Toulouse; Castanet Tolosan 31320 France
- Department of Biology; University of Saskatchewan; Saskatoon SK S7N 5E2 Canada
| | | | - Helene C. Weigang
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics; University of Helsinki; P.O. Box 68 Helsinki 00014 Finland
| | - Calvin Dytham
- Department of Biology; University of York; York YO10 5DD UK
| | - Georges Gonzalez
- CEFS, INRA; Université de Toulouse; Castanet Tolosan 31320 France
| | - Erik Matthysen
- Department of Biology; University of Antwerp; Antwerp B-2610 Belgium
| | - Justin Travis
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences; University of Aberdeen; Aberdeen AB24 2TZ UK
| | - Michel Baguette
- Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Experimentale; CNRS UMR 5321; Moulis 09200 France
- Institut De Systématique, Evolution et Biodiversité, UMR 7205; Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle; Paris cedex 5 FR-75005 France
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14
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15
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16
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Griesser M, Halvarsson P, Drobniak SM, Vilà C. Fine-scale kin recognition in the absence of social familiarity in the Siberian jay, a monogamous bird species. Mol Ecol 2015; 24:5726-38. [PMID: 26460512 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Revised: 10/01/2015] [Accepted: 10/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Kin recognition is a critical element to kin cooperation, and in vertebrates, it is primarily based on associative learning. Recognition of socially unfamiliar kin occurs rarely, and it is reported only in vertebrate species where promiscuity prevents recognition of first-order relatives. However, it is unknown whether the recognition of socially unfamiliar kin can evolve in monogamous species. Here, we investigate whether genetic relatedness modulates aggression among group members in Siberian jays (Perisoreus infaustus). This bird species is genetically and socially monogamous and lives in groups that are formed through the retention of offspring beyond independence, and the immigration of socially unfamiliar nonbreeders. Observations on feeders showed that genetic relatedness modulated aggression of breeders towards immigrants in a graded manner, in that they chased most intensely the immigrant group members that were genetically the least related. However, cross-fostering experiments showed that breeders were equally tolerant towards their own and cross-fostered young swapped as nestlings. Thus, breeders seem to use different mechanisms to recognize socially unfamiliar individuals and own offspring. As Siberian jays show a high degree of nepotism during foraging and predator encounters, inclusive fitness benefits may play a role for the evolution of fine-scale kin recognition. More generally, our results suggest that fine-graded kin recognition can evolve independently of social familiarity, highlighting the evolutionary importance of kin recognition for social species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Griesser
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Peter Halvarsson
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, SE-752 36, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Szymon M Drobniak
- Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Carles Vilà
- Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain
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17
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Ligocki IY, Reddon AR, Hellmann JK, O’Connor C, Marsh-Rollo S, Balshine S, Hamilton I. Social status influences responses to unfamiliar conspecifics in a cooperatively breeding fish. BEHAVIOUR 2015. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In group living animals, individuals may visit other groups. The costs and benefits of such visits for the members of a group will depend on the attributes and intentions of the visitor, and the social status of responding group members. Using wild groups of the cooperatively breeding cichlid fish (Neolamprologus pulcher), we compared group member responses to unfamiliar ‘visiting’ conspecifics in control groups and in experimentally manipulated groups from which a subordinate the same size and sex as the visitor was removed. High-ranking fish were less aggressive towards visitors in removal groups than in control groups; low-ranking subordinates were more aggressive in the removal treatment. High-ranking females and subordinates the same size and sex as the visitor responded most aggressively toward the visitor in control groups. These results suggest that visitors are perceived as potential group joiners, and that such visits impose different costs and benefits on current group members.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaac Y. Ligocki
- aDepartment of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Adam R. Reddon
- bDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Jennifer K. Hellmann
- aDepartment of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Constance M. O’Connor
- bDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Susan Marsh-Rollo
- bDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Sigal Balshine
- bDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Ian M. Hamilton
- aDepartment of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- cDepartment of Mathematics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
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Griesser M, Halvarsson P, Sahlman T, Ekman J. What are the strengths and limitations of direct and indirect assessment of dispersal? Insights from a long-term field study in a group-living bird species. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1663-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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19
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Dominance, not kinship, determines individual position within the communal roosts of a cooperatively breeding bird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1613-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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20
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Paquet M, Covas R, Chastel O, Parenteau C, Doutrelant C. Maternal effects in relation to helper presence in the cooperatively breeding sociable weaver. PLoS One 2013; 8:e59336. [PMID: 23536872 PMCID: PMC3607610 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2012] [Accepted: 02/15/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
In egg laying species, breeding females may adjust the allocation of nutrients or other substances into eggs in order to maximise offspring or maternal fitness. Cooperatively breeding species offer a particularly interesting context in which to study maternal allocation because helpers create predictably improved conditions during offspring development. Some recent studies on cooperative species showed that females assisted by helpers produced smaller eggs, as the additional food brought by the helpers appeared to compensate for this reduction in egg size. However, it remains unclear how common this effect might be. Also currently unknown is whether females change egg composition when assisted by helpers. This effect is predicted by current maternal allocation theory, but has not been previously investigated. We studied egg mass and contents in sociable weavers (Philetairus socius). We found that egg mass decreased with group size, while fledgling mass did not vary, suggesting that helpers may compensate for the reduced investment in eggs. We found no differences in eggs' carotenoid contents, but females assisted by helpers produced eggs with lower hormonal content, specifically testosterone, androstenedione (A4) and corticosterone levels. Taken together, these results suggest that the environment created by helpers can influence maternal allocation and potentially offspring phenotypes.
