Riverside wren pairs jointly defend their territories against simulated intruders
This study is one of the few to demonstrate equal attention and aggression from mated pairs towards simulated same‐sex and opposite‐sex intruders. We suggest that pairs responding together, in close proximity to one another, might be favourable in duetting species when defending the territory because maintaining a close distance between partners facilitates the extreme coordination of their joint territorial signals. (Source: Ethology)
Source: Ethology - October 11, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Esmeralda Quir ós‐Guerrero, Maria João Janeiro, Marvin Lopez‐Morales, Will Cresswell, Christopher N. Templeton Tags: RESEARCH PAPER Source Type: research
Ontogenetic changes in chemical alarm cue recognition and fast ‐start performance in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)
The objectives of this study were to determine whether risk recognition and fast‐start performance in guppies (Poecilia reticulata) exhibit ontogenetic variation, and whether there is a trade‐off between risk recognition and fast‐start performance. To achieve these objectives, individual guppies from replicate groups were assayed on one of the 1st, 7th, 14th, 21st, or 28th day after their birth. We found that both the risk recognition and fast‐start performance in guppies exhibited ontogenetic variation, as on days 1 and 7, fish did not exhibit risk recognition when exposed to alarm cues from conspecifics, but by d...
Source: Ethology - October 11, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Jigang Xia, Meiling Cheng, Ruiyu Cai, Shijian Fu, Steven J. Cooke, Chris K. Elvidge Tags: RESEARCH PAPER Source Type: research
After encountering a possibly novel odour, this African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) sniffed and rolled in it, getting the scent on its body, especially around the face and the neck. The tail up indicates arousal or excitement as a result of rolling in the scent. The adaptive value of this behaviour is still unclear; the most plausible explanations propose that it could either be a way to bring information back to the pack or to mask the dog's odour while hunting. Photograph taken in Zimanga Private Game Reserve, South Africa, and reproduced by permission of Emmanuel Do Linh San.
(Source: Ethology)
Source: Ethology - September 19, 2017 Category: Zoology Tags: FRONT COVER Source Type: research
Personality traits and behavioural profiles in the domestic canary are affected by sex and photoperiod
This study is the first to explicitly investigate the influence of photoperiod on both behavioural profiles and personality traits. Six potential personality traits (within‐flock activity, ability to escape, response to threat, isolation calling, boldness and neophobia) and dominance were measured four times in 96 domestic canaries Serinus canaria (48 males and 48 females): twice during a long photoperiod (Long Days) and 6 months later twice during a short photoperiod (Short Days). Without regard to sex and photoperiod, most traits were highly repeatable, and bolder canaries were more dominant, less sensitive to an exte...
Source: Ethology - September 15, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Mathieu Amy, Davy Ung, Nathalie B éguin, Gérard Leboucher Tags: RESEARCH PAPER Source Type: research
Personality ‐related differences in response to habitat in Mediterranean blue tits
This study aimed to test whether personality‐related differences in annual reproductive success differed between two populations of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) occupying different Mediterranean habitats (oakwood and pinewood). We measured exploration and parental provisioning behaviours and used a path analysis to ask how the interplay between these two behavioural traits affected reproductive success in each of these two habitats. We found that blue tits breeding in the pinewood were slow‐exploring compared to blue tits breeding in the oakwood, suggesting the occurrence of personality‐related differences in sett...
Source: Ethology - September 11, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Eva Serrano ‐Davies, Yimen G. Araya‐Ajoy, Niels J. Dingemanse, Juan José Sanz Tags: RESEARCH PAPER Source Type: research
Behaviors associated with mating success in the “purring” wolf spider Gladicosa gulosa
Abstract
Studies of sexual selection in animal systems frequently use courtship and receptivity behaviors as metrics for mating success, and this is generally built upon data associating such behaviors with mating. Spider systems are becoming increasingly popular in sexual selection research, and the wolf spider Gladicosa gulosa has the potential to help answer unique questions in animal communication. However, this species is understudied, and no quantitative data exist that demonstrate which male and female behaviors may be indicators of mating success. We paired male and female G. gulosa and recorded the behaviors invol...
Source: Ethology - September 11, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Alexander L. Sweger, Corey J. Vaughn, George W. Uetz Tags: RESEARCH PAPER Source Type: research
Bottlenose dolphins that forage with artisanal fishermen whistle differently
Abstract
Acoustic communication is a taxonomically widespread phenomenon, crucial for social animals. We evaluate social sounds from bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) of Laguna, southern Brazil, whose social structure is organized around a cooperative foraging tactic with artisanal fishermen. This tactic involves stereotyped and coordinated behaviour by dolphins and fishermen and is performed by a subset of the dolphin population, splitting it into two distinct social communities. We compared the acoustic parameters and type of whistles emitted by dolphins of the “non‐cooperative” and “cooperative” communi...
Source: Ethology - September 1, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Bianca Romeu, Mauricio Cantor, Carolina Bezamat, Paulo C. Sim ões‐Lopes, Fábio G. Daura‐Jorge Tags: REASERCH PAPER Source Type: research
Social function of a variable lateral stripe in Xiphophorus hellerii?
Abstract
In a single population of a livebearing fish, the green swordtail (Xiphophorus hellerii), a trait considered a static badge of status in males of other populations, the color of a stripe covering the lateral line, has been found to be dynamic relative to their social environment, potentially rendering this signal meaningless. Males change the color expression of their lateral stripe dynamically based on social environment. We investigated if males (n = 26) respond to visual and chemical information about other males with a color change and aggressive behavior. We found that visual information is indeed causing c...
