Ethology最新文献

{"title":"Sublethal effects of kleptoparasitism on experimental social spider colonies","authors":"Samantha Straus,&nbsp;Leticia Avilés","doi":"10.1111/eth.13401","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13401","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A defining feature of parasitism is the harm parasites cause to their host via a reduction in lifetime reproductive success. Harm, also referred to as “virulence,” may involve host mortality or sublethal effects, such as a decreased body condition or protracted development of immature individuals. We considered a system where colonies of the social spider <i>Anelosimus eximius</i> serve as hosts to confamilial kleptoparasitic spiders that steal food resources. In a laboratory experiment with parasitized and non-parasitized colonies, we tested whether this host–parasite interaction meets the criterium of harm to host individuals and colonies. We assessed survival and measured scaled mass indices (SMI) before and after the experimental period. Linear mixed effects models demonstrated that colonies exposed to kleptoparasites had lower SMI values at the end of the experiment compared to controls, but found no effect of kleptoparasitism on mortality in treatment and control groups. We conclude that kleptoparasites meet the criterium of harm to their host to be considered parasitic and provide the first empirical measure of virulence for this study system.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eth.13401","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47886608","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":"Population differences in multimodal lizard communication are not well explained by habitat or history","authors":"Cristina Romero-Diaz,&nbsp;Bryce R. Wetherell,&nbsp;Danielle Ury,&nbsp;Mikayla Reuter,&nbsp;Jake A. Pruett,&nbsp;Emília P. Martins,&nbsp;Alison G. Ossip-Drahos","doi":"10.1111/eth.13402","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13402","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Animals evolve in complex selective regimes, where a suite of different factors can shape signal use. We might predict that more closely related species will exhibit more similar behavior than those more distantly related; however, sometimes signals are shaped more profoundly by the environment or other forces. Lizards in the genus <i>Sceloporus</i> communicate with conspecifics with multimodal signals that combine species-typical push-up and headbob displays and chemical signals in the form of femoral gland secretions. Here, we examine behavioral activity and signal use across three closely related populations of the <i>Sceloporus undulatus</i> species complex from diverse habitats across the United States, to test the relative roles of habitat and phylogeography in shaping communicative behavior. We filmed undisturbed levels of activity for free-ranging males of <i>S. consobrinus,</i> syn. <i>S. u. erythrocheilus</i>, in Colorado, <i>S. undulatus hyacinthinus</i> in Indiana and <i>S. u. undulatus</i> in Georgia, and scored frequency and rates of behavior important for communication. We found that populations differed in their use of communicative signals in a way that deviates from expectations based solely on phylogeographic proximity or habitat, suggesting that plasticity or adaptation to conditions that vary among populations may be especially important. Specifically, canonical discriminant analyses found the largest differences in movement patterns. <i>Sceloporus u. hyacinthinus</i> was the most behaviorally different out of the three: males in this population had lower movement rates and particularly low levels of chemosensory behavior while male <i>S. consobrinus</i> and <i>S. u. undulatus</i> showed similar rates of chemosensory acts and headbob/push-up displays. Phenotypic and environmental variation among closely related populations, in combination with phylogeographic knowledge can help us untangle the processes responsible for the origin and maintenance of organismal diversity in communicative behavior.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eth.13402","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43994887","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":"How important is temperature for strike success of ectotherms? Thermal effects on predator–prey interactions of free-ranging pit vipers (Gloydius blomhoffii)","authors":"Tomonori Kodama,&nbsp;Akira Mori","doi":"10.1111/eth.13400","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13400","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Among various environmental factors, temperature has been considered a main determinant of outcomes of predator–prey interactions involving ectotherms. Although numerous studies have aimed to examine temperature effects on those interactions, few studies have been conducted under fully natural conditions. In this study, we examined the degree to which temperature affects the outcomes of encounters between a Japanese pit viper (Mamushi, <i>Gloydius blomhoffii</i>) and its prey under natural conditions. We continuously recorded ambushing behaviors and body temperatures of these snakes in the field using videography. We found that, over the range of temperatures at which Mamushi hunted, (1) temperature has only limited effects on whether Mamushis initiate a strike at prey and whether strikes successfully hit the prey; (2) prey reactions to strikes, such as whether they dodge the strike or the latency from strike initiation to dodge, are not affected by temperature; and (3) factors such as distance to prey and prey dodging movements are greater determinants than temperature on the outcomes of encounters between free-ranging Mamushi and their prey. Our results suggest that temperature effects on the outcomes of free-ranging snake–prey interactions may be smaller than hitherto considered.