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Zhang R, Song G, Qu Y, Alström P, Ramos R, Xing X, Ericson PG, Fjeldså J, Wang H, Yang X, Kristin A, Shestopalov AM, Choe JC, Lei F. Comparative phylogeography of two widespread magpies: Importance of habitat preference and breeding behavior on genetic structure in China. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2012; 65:562-72. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2012.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2012] [Revised: 07/11/2012] [Accepted: 07/14/2012] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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22
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Krams I, Krama T, Freeberg TM, Kullberg C, Lucas JR. Linking social complexity and vocal complexity: a parid perspective. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2012; 367:1879-91. [PMID: 22641826 PMCID: PMC3367703 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The Paridae family (chickadees, tits and titmice) is an interesting avian group in that species vary in important aspects of their social structure and many species have large and complex vocal repertoires. For this reason, parids represent an important set of species for testing the social complexity hypothesis for vocal communication--the notion that as groups increase in social complexity, there is a need for increased vocal complexity. Here, we describe the hypothesis and some of the early evidence that supported the hypothesis. Next, we review literature on social complexity and on vocal complexity in parids, and describe some of the studies that have made explicit tests of the social complexity hypothesis in one parid--Carolina chickadees, Poecile carolinensis. We conclude with a discussion, primarily from a parid perspective, of the benefits and costs of grouping and of physiological factors that might mediate the relationship between social complexity and changes in signalling behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indrikis Krams
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, Tartu University, Tartu, Estonia.
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23
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Schoepf I, Schradin C. Better off alone! Reproductive competition and ecological constraints determine sociality in the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio). J Anim Ecol 2012; 81:649-56. [PMID: 22220746 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2011.01939.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Schoepf
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich 8057, Switzerland.
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24
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There is a limbo under the moon: what social interactions tell us about the floaters’ underworld. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-011-1279-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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25
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Bonte D, Van Dyck H, Bullock JM, Coulon A, Delgado M, Gibbs M, Lehouck V, Matthysen E, Mustin K, Saastamoinen M, Schtickzelle N, Stevens VM, Vandewoestijne S, Baguette M, Barton K, Benton TG, Chaput-Bardy A, Clobert J, Dytham C, Hovestadt T, Meier CM, Palmer SCF, Turlure C, Travis JMJ. Costs of dispersal. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2011; 87:290-312. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.2011.00201.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 840] [Impact Index Per Article: 64.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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26
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Covas R, Deville AS, Doutrelant C, Spottiswoode CN, Grégoire A. The effect of helpers on the postfledging period in a cooperatively breeding bird, the sociable weaver. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.09.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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27
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Cote J, Clobert J, Brodin T, Fogarty S, Sih A. Personality-dependent dispersal: characterization, ontogeny and consequences for spatially structured populations. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2010; 365:4065-76. [PMID: 21078658 PMCID: PMC2992741 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 389] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Dispersal is one of the most fundamental components of ecology, and affects processes as diverse as population growth, metapopulation dynamics, gene flow and adaptation. Although the act of moving from one habitat to another entails major costs to the disperser, empirical and theoretical studies suggest that these costs can be reduced by having morphological, physiological or behavioural specializations for dispersal. A few recent studies on different systems showed that individuals exhibit personality-dependent dispersal, meaning that dispersal tendency is associated with boldness, sociability or aggressiveness. Indeed, in several species, dispersers not only develop behavioural differences at the onset of dispersal, but display these behavioural characteristics through their life cycle. While personality-dependent dispersal has been demonstrated in only a few species, we believe that it is a widespread phenomenon with important ecological consequences. Here, we review the evidence for behavioural differences between dispersers and residents, to what extent they constitute personalities. We also examine how a link between personality traits and dispersal behaviours can be produced and how personality-dependent dispersal affects the dynamics of metapopulations and biological invasions. Finally, we suggest future research directions for population biologists, behavioural ecologists and conservation biologists such as how the direction and the strength of the relationship between personality traits and dispersal vary with ecological contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Cote
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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LI MH, MERILÄ J. Genetic evidence for male-biased dispersal in the Siberian jay (Perisoreus infaustus) based on autosomal and Z-chromosomal markers. Mol Ecol 2010; 19:5281-95. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2010.04870.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Tarwater CE, Brawn JD. Family living in a Neotropical bird: variation in timing of dispersal and higher survival for delayed dispersers. Anim Behav 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.06.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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30
