Ethology最新文献

{"title":"Aggressive vocalizations during intergroup interactions in roost defense in the Spix's disk-winged bat","authors":"Silvia Chaves-Ramírez,&nbsp;Maria Sagot,&nbsp;Mariela Sánchez-Chavarría,&nbsp;Gloriana Chaverri","doi":"10.1111/eth.13391","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13391","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Animals engage in agonistic interactions to gain exclusive access to territories and resources. Understanding these interactions in bats, however, has proven difficult given their high mobility and nocturnal habits. For bats, roosts are a critical resource; thus, the study of agonistic behaviors associated with the use of these resources could provide valuable information to understand how and whether individuals monopolize them. Here, we used <i>Thyroptera tricolor</i> to study agonistic behaviors associated with access to a roosting resource. We experimentally studied the behavioral responses of focal groups when interacting with different intruders during the occupation of an ephemeral roosting resource. We found that <i>T. tricolor</i> responds more aggressively to intruders than to members of its own group, increasing the number of aggressive vocalizations. We also found differences in the rate of agonistic behaviors based on the identity of the intruders. Specifically, we observed that bats produced a large number of aggressive vocalizations when interacting with nearby intruders, supporting the “nasty neighbor” hypothesis. This study provided the first empirical evidence that aggressive vocalizations may serve as a mechanism to defend and maintain exclusive roosting sites in social groups of <i>T. tricolor.</i></p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44169895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Does the type of task affect prey discrimination learning in avian predators?","authors":"Lucia Kuklová,&nbsp;Lenka Jůnová,&nbsp;Martina Kišelová,&nbsp;Aneta Kuncová,&nbsp;Alice Exnerová","doi":"10.1111/eth.13390","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13390","url":null,"abstract":"<p>When learning to discriminate between palatable and unpalatable prey, predators may encounter the prey either simultaneously or in a sequence. The two types of discrimination tasks, which are frequently used in experiments focused on aposematism and mimicry, may considerably differ in difficulty, as they differ in the information available to predators during individual encounters with prey. Surprisingly, there are very few studies directly comparing the performance of predators between sequential and simultaneous discrimination tasks using otherwise identical experimental design, the same predators and prey. We tested the effect of the type of discrimination task on the effectiveness of discrimination learning in adult and juvenile great tits (<i>Parus major</i>). Birds were trained to discriminate between palatable and unpalatable artificial prey items baited with mealworms soaked either in water or quinine. Prey shape, colours and patterns were derived from real shield bug species. We compared the performance of birds tested with two discriminative cues, colour and pattern, using three discrimination tasks: (1) sequential—alternating presentation of one palatable and one unpalatable prey item, (2) two-choice—simultaneous presentation of one palatable and one unpalatable prey item and (3) multiple-choice—simultaneous presentation of multiple palatable and unpalatable prey items. Colour was a more effective discriminative cue than pattern for both adult and juvenile birds. Adults performed better than juveniles regardless of task. The birds performed equally well in the sequential and two-choice tasks, but their performance in the multiple-choice task was worse than in the other two tasks. However, these differences were only present when the birds used the pattern as a discriminative cue. The birds tested with colour, a more salient cue, performed equally well in all three tasks. Type of discrimination task may therefore affect the learning performance of predators, but the effect also depends on the saliency of a particular discriminative cue.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eth.13390","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49392643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Individual diet specialization in the spider Tidarren haemorrhoidale (Bertkau, 1880) (Theridiidae)","authors":"Rafael Rios Moura,&nbsp;Priscila Teixeira Pêgo,&nbsp;Jober F. Sobczak,&nbsp;Marcelo Oliveira Gonzaga","doi":"10.1111/eth.13392","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13392","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Individual specialization (<i>IS</i>) in resource use is common within populations of several animal species because some individuals can be more efficient than others in obtaining specific food items. Spiders are usually classified as euryphagous predators, but the broad diet of populations may result from many individuals specializing in capturing different types of prey. Empirical evidence supporting this pattern, however, is still scarce. In this study, we hypothesized that (1) the diet of individuals of <i>Tidarren haemorrhoidale</i> is more restricted than the population's diet and (2) individual