1
|
|
2
|
Farrow LF, Barati A, McDonald PG. Cooperative bird discriminates between individuals based purely on their aerial alarm calls. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractFrom an evolutionary perspective, the ability to recognize individuals provides great selective advantages, such as avoiding inbreeding depression during breeding. Whilst the capacity to recognize individuals for these types of benefits is well established in social contexts, why this recognition might arise in a potentially deadly alarm-calling context following predator encounters is less obvious. For example, in most avian systems, alarm signals directed toward aerial predators represent higher predation risk and vulnerability than when individuals vocalize toward a terrestrial-based predator. Although selection should favor simple, more effective alarm calls to these dangerous aerial predators, the potential of these signals to nonetheless encode additional information such as caller identity has not received a great deal of attention. We tested for individual discrimination capacity in the aerial alarm vocalizations of the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), a highly social honeyeater that has been previously shown to be able to discriminate between the terrestrial alarm signals of individuals. Utilizing habituation–discrimination paradigm testing, we found conclusive evidence of individual discrimination in the aerial alarm calls of noisy miners, which was surprisingly of similar efficiency to their ability to discriminate between less urgent terrestrial alarm signals. Although the mechanism(s) driving this behavior is currently unclear, it most likely occurs as a result of selection favoring individualism among other social calls in the repertoire of this cooperative species. This raises the intriguing possibility that individualistic signatures in vocalizations of social animals might be more widespread than currently appreciated, opening new areas of bioacoustics research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lucy F Farrow
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology Research Centre, Department of Zoology, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ahmad Barati
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology Research Centre, Department of Zoology, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Paul G McDonald
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology Research Centre, Department of Zoology, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Salleh Hudin N, Teyssier A, Aerts J, Fairhurst GD, Strubbe D, White J, De Neve L, Lens L. Do wild-caught urban house sparrows show desensitized stress responses to a novel stressor? Biol Open 2018; 7:bio.031849. [PMID: 29632231 PMCID: PMC6031342 DOI: 10.1242/bio.031849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
While urbanization exposes individuals to novel challenges, urban areas may also constitute stable environments in which seasonal fluctuations are buffered. Baseline and stress-induced plasma corticosterone (cort) levels are often found to be similar in urban and rural populations. Here we aimed to disentangle two possible mechanisms underlying such pattern: (i) urban environments are no more stressful or urban birds have a better ability to habituate to stressors; or (ii) urban birds developed desensitized stress responses. We exposed wild-caught urban and rural house sparrows (Passer domesticus) to combined captivity and diet treatments (urban versus rural diet) and measured corticosterone levels both in natural tail feathers and in regrown homologous ones (cortf). Urban and rural house sparrows showed similar cortf levels in the wild and in response to novel stressors caused by the experiment, supporting the growing notion that urban environments are no more stressful during the non-breeding season than are rural ones. Still, juveniles and males originating from urban populations showed the highest cortf levels in regrown feathers. We did not find evidence that cortf was consistent within individuals across moults. Our study stresses the need for incorporating both intrinsic and environmental factors for the interpretation of variation in cortf between populations. Summary: Corticosterone in natural and regrown feathers was similar between urban and rural birds. Sex and age related to corticosterone in regrown feathers. Feather corticosterone was not consistent across different moults.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Noraine Salleh Hudin
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.,Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science & Mathematics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, 35900 Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia
| | - Aimeric Teyssier
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Johan Aerts
- Stress Physiology Research Group, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Wetenschapspark 1, 8400 Ostend, Belgium.,Stress Physiology Research Group, Animal Sciences Unit, Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Wetenschapspark 1, 8400 Ostend, Belgium
| | - Graham D Fairhurst
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2 Canada
| | - Diederik Strubbe
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Joël White
- Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique, UMR 5174 CNRS-Université Paul Sabatier-IRD-ENSFEA, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Liesbeth De Neve
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Luc Lens
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Escape ability and risk-taking behaviour in a Hungarian population of the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2276-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
|
5
|
Treen GD, Hobson KA, Marchant TA, Bortolotti GR. Large-scale spatial variation in feather corticosterone in invasive house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in Mexico is related to climate. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:3808-17. [PMID: 26380707 PMCID: PMC4567882 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2015] [Revised: 06/30/2015] [Accepted: 07/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecologists frequently use physiological tools to understand how organisms cope with their surroundings but rarely at macroecological scales. This study describes spatial variation in corticosterone (CORT) levels in feathers of invasive house sparrows (Passer domesticus) across their range in Mexico and evaluates CORT–climate relationships with a focus on temperature and precipitation. Samples were collected from 49 sites across Mexico. Feather CORT (CORTf) was measured using methanol-based extraction and radioimmunoassay. Relationships between CORTf and spatial and climate variables were examined using simple linear regressions. Ordination was used on climate data, CORTf was plotted against the resulting axes, and univariate regression trees were used to identify important predictors of CORTf. Universal kriging interpolation was used to illustrate spatial variation in CORTf across Mexico. Correlations with ordination axes showed that high CORTf was associated with low precipitation during the rainy season and low dry season temperatures. Specifically, CORTf was negatively related to May precipitation and January and July minimum temperatures, and positively related to April deuterium excess and June minimum temperatures. CORTf was higher in second-year birds compared to after-hatch years and after-second years. House sparrows had higher CORTf levels in the hot, dry, north-central region of Mexico, and CORTf was negatively related to temperature and precipitation. House sparrows molt primarily from August–September but climate conditions throughout the year were important predictors of CORTf, suggesting that conditions outside of molt can carry over to influence energetics during feather growth. These data suggest that dry conditions are challenging for house sparrows in Mexico, supporting previous work showing that precipitation is an important predictor of broad-scale CORT variation. This work highlights the utility of CORTf for evaluating the influence of physiology on current avian range limits; furthermore, these data may allow us to predict future changes in species distributions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gillian D Treen