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Engen S, Lande R, Saether BE, Gienapp P. Estimating the ratio of effective to actual size of an age-structured population from individual demographic data. J Evol Biol 2010; 23:1148-58. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.01979.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Nystrand M, Griesser M, Eggers S, Ekman J. Habitat-specific demography and source-sink dynamics in a population of Siberian jays. J Anim Ecol 2010; 79:266-74. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2009.01627.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Krams I, Bērziņs A, Krama T, Wheatcroft D, Igaune K, Rantala MJ. The increased risk of predation enhances cooperation. Proc Biol Sci 2009; 277:513-8. [PMID: 19846454 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Theory predicts that animals in adverse conditions can decrease individual risks and increase long-term benefits by cooperating with neighbours. However, some empirical studies suggest that animals often focus on short-term benefits, which can reduce the likelihood that they will cooperate with others. In this experimental study, we tested between these two alternatives by evaluating whether increased predation risk (as a correlate of environmental adversity) enhances or diminishes the occurrence of cooperation in mobbing, a common anti-predator behaviour, among breeding pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca. We tested whether birds would join their mobbing neighbours more often and harass a stuffed predator placed near their neighbours' nests more intensely in areas with a higher perceived risk of predation. Our results show that birds attended mobs initiated by their neighbours more often, approached the stuffed predator significantly more closely, and mobbed it at a higher intensity in areas where the perceived risk of predation was experimentally increased. In such high-risk areas, birds also were more often involved in between-pair cooperation. This study demonstrates the positive impact of predation risk on cooperation in breeding songbirds, which might help in explaining the emergence and evolution of cooperation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indrikis Krams
- Institute of Systematic Biology, University of Daugavpils, 5401 Daugavpils, Latvia.
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Griesser M, Barnaby J, Schneider NA, Figenschau N, Wright J, Griffith SC, Kazem A, Russell AF. Influence of Winter Ranging Behaviour on the Social Organization of a Cooperatively Breeding Bird Species, The Apostlebird. Ethology 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2009.01678.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Ebensperger LA, Chesh AS, Castro RA, Tolhuysen LO, Quirici V, Burger JR, Hayes LD. Instability Rules Social Groups in the Communal Breeder RodentOctodon degus. Ethology 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2009.01635.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Griesser M. Mobbing calls signal predator category in a kin group-living bird species. Proc Biol Sci 2009; 276:2887-92. [PMID: 19474047 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Many prey species gather together to approach and harass their predators despite the associated risks. While mobbing, prey usually utter calls and previous experiments have demonstrated that mobbing calls can convey information about risk to conspecifics. However, the risk posed by predators also differs between predator categories. The ability to communicate predator category would be adaptive because it would allow other mobbers to adjust their risk taking. I tested this idea in Siberian jays Perisoreus infaustus, a group-living bird species, by exposing jay groups to mounts of three hawk and three owl species of varying risks. Groups immediately approached to mob the mount and uttered up to 14 different call types. Jays gave more calls when mobbing a more dangerous predator and when in the presence of kin. Five call types were predator-category-specific and jays uttered two hawk-specific and three owl-specific call types. Thus, this is one of the first studies to demonstrate that mobbing calls can simultaneously encode information about both predator category and the risk posed by a predator. Since antipredator calls of Siberian jays are known to specifically aim at reducing the risk to relatives, kin-based sociality could be an important factor in facilitating the evolution of predator-category-specific mobbing calls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Griesser
- Population Biology and Conservation Biology, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden.
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Griesser M, Nystrand M. Vigilance and predation of a forest-living bird species depend on large-scale habitat structure. Behav Ecol 2009. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arp045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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Buston PM, Zink AG. Reproductive skew and the evolution of conflict resolution: a synthesis of transactional and tug-of-war models. Behav Ecol 2009. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arp050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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Griesser M. Referential calls signal predator behavior in a group-living bird species. Curr Biol 2008; 18:69-73. [PMID: 18177716 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2007.11.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2007] [Revised: 11/16/2007] [Accepted: 11/28/2007] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Predation is a powerful agent of natural selection, driving the evolution of antipredator calls [1]. These calls have been shown to communicate predator category [2-4] and/or predator distance to conspecifics [5-7]. However, the risk posed by predators depends also on predator behavior [8], and the ability of prey to communicate predator behavior to conspecifics would be a selective advantage reducing their predation risk. I tested this idea in Siberian jays (Perisoreus infaustus), a group-living bird species. Predation by hawks, and to a lesser extent by owls, is substantial and the sole cause of mortality in adult jays [9]. By using field data and predator-exposure experiments, I show here that jays used antipredator calls for hawks depending on predator behavior. A playback experiment demonstrated that these prey-to-prey calls were specific to hawk behavior (perch, prey search, attack) and elicited distinct, situation-specific escape responses. This is the first study to demonstrate that prey signals convey information about predator behavior to conspecifics. Given that antipredator calls in jays aim at protecting kin group members [10, 11], consequently lowering their mortality [9], kin-selected benefits could be an important factor for the evolution of predator-behavior-specific antipredator calls in such systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Griesser
- Population Biology and Conservation Biology, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, SE-75236 Uppsala, Sweden.
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