diet restrictions are not determined by the spatial distribution of prey types. We collected the prey remains of 74 webs of females in a conservation area of the Atlantic Forest. Our results indicated that <i>T. haemorrhoidale</i> could be considered a euryphagous predator because its diet comprised Opiliones, Diplopoda, and eight orders of insects. However, spiders exhibited moderate and high degrees of <i>IS</i> for prey size and taxa, respectively. There was no modularity for both prey attributes in the food web, but there was a medium nestedness. Most individuals captured ants, but additional prey taxa were of different orders. There was no correlation between the dissimilarity of prey taxa and the distances between the webs, suggesting that <i>IS</i> did not occur based on the spatial distribution of their potential prey. The diversity of prey defensive strategies may induce spiders to perform specific behavioral routines after prey interception. If this occurs, cognitive constraints may limit their ability to use different capture routines efficiently. Our study supports the predictions of individual niche specialization theory for a euryphagous spider species and highlights the potential of spiders as a study model to investigate the underlying mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43111230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The females' response to male attractiveness: Mate choice, larvae production and differential brain protein expression","authors":"Miguel Hernández-Villanueva,&nbsp;Sagrario Cordero-Molina,&nbsp;Constantino Macías García,&nbsp;Jorge Contreras-Garduño","doi":"10.1111/eth.13389","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13389","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Sexual Selection has been studied predominantly from a functional perspective with relatively limited investigation of the mechanistic basis of female choice. In this study, we evaluated female choice and larvae production in response to attractive or less attractive males and concurrently examined the protein profile in the brains of females, using the mealworm beetle <i>Tenebrio molitor</i> as a model system. Females were found to prefer males with high levels of pheromones, which requires the secretion of juvenile hormone (JH). Male attractiveness was enhanced using the JH analog methoprene, resulting in less female rejection and higher mating frequency and offspring production. Importantly, reproductive success was not due to differences in testis size or sperm production, or viability. Out of the 1833 proteins detected in the brain, only 32 were differentially expressed in females mating with attractive versus less attractive males. These proteins involved memory, metabolism, olfactory detection, reproduction, and movement. Although some brain proteins have been linked to mate choice in vertebrates, most of the differentially expressed molecules found in this study have not been previously reported concerning mate choice.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eth.13389","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45439273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Grassquits adjust parental care in broods parasitized by native nest flies","authors":"Carlos Biagolini Jr,&nbsp;Pedro Diniz,&nbsp;Regina H. Macedo","doi":"10.1111/eth.13388","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13388","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The parasitic nest flies <i>Philornis</i> spp. are ectoparasites associated with a large number of Neotropical bird species. Little is known about how flies locate birds' nests and how parents respond to native or subcutaneous parasitic flies. Here, we used blue-black grassquits (<i>Volatinia jacarina</i>) to test (i) if parental care in early egg and nestling stages could predict parasitism status in late nestling stages and (ii) if parental care differed between parasitized and non-parasitized nests. In general, the proportion of time parents were on the nest (both incubation and nestling periods) did not predict later <i>Philornis</i> parasitism status. These results suggest that flies do not use the presence of parents at the nest to locate nestlings. Parents visited the nest to feed nestlings more frequently in parasitized nests, suggesting that parents compensate for presumed nestling energy loss due to <i>Philornis</i> parasitism. Parents also spent more time on nest maintenance in parasitized nests, which may be an attempt to remove larvae from nest walls or repair the nest damaged by larvae displacement. Finally, the time spent brooding did not vary with parasitism status. Grassquit responses to <i>Philornis</i> parasitism provide a new perspective relative to the evolution of effective defense strategies against native parasites.