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 5E2
| | - Keith A Hobson
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 5E2 ; Environment Canada 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 3H5
| | - Tracy A Marchant
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 5E2
| | - Gary R Bortolotti
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 5E2
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Soler M, Ruiz-Raya F, Carra LG, Medina-Molina E, Ibáñez-Álamo JD, Martín-Gálvez D. A long-term experimental study demonstrates the costs of begging that were not found over the short term. PLoS One 2014; 9:e111929. [PMID: 25372280 PMCID: PMC4221185 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2014] [Accepted: 10/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Parent-offspring conflict theory predicts that begging behaviour could escalate continuously over evolutionary time if it is not prevented by costliness of begging displays. Three main potential physiological costs have been proposed: growth, immunological and metabolic costs. However, empirical evidence on this subject remains elusive because published results are often contradictory. In this study, we test for the existence of these three potential physiological costs of begging in house sparrow (Passer domesticus) nestlings by stimulating a group of nestlings to beg for longer and another group for shorter periods than in natural conditions. All nestlings were fed with the same quantity of food. Our study involves a long-term experimental treatment for begging studies (five consecutive days). Long-term studies frequently provide clearer results than short-term studies and, sometimes, relevant information not reported by the latter ones. Our long-term experiment shows (i) a clear effect on the immune response even since the first measurement (6 hours), but it was higher during the second (long-term) than during the first (short-term) test; (ii) evidence of a growth cost of begging in house sparrow nestlings not previously found by other studies; (iii) body condition was affected by our experimental manipulation only after 48 hour; (iv) a metabolic cost of begging never previously shown in any species, and (v) for the first time, it has shown a simultaneous effect of the three potential physiological costs of begging: immunocompetence, growth, and metabolism. This implies first, that a multilevel trade-off can occur between begging and all physiological costs and, second, that a lack of support in a short-term experiment for the existence of a tested cost of begging does not mean absence of that cost, because it can be found in a long-term experiment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Soler
- Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
- Grupo Coevolución, Unidad Asociada al CSIC, Universidad de Granada, Spain
- * E-mail:
| | - Francisco Ruiz-Raya
- Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Laura G. Carra
- Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Eloy Medina-Molina
- Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Juan Diego Ibáñez-Álamo
- Departamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - David Martín-Gálvez
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, Almería, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Monceau K, Cézilly F, Moreau J, Motreuil S, Wattier R. Colonisation and diversification of the Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita) in the Antilles: phylogeography, contemporary gene flow and morphological divergence. PLoS One 2013; 8:e82189. [PMID: 24349217 PMCID: PMC3861367 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2013] [Accepted: 10/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Caribbean avifaunal biogeography has been mainly studied based on mitochondrial DNA. Here, we investigated both past and recent island differentiation and micro-evolutionary changes in the Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita) based on combined information from one mitochondrial (Cytochrome c Oxydase subunit I, COI) and 13 microsatellite markers and four morphological characters. This Caribbean endemic and abundant species has a large distribution, and two subspecies are supposed to occur: Z. a. zenaida in the Greater Antilles (GA) and Z. a. aurita in the Lesser Antilles (LA). Doves were sampled on two GA islands (Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands) and six LA islands (Saint Barthélemy, Guadeloupe, Les Saintes, Martinique, Saint Lucia and Barbados). Eleven COI haplotypes were observed that could be assembled in two distinct lineages, with six specific to GA, four to LA, the remaining one occurring in all islands. However, the level of divergence between those two lineages was too moderate to fully corroborate the existence of two subspecies. Colonisation of the studied islands appeared to be a recent process. However, both phenotypic and microsatellite data suggest that differentiation is already under way between all of them, partly associated with the existence of limited gene flow. No isolation by distance was observed. Differentiation for morphological traits was more pronounced than for neutral markers. These results suggest that despite recent colonisation, genetic drift and/or restricted gene flow are promoting differentiation for neutral markers. Variation in selective pressures between islands may explain the observed phenotypic differentiation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karine Monceau
- Université de Bourgogne, UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Equipe Ecologie Evolutive, Dijon, France
| | - Frank Cézilly
- Université de Bourgogne, UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Equipe Ecologie Evolutive, Dijon, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, France
| | - Jérôme Moreau
- Université de Bourgogne, UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Equipe Ecologie Evolutive, Dijon, France
| | - Sébastien Motreuil
- Université de Bourgogne, UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Equipe Ecologie Evolutive, Dijon, France
| | - Rémi Wattier
- Université de Bourgogne, UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Equipe Ecologie Evolutive, Dijon, France
| |
Collapse
|