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48879871","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":"Sibling cannibalism in the false widow spider is dependent on spiderling density and the reliable availability of fresh prey","authors":"Jeffrey A. Harvey,&nbsp;Robin Steegh,&nbsp;Yuting Dong,&nbsp;Rieta Gols","doi":"10.1111/eth.13399","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13399","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Adult female spiders lay batches of eggs in silken egg sacs, and after hatching, the spiderlings live for transient periods in their mother's web before dispersing. Sibling cannibalism is frequently observed among spiderlings of many species under conditions of food deprivation. Here, we conducted assays in small Petri dishes with different densities of newly hatched (second instar) spiderlings of the false widow spider, <i>Steatoda grossa</i>, using a split-clutch design. Prey (freshly killed fruit flies) availability was manipulated both numerically and temporally. Offspring from 10 different females were separated as siblings into densities of two, four, or eight spiderlings per Petri dish and these were provided with either 0 flies (starvation control), two flies, four flies, or eight flies that were replenished weekly or every 3 weeks. A further control was conducted with solitary spiderlings in Petri dishes deprived of flies. The number of surviving spiderlings per Petri dish was counted every 3 days until only one remained (or until death of the solitary spiderling). Our results show that the rate of cannibalism was lower with increasing spiderling density and when fresh flies were replenished more frequently, whereas the number of flies that were provided did not affect cannibalism. In <i>S. grossa</i>, juvenile cannibalism occurs primarily under conditions of extreme food limitation, although in synanthropic habitats where the spider is abundant, it may be an adaptive strategy owing to the potential scarcity of prey. Under certain conditions, cannibalism in spiderlings is adaptive by eliminating competitors and providing nutrient-rich food.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eth.13399","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45010377","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":"The wolf spider Pardosa milvina varies silk deposition in response to self and same-sex conspecific silk","authors":"Michael O'Donovan,&nbsp;Matthew H. Persons","doi":"10.1111/eth.13398","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13398","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Silk is an important communication medium for spiders with roles in species recognition, sex identification, and mating status assessment. Spiders may benefit by discriminating between their own or another same-sex conspecific's silk. Silk-mediated self-recognition could allow spiders to identify areas that they have previously visited, competitively block silk advertisements from sexual rivals or minimize redundant signaling in an area. Silk deposition behavior may also be contingent upon silk cues detected from same-sex conspecifics. We tested if males and females of the wolf spider <i>Pardosa milvina</i> show different silk deposition patterns when encountering their own silk versus the silk of another spider of the same sex. Using a within-between-subjects design, we quantified male and female deposition of three silk types: draglines, cord silk, and attachment disks on substrates containing either their own silk or the silk of an adult same-sex conspecific (<i>N</i> = 23 males, 28 females). Both males and females significantly increased dragline and cord silk deposition on substrates containing conspecific rather than their own silk with males producing more cord silk than females. Males significantly increased attachment disk deposition on conspecific male silk compared to their own while females showed the opposite response, decreasing attachment disk deposition on conspecific female silk. Both male and female <i>P. milvina</i> can recognize their own silk, but we found significant qualitative and quantitative sex differences in silk deposition suggesting sex-specific functions for attachment disks compared to cord or dragline silk.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46274399","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":"Reproductive interference is stronger than expected in Heliconius butterflies","authors":"André Luis Klein,&nbsp;Aldo Mellender de Araújo","doi":"10.1111/eth.13397","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13397","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In animals, reproductive interference associated with mimicry can result in the evolution of private communication channels, as suggested for <i>Heliconius</i> butterflies, where cryptic color wavelength would drive male preference for conspecific over intergeneric co-mimics. Here, we tested this hypothesis in two co-mimic pairs (intra and intergeneric) and measured the efficacy and symmetry of color pattern as a reproductive barrier in a non-co-mimic, possibly hybridizing pair of <i>Heliconius</i> species. We conducted pairwise experiments of preference where a group of males was presented to a conspecific and heterospecific female model made with real wings and free of chemical volatiles. We did not detect any indication of the expected use of cryptic recognition signals to mate choice in the intergeneric co-mimic pair. Additionally, we detected an unexpected male preference for heterospecific female models between intrageneric co-mimics towards the species with larger red patches, suggesting a supernormal stimulus based on a general preference for the red color. Finally, we found an asymmetry in the behavioral reproductive barrier between the non-co-mimic closely related species that also agrees with the hypothesis of a general preference for red and with an expected permeability of the reproductive barrier between them. Since the costs imposed by heterospecific courtships can limit the convergence of signaling phenotypes, our results contribute to explaining the maintenance of multiple aposematic color pattern between unpalatable and closely related sympatric <i>Heliconius</i> species.