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42320865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From individuals to populations: How homo- and heterospecific interactions influence habitat selection in a sit-and-wait predator","authors":"Vesna Klokočovnik,&nbsp;Tadeja Bantan,&nbsp;Dušan Devetak","doi":"10.1111/eth.13387","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13387","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Species have different requirements for the habitat in which they live, depending on various biotic and abiotic factors. For sedentary predators such as antlion larvae, both factors are essential. In this study, we examined the preferred habitat choice concerning two abiotic factors, i.e., substrate and illumination, in two pit-building antlions, <i>Euroleon nostras</i> and <i>Myrmeleon formicarius</i>, to determine whether choice changes during con- or heterospecific interactions. Both species preferred medium sand grains, i.e., 230–540 μm but differed in their choice of illumination. <i>E. nostras</i> preferred shade, while <i>M. formicarius</i> chose the illuminated part of the container. However, the choice changed, especially for <i>M. formicarius</i> during interactions with another individual. Abiotic factors took precedence over biotic factors in the choice of <i>E. nostras</i> when interactions were involved<i>. M. formicarius</i> avoided interactions and built pits in less suitable conditions when suitable locations were already occupied. The results can be applied to the species' natural habitat and life traits. We can confirm that <i>E. nostras</i> is a more competitive species when it comes to providing the most suitable abiotic conditions in the habitat for pit construction.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eth.13387","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41928734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Constructing composite scores for contemporaneous behaviors: A comparison of four approaches","authors":"Matthew Kramer,&nbsp;Paul J. Weldon","doi":"10.1111/eth.13382","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13382","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Composite scores, where the results of two or more measures are combined, are commonly used in many fields, including ethology. Composite scores can simplify the analysis and interpretation of data while capturing the salient features of the underlying latent variable(s) approximated by the score. Here we outline four approaches for constructing composite scores in ethological studies: ad hoc (AH) assignment, discriminant analysis (DA), principal components analysis (PCA), and partial least squares (PLS). We give examples of each using previously published data from a study of responses of lone star ticks (<i>Amblyomma americanum</i>) to several deterrent phytochemicals. In most cases, researchers construct AH composite scores by subjectively assigning weights and signs to the behavioral components; unity weighting constrains weights to −1 or 1 on standardized variables. Because the weights and signs of the coefficients are subjectively assigned, AH scores may generate a spurious result. DA can be used to construct composite behavioral scores when there are clearly defined treatments or preference tests using distinct stimuli. The DA score created consists of orthogonal variables that capture the variability in the behavioral measures most closely aligned with the differences among treatment or stimuli variables. This approach assumes that subjects discriminate treatment or stimuli differences, but may not manifest clear overt behavior that they are able to do so; it reduces dimensionality, usually to a single axis, representing the underlying latent variable of interest. The PCA approach is similar to DA except that the composite score is created independently of treatment or stimuli variables. Thus, this method can be used to investigate possible relationships between a composite score and any relevant independent variable, perhaps measured asynchronously with the behaviors. PLS is a multivariate method related to DA and PCA and is also used to create latent orthogonal variables. However, these new variables are constructed to maximize correlation with one or more <i>continuous</i> independent variables. Creation of a composite score requires the researcher to consider not only the method used to create it, but, at an earlier stage in the research, which behaviors should be components and how best to measure them.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42871941","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The paradox of learned song in a semi-solitary mammal","authors":"Diandra Duengen,&nbsp;Andrea Ravignani","doi":"10.1111/eth.13385","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13385","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Learning can occur via trial and error; however, learning from conspecifics is faster and more efficient. Social animals can easily learn from conspecifics, but how do less social species learn? In particular, birds provide astonishing examples of social learning of vocalizations, while vocal learning from conspecifics is much less understood in mammals. We present a hypothesis aimed at solving an apparent paradox: how can harbor seals (<i>Phoca vitulina</i>) learn their song when their whole lives are marked by loose conspecific social contact? Harbor seal pups are raised individually by their mostly silent mothers. Pups' first few weeks of life show developed vocal plasticity; these weeks are followed by relatively silent years until sexually mature individuals start singing. How can this rather solitary life lead to a learned song? Why do pups display vocal plasticity at a few