Shariati-Najafabadi, MitraDarvishzadeh, RoshanakSkidmore, Andrew K.Koelzsch, Andrea...
81-95页
查看更多>>摘要：The migration timing of birds can be controlled by endogenous parameters. However, little is known about how environmental parameters influence the timing of migration and which have the greatest influence at different stages of migration. In this study we identified the main environmental parameters that correlate with the timing of the last stage of spring migration for the barnacle goose, Branta leucopsis. GPS tracking data were registered for 12 barnacle geese (in 2008-2010) on the Russian flyway and 17 (2006-2010) on the Svalbard flyway. A linear mixed -effect model and principal component analysis were used to retrieve statistically significant parameters. Departure date from the last staging site on the Russian flyway was related to daylength, temperature, cloud cover and barometric pressure, and on the Svalbard flyway to a food availability index and daylength. Arrival date at the Russian breeding site was related to cloud cover and barometric pressure en route and the food availability index and temperature at the breeding site. For the Svalbard flyway, temperature and cloud cover en route and the food availability index, wind, temperature and cloud cover at the breeding site were significantly related to arrival date at the breeding site. Our study highlights the importance of environmental parameters including food, weather and daylength for the last stage of goose spring migration. We found different priorities in selecting the environmental parameters in migration timing decisions between Svalbard and Russian barnacle geese which fly over sea and over land, respectively. Identifying the key factors that act as cues during the final stages of spring migration is important when assessing the possible effects of climate change on the timing of migration for a highly selective herbivore such as the barnacle goose. 2016 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
查看更多>>摘要：Animal personality has been linked to individual fitness across many taxa. However, the exact path by which personality translates into fitness is rarely identified. We tested whether nest site choice may serve as a potential pathway linking personality and reproductive success in a natural population of chestnut thrush, Turdus rubrocanus. Using path analysis, we found that human disturbance and choice of nest site with respect to nest density may both mediate the link between personality and reproductive success. Bolder females may choose nest sites with lower nest density, and the low nest density in turn may be responsible for a positive effect on nestling number, and have a negative effect on nestling mass. Bolder females may also prefer nest sites further from human settlements, resulting in a negative effect on nestling mass. Our findings provide rare exact mechanistic pathways by which boldness might be translated into reproductive success. (C) 2016 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Celis-Murillo, AntonioBenson, Thomas J.Sosa-Lopez, J. RobertoWard, Michael P....
105-114页
查看更多>>摘要：We addressed the role of nocturnal singing in the diurnal field sparrow, Spizella pusilla. We were particularly interested in whether nocturnal song is used to repel intruders (intrasexual function) and/or to attract females seeking extrapair copulations (intersexual function). First, we used autonomous acoustic recording units (ARUs) and an automated detection and classification system to examine the associations of singing behaviour of mated field sparrows with social factors (fertility stage, presence of neighbour song and presence of intruder song). Second, using an automated radiotelemetry system (ARTS), autonomous acoustic recording units (ARUs) and automated playback systems, we conducted a nocturnal playback experiment to explore how mated male and female field sparrows respond to nocturnal songs at night and across prefertile, fertile and postfertile stages. We found that neighbours and intruder males tended to sing complex songs on the same nights when focal males sang. While not all focal males sang at night, all male birds (resident males, neighbours and intruders) that sang tended to sing according to the fertility periods of the resident male's female. Our playback experiment demonstrated that, although field sparrows usually slept and were inactive at night, they moved in response to nocturnal field sparrow songs more than to control stimuli (other species vocalizations). Interestingly, we found that males did not respond by singing or countersinging to field sparrow nocturnal songs (simulated intrusions). We also demonstrated that male activity responses were similar during the prefertile and postfertile stages, while females responded more during the prefertile and fertile stages than during the postfertile stage. Consequently, the nocturnal song in the field sparrow appears to play a role in extrapair mate attraction (intersexual function) more than in repelling intruders (intrasexual function). While nocturnal singing is an infrequent behaviour of most diurnal birds, it may be important in the mating system of these birds. (C) 2016 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
查看更多>>摘要：Antipredator responses are a key determinant of the successful persistence of prey, and behavioural modifications are a frequent antipredator strategy. However, conspecific populations often inhabit heterogeneous environments. This can determine local adaptations, and might also induce variation in antipredator responses. Nevertheless, there is limited information on whether heterogeneity of predation risk among populations determines variation in antipredator response. Here we studied the fire salamander, Salamandra salamandra, a species that can breed in both surface streams and caves, habitats that are predator-rich and predator-free, respectively, and measured differences in antipredator responses across populations with different predation risk. We combined field surveys and laboratory experiments to understand the role of predation risk on the activity patterns of larvae, while measuring behavioural differences between populations. We reared larvae from different habitats in safe and risky conditions and tested their response to predator cues before and after rearing. In the field, predation risk was much higher in surface streams than in caves; larvae moved more in the absence of predators and when the light intensity was low. During laboratory experiments, larvae were less active if reared in risky conditions, but cave larvae showed a stronger response to risk than stream larvae. Therefore, larvae from sites without predators showed higher antipredator responses than those from risky habitats. This response fits the predictions of the risk allocation model, in which prey from habitats with a high background level of risk need to be active even when predators are present, to satisfy their energetic demands. Our findings show that antipredator behaviour may differ strongly between populations and stress the importance of integrating this variability in studies on predatory responses. (C) 2016 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
