Abstract
Distress calls,as a type of alarm call,play important roles in expressing bodily condition and convey-ing information concerning predation threats.In this study,we examined the communication via dis-tress calls in parent-offspring and inter-offspring interactions.First,we used playback of chick dis-tress calls of 2 sympatric breeders,the vinous-throated parrotbill Sinosuthora webbiana and the oriental reed warbler Acrocephalus orientalis,to the adults/chicks of these 2 species,respectively,and measured the responses of conspecifics or heterospecifics.The playback-to-chicks experiment showed that both species ofchicks reduced the number of begging calls and begging duration time as a response to conspecific/heterospecific distress calls compared with natural begging and back-ground noise controls.However,reed warbler chicks also reduced beak opening frequency in the re-sponse to conspecific distress calls compared with other playback stimuli.Second,the results of the playback-to-adults experiment showed that reed warbler adults could eavesdrop on distress calls of conspecific neighbors and sympatric heterospecifics.Furthermore,the nest-leaving behavior of reed warblers did not differ significantly when they heard the distress calls of conspecifics or parrotbills.Finally,reed warbler adults responded to heterospecific distress calls more quickly than to conspecif-ic distress calls,and parrotbill adults presented the same response.Our results supported the warn-kin hypothesis and show that chick distress calls play an important role in conveying risk and the con-dition of chicks to enhance individual fitness.In addition,we also found that eavesdropping on dis-tress calls is a congenital behavior that begins in the chick stage.
基金项目
Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(320CXTD437)
Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(2019RC189)
National Natural Science Foundation of China(31672303)
维普
万方数据