weeks of age, when this is apparently not needed? Our hypothesis addresses these questions and tries to explain how vocal learning fits into the natural history of harbor seals, and potentially other less social mammals. We suggest that harbor seals learn during a sensitive period within puppyhood, where they are exposed to adult males singing. In particular, we hypothesize that, to make this learning possible, the following happens concurrently: (1) mothers give birth right before male singing starts, (2) pups enter a sensitive learning phase around weaning time, which (3) coincides with their foraging expeditions at sea which, (4) in turn, coincide with the peak singing activity of adult males. In other words, harbor seals show vocal learning as pups so they can acquire elements of their future song from adults, and solitary adults can sing because they have acquired these elements as pups. We review the available evidence and suggest that pups learn adult vocalizations because they are born exactly at the right time to eavesdrop on singing adults. We conclude by advancing empirical predictions and testable hypotheses for future work.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eth.13385","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41751799","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Communal nesting behaviour of Siberian flying squirrels during the non-winter season","authors":"Hayato Kikuchi,&nbsp;Takumi Akasaka,&nbsp;Yushin Asari,&nbsp;Hisashi Yanagawa,&nbsp;Tatsuo Oshida","doi":"10.1111/eth.13386","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13386","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Communal nesting behaviour of small mammals is thought to function mainly as a method of thermoregulation. However, this behaviour is also observed during the non-winter season when there are no obvious thermoregulatory benefits. Siberian flying squirrels (<i>Pteromys volans</i>) nest communally during the non-winter season. This may facilitate mating, but other functions such as thermoregulation have not been sufficiently studied. Therefore, we examined whether communal nesting of <i>P. volans</i> during the non-winter season plays a role in thermoregulation in addition to mating. In the event that communal nesting in the non-winter season has any function other than mating, we expected an increase in non-mating groups consisting of only-males during the nurturing period (duration of mother squirrel and cubs living together) because females rearing their young do not participate in communal nesting. In Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan, during the non-winter season (May–October) between 2019 and 2021, we captured <i>P. volans</i> in 252 nests by using nest boxes. The occurrence of male-only groups showed a tendency to increase during the nurturing period. Moreover, the number of mixed-sex groups increased between August and October each year; these changes in communal nesting during the non-winter season were unrelated to the variation in air temperature or precipitation. These results suggest that during the non-winter season, communal nesting of <i>P. volans</i> is related to reproductive behaviour. Additional studies are needed to determine how communal nesting during the non-winter season enhances the reproductive success of male and female <i>P. volans</i>.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47906553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gut parasites infection increases mate rejection in a species with indirect sperm transfer","authors":"Rocío Palen Pietri,&nbsp;Alejandra L. Ceballos,&nbsp;Alfredo V. Peretti","doi":"10.1111/eth.13380","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13380","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In animals where both males and females have high costs associated with reproduction, it is not rare that both sexes evaluate their potential mate conditions to make the most beneficial choice according to their preferences. Parasite-mediated selection theories predict that individuals would evaluate the ability of their potential mates to resist parasites and decide whether to accept or reject mating based on that information. These studies of parasite-mediated sexual selection had been carried out through the traditional sex roles perspectives. Our study species in this article is one with indirect sperm transfer, the pseudoscorpion <i>Lustrochernes argentinus</i>, and we evaluated mating on the health condition (infected or not) of both males and females. Our hypothesis is that the presence of gregarines in potential mates influences mate choice and for that, we analyzed (1) if gregarine-infected individuals suffer a higher proportion of rejection by their uninfected partners and (2) if spermatophore use success is lower when any of the individuals are infected. We tested this in a behavioral laboratory trial, comparing rejection by the male and the female and spermatophore use in four experimental groups. We found that both males and females suffer a higher probability of rejection when infected with gregarines; the maximum probability of sperm uptake success is when both individuals are healthy.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42161103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}