Source: Ethology - September 1, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Elizabeth J. Hardy, Lloyd A. Bumm, Ingo Schlupp Tags: RESEARCH PAPER Source Type: research
Variation in chick ‐a‐dee calls of bridled titmice (Baeolophus wollweberi): Frequent use of non‐combinatorial calls in a combinatorial calling system
Abstract
Chick‐a‐dee calls of Poecile (chickadee) and Baeolophus (titmouse) species are complex in terms of the structural composition of note types and the diversity of messages. Studies so far have mainly focused on the calls of various chickadee and just one titmouse species—the tufted titmouse (B. bicolor). To begin to address this lack of titmouse data, our study investigated variation in note composition of calls of bridled titmice (B. wollweberi). We obtained calls from 26 flocks in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona in the overwintering flocking period. Bridled titmice produce proportionally more non‐com...
Source: Ethology - August 30, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Hwayoung Jung, Todd M. Freeberg Tags: RESEARCH PAPER Source Type: research
Adaptive parasitic manipulation as exemplified by acanthocephalans
Abstract
Parasites with complex life cycles often change intermediate host traits in order to enhance their transmission to the next host. Acanthocephalans are excellent examples of such parasitic manipulation. Here, we summarise evidence for adaptive parasitic manipulation in this group, provide a comprehensive overview of intermediate host traits affected by these parasites and discuss critical items for parasitic manipulation such as avoidance of infected prey by target hosts and transmission to dead‐end hosts. (Source: Ethology)
Source: Ethology - August 29, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Theo C. M. Bakker, Joachim G. Frommen, Timo Th ünken Tags: INVITED PERSPECTIVES AND REVIEWS Source Type: research
Does artificial light pollution impair problem ‐solving success in peafowl?
Abstract
Behavioral innovations allow animals to adjust their behavior to solve novel problems. While innovative behavior can be important for animals living in new environments, anthropogenic pollution may limit their ability to adapt by impairing cognition or motivation. In particular, exposure to light pollution at night can cause sleep deprivation and may, therefore, hinder innovative behavior. To test this hypothesis, we examined experimentally whether exposure to acute light pollution impacts problem‐solving success in peafowl (Pavo cristatus). After peafowl were exposed to artificial light pollution for one night,...
Source: Ethology - August 29, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Jessica L. Yorzinski, Kimberly A. Ordonez, Kailey T. Chema Tags: RESEARCH PAPER Source Type: research
Shoal sex composition affects exploration in the Mediterranean killifish
Abstract
As a consequence of sexual selection, males and females may exhibit wide behavioural differences, for example, spatial behaviour. In fish, the two sexes often show different exploratory tendencies. This sex difference has been usually studied by testing individual fish. As many fish species live in social groups with different sex composition, the aforementioned approach might not picture the natural variation of the exploratory behaviour expressed by males and females. Here, we observed shoals of four Mediterranean killifish, Aphanius fasciatus, with three different sex compositions (4 females, 4 males, or 2 fema...
Source: Ethology - August 18, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Tyrone Lucon ‐Xiccato, Matteo Griggio Tags: RESEARCH PAPER Source Type: research
Negative impact of urban noise on sexual receptivity and clutch size in female domestic canaries
Abstract
In oscines, male song stimulates female reproduction and females are known to adjust both their sexual preferences and their maternal investment according to song quality. Female domestic canaries are especially responsive to wide frequency bandwidth (4 kHz) male songs emitted with a high‐repetition syllable rate and low minimal frequencies (1 kHz). We previously showed that low‐frequency urban noise decreases female sexual responsiveness for these low‐frequency songs (1–5 kHz) through auditory masking. Based on the differential allocation hypothesis, we predicted that urban noise exposure will equally ...
Source: Ethology - August 17, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Guillaume Huet des Aunay, Marco Grenna, Hans Slabbekoorn, Pierre Nicolas, Laurent Nagle, G érard Leboucher, Giorgio Malacarne, Tudor I. Draganoiu Tags: RESEARCH PAPER Source Type: research
How does hunger affect convergence on prey patches in a social forager?
In this study, we investigated the effects of hunger upon the time taken to locate and converge upon hidden simulated prey patches in a socially foraging fish, the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). We predicted that groups of food‐deprived fish would find and recruit to prey patches faster than recently fed groups, reasoning that they might search more rapidly and be more attentive to inadvertent social information produced by other foragers. Instead we saw no difference between the two groups in the time taken to find the patches and found that in fact, once prey patches had been discovered, it was the re...
Source: Ethology - August 17, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Joanne Riddell, Mike M. Webster Tags: RESEARCH PAPER Source Type: research
Male tree weta are attracted to cuticular scent cues but do not discriminate according to sex or among two closely related species
Abstract
Recognition of conspecifics is an essential precursor of successful mating. Where related species coexist, species discrimination might be important, but because related species are similar, species signal recognition may actually be low. Chemical cues such as cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are frequently used by insects to identify suitable sexual partners. We predicted that New Zealand tree weta (Hemideina spp.), a genus of nocturnal ensiferan Orthoptera that live both allopatrically and sympatrically, use chemical signals from either frass or CHCs to find mates. In a series of six laboratory trials using both H....
Source: Ethology - August 17, 2017 Category: Zoology Authors: Priscilla M. Wehi, Adrian Monks, Mary Morgan ‐Richards Tags: RESEARCH PAPER Source Type: research
