Ant-following behavior is correlated with plumage traits in African understory birds

IF 2.1 3区生物学 Q2 MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES

The Science of Nature Pub Date : 2024-07-30 DOI:10.1007/s00114-024-01927-3

Matthias Waltert, Janina Klug, Francis Njie Motombi, Benjamin Cejp, Kadiri Serge Bobo, Mahmood Soofi, Marcell K. Peters

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Abstract

Ant-following behavior is a common phenomenon in birds of Neotropical and Afrotropical rainforests but yet little is known from Central Africa. We here report on the phenomenon in lowland rainforest in Cameroon, quantifying the strength of the interaction of different ant-following bird species with driver ants and test the hypothesis that higher levels of specialization in ant-following behavior are associated with dominance or aggression-dependent plumage and other morphological traits. Flock size varied between 1 and 11 individuals with a mean size of 5.34 ± 2.68 (mean ± SD) individuals occurring at the same time. The maximum number of species present during one raid observed was ten, whereas the minimum number was four with an overall species richness of 6.89 ± 2.1 species. The 21 attending bird species strongly varied in the degree of ant-following behavior. In an interspecific comparison, plumage traits such as the presence of a colored crown, eyespots, and bare skin around the eye, in combination with metatarsus length and weight, were significantly correlated with ant-following behavior. These results suggest that—in size and identity of species—ant-following bird assemblages in Central Africa are similar to those reported from East Africa. They also suggest that ant following favors the selection of traits that signal dominance in interactions between individuals struggling for valuable food resources in the forest understory.

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非洲林下鸟类的追蚁行为与羽色特征相关。

蚂蚁追随行为是新热带雨林和非洲热带雨林鸟类的一种常见现象，但中部非洲对这一现象知之甚少。我们在此报告了喀麦隆低地雨林中的这一现象，量化了不同蚂蚁跟随鸟类与驱动蚂蚁相互作用的强度，并检验了蚂蚁跟随行为的较高专业化水平与优势或攻击性羽色和其他形态特征相关的假说。鸟群规模在 1 到 11 只之间，平均规模为 5.34 ± 2.68 只（平均 ± 标准差）。在一次突袭中，观察到的物种数量最多为 10 种，最少为 4 种，总物种丰富度为 6.89 ± 2.1 种。参加突袭的 21 种鸟类在追随蚂蚁行为的程度上存在很大差异。在种间比较中，羽毛特征（如是否有彩色冠、眼点和眼周裸露皮肤）与跖骨长度和重量一起与蚂蚁的追随行为显著相关。这些结果表明，中非的蚂蚁追随鸟类群在大小和物种特征方面与东非的报告相似。这些结果还表明，在林下争夺宝贵食物资源的个体之间的相互作用中，蚂蚁的追随有利于优势性状的选择。

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来源期刊

The Science of Nature 综合性期刊-综合性期刊

CiteScore

3.40

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： The Science of Nature - Naturwissenschaften - is Springer''s flagship multidisciplinary science journal. The journal is dedicated to the fast publication and global dissemination of high-quality research and invites papers, which are of interest to the broader community in the biological sciences. Contributions from the chemical, geological, and physical sciences are welcome if contributing to questions of general biological significance. Particularly welcomed are contributions that bridge between traditionally isolated areas and attempt to increase the conceptual understanding of systems and processes that demand an interdisciplinary approach.