查看更多>>摘要：Interest in how parasites shape host behaviour has increased dramatically in recent years. The main focus of behavioural ecologists has been on the negative effects of parasites on host behaviour. However, there are instances in which infected hosts express more adaptive behavioural phenotypes and have higher fitness relative to uninfected hosts, suggesting that it is sometimes beneficial to be parasitized. For example, hosts can exhibit evolved dependence, wherein the host coevolves with and comes to depend on parasites for the expression of adaptive host behaviours. Additionally, 'conditionally helpful parasites' modify the host phenotype in ways that benefit the host under particular conditions. These scenarios have been explored in the context of bacterial or fungal symbionts, but have been relatively unstudied with regard to metazoan parasites (e.g. trematodes, acanthocephalans, nematodes and cestodes). We explore how these scenarios apply to hosts infected by metazoan parasites, and consider implications for research in behavioural ecology. We examine conditions under which infection should result in more adaptive host behavioural phenotypes, and the implications for host fitness and evolution. We then discuss the implications of conditionally helpful parasites and parasites for which hosts have evolved dependence for laboratory studies of host behaviour and for conservation and reintroduction programmes. (C) 2016 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
查看更多>>摘要：The production of edible rainforest fruits is characterized by fluctuating and seasonal patterns that require frugivores to flexibly adjust their ranging behaviour. We investigated whether significant changes in a forager's travel direction can inform us about the importance of the nutritional and energetic aspects of different food sources for a wild animal's diet. We recorded the ranging patterns of five adult female chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes verus, for a total of 275 full days in the TaI National Park in Cote d'Ivoire and designed two models that predicted their directional changes at, and on the way to, fruit -bearing feeding trees. In both models, directional change was significantly influenced by the density of the feeding tree species and the crude fat content of that species' fruit. Female chimpanzees were more likely to change their travel direction for rarer trees, at which they fed on fruits that contained higher amounts of fat. In addition, directional changes tended to be positively influenced by the content of nonstructural ('easy energy') and structural carbohydrates (NDF) in that species' fruit. We did not detect any effect of sensory cues or social factors on the directional changes, in either model. The amount of fruit available and the time since the start of the fruiting season positively influenced directional change in the second model, which suggests that chimpanzees were updating their knowledge of the fruit availability in individual trees over time. Our results indicate that the nutrient content of fruit and its abundance exerted a significant impact on the shape of chimpanzee female travel paths, which opens up a new avenue for investigation of food preferences in wild animals through analyses of their ranging patterns. (C) 2016 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Hick, Kristina G.Doucet, Stephanie M.Mennill, Daniel J.
153-163页
查看更多>>摘要：Animals may use multiple signalling modalities to discriminate between conspecific versus heterospecific animals, or between individuals that represent a threat versus a mating opportunity. Multimodal signals used in intra- and interspecific discrimination can serve as redundant signals, or each modality may convey unique information. Furthermore, signals in different modalities may show different transmission properties through different habitats. In this study we investigated how two congeneric wrens, rufous -and -white wrens, Thryophilus rufalbus, and banded wrens, Thryophilus pleurostictus, use acoustic and visual signals for species discrimination in tropical forest habitats. We coupled song playback experiments with visual models to assess the importance of these signals, both in combination and in isolation. We assessed vegetation density in the territories of both species to assess whether more densely vegetated territories influence the use of visual signals. We presented both rufous -and -white wrens and banded wrens with conspecific and congeneric song treatments, model treatments and song -accompanied -by -model treatments. We found that both species responded strongly to song and song -accompanied -by -model treatments, but showed little or no response when the model was presented alone. These results suggest that wrens rely heavily on acoustic signals and very little on visual signals for discrimination. The species differed in their response to conspecific and congeneric trials, with rufous -and -white wrens showing little response to the congeneric trials but banded wrens responding strongly to both conspecific and congeneric trials. The asymmetrical response to the playback trials suggests that there may be a social dominance relationship between these two species, with rufous -and white wrens being dominant over banded wrens. No previous studies have investigated the relative importance of acoustic and visual signals in males and females for species discrimination. Our results suggest that acoustic signals are more important than visual signals for inconspicuous animals living in dense environments. (C) 2016 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
查看更多>>摘要：Investigations of intraspecific laterality of primates' gestural communication aim to shed light on the evolutionary origins of human handedness and language. Currently, little is known concerning laterality of gestures for purely intraspecific communication. As far as we know, this study is the first to assess laterality of gorillas' purely intraspecific gestures at the population level. We analysed hand use in dyadic interactions in 35 gorillas, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, living in three groups in captivity focusing on their most frequent communication gesture types. We revealed a right-hand bias at the population level for the majority of the most frequent gestures recorded. Our findings support the evolutionary theories predicting that population level asymmetry should be found in fitness -relevant social behaviours and could be explained by an evolutionarily stable strategy based on intraspecific interactions. They also agree with reports evidencing predominant right-hand use for gestural communication by nonhuman primates and suggesting that gestural laterality is a precursor of the left -hemispheric lateralization of language. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
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