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43614074","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":"Anuran juveniles avoid preying on aggressive ant species","authors":"Ken Naganawa,&nbsp;Yasukazu Okada","doi":"10.1111/eth.13395","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13395","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Ants occupy huge biomass in the terrestrial ecosystem. Several ant species are highly aggressive and equipped with venomous stingers and/or formic acid. Therefore, ants are abundant but potentially unpalatable prey for some predators. So far, however, the role of ants as prey is not well understood. In this study, we focused anurans (frogs and toads) as one of the major predators of terrestrial arthropods. Using two anuran species and three ant species sharing the habitats, we asked two questions. First, we hypothesized that the anuran preference for prey is ant-species specific, and tested whether anuran prey preference is affected by ant aggressiveness. Second, we hypothesized that the anurans may innately avoid aggressive ants. To test this hypothesis, ant-naïve anuran juveniles (<i>Bufo</i> toad and <i>Rana</i> frog) were reared from tadpoles, and juveniles' preferences for three ant species with variable aggressiveness were tested. The exposure to different ant species showed that anuran juveniles highly avoided aggressive ants (<i>Lasius</i> and <i>Brachyponera</i>) compared to less aggressive ants (<i>Tetramorium</i>). Additionally, ant-naive juvenile toads avoided the aggressive ants without prior experience. In contrast, ant-naïve juvenile frogs attacked the most of firstly encountered ants and then learned to avoid the unpalatable ants. These findings suggest that (1) some anurans selectively avoid aggressive ant species, (2) <i>Bufo</i> toads have innate avoidance to some ants, while <i>Rana</i> frogs learn to avoid the unpalatable prey.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eth.13395","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47385476","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":"Learning and innovation in urban yellow mongooses (Cynictis penicillata)","authors":"Mijke Müller,&nbsp;Neville Pillay","doi":"10.1111/eth.13396","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13396","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Problem-solving and innovation have been studied extensively, yet urban animals are overlooked despite opportunities to innovate in urban areas. We studied problem-solving in yellow mongooses (<i>Cynictis penicillata</i>) in an urban setting. Using novel puzzle box experiments, we investigated whether yellow mongooses could solve a task of increasing complexity in three locations with varying extents of anthropogenic interactions. Mongooses in a residential ecological estate took the longest time to solve the problem, whereas those frequenting a residential garden solved the problem the fastest. Mongooses solved the puzzle box problem at each of the four stages of complexity, but were the fastest during the least complex first stage, followed by the third stage and requiring more time in the second and fourth stages of complexity. Overall, the location of the mongoose colonies and the complexity of the task were the main correlates of the speed of solving the problem. Urban-living yellow mongooses can interact with novelty in an anthropogenic environment and solve novel problems through innovation to obtain a food incentive.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eth.13396","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43798898","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":"Behavioural profiles in a wild population of a cooperatively breeding cichlid","authors":"Maria Reyes-Contreras,&nbsp;Carl Santiago,&nbsp;Barbara Taborsky","doi":"10.1111/eth.13393","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13393","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In cooperatively breeding species, subordinates can obtain group membership through social interactions with other group members or by providing services such as helping with territory defence. Large subordinate individuals, which can reproduce, are expected to adjust their behaviour as a function of the demand of help and group size because if the environmental conditions allow, they may either leave the group to start breeding or queue for the breeding position in their natal group. The number of helpers in a group is expected to affect the need of help by dominants and consequently also the level of subordination shown by helpers. In a series of field experiments, we manipulated the need of help and the opportunities for subordinates to show submissive behaviour in a wild population of the cooperatively breeding species <i>Neolamprologus pulcher.</i> We assessed if group size determines the social behavioural strategy of large subordinate individuals. When experimentally eliciting submissive behaviour, large subordinates from small groups showed a lower frequency of submissive behaviour compared to large groups; moreover, they tended to show a higher frequency of sand digging than in large groups. In contrast, neither territory defence in the presence of a heterospecific egg and larvae predator nor dispersal propensity, measured as prospecting frequency in neighbouring territories, was affected by group size. A principal component analysis revealed that prospecting is uncorrelated with submissive behaviour and helping behaviour. Our results suggest that group size may be involved in shaping behavioural phenotypes of juvenile subordinates.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/eth.13393","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41956362","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":"Context-dependent expression of variation in defensive behaviour in the lower termite Zootermopsis nevadensis","authors":"Yutaro Koyama,&nbsp;Hajime Yaguchi,&nbsp;Kiyoto Maekawa,&nbsp;Masaru K. Hojo","doi":"10.1111/eth.13394","DOIUrl":"10.1111/eth.13394","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Eusocial animals exhibit a sophisticated division of labour. The self-organized colony requires coordination of local interactions at the individual level. Termites are a well-known group exhibiting social organization among castes within a colony, and helper castes have facilitated their ecological and evolutionary success. Termites have soldier castes specialized in defence, but other castes are also known to exhibit defensive behaviour depending on the context. However, it is unclear how variation in the frequencies of defensive behaviour is emerged. Here, we investigate the effects of the presence of nestmates on individual defensive behaviour in the dampwood termite <i>Zootermopsis nevadensis</i>. We experimentally prepared three conditions and observed biting behaviour against the ant <i>Camponotus obscuripes</i>. First, the frequency of biting was significantly higher in soldiers than that in pseudergates (i.e. workers) under isolated conditions. Second, the results showed that the frequencies of biting exhibited by soldiers were much higher than those of pseudergates in the pseudergate–soldier pairs. Finally, we investigated the social conditions in the presence of the same castes, that is, pseudergate–pseudergate and soldier–soldier pairs. The frequencies of biting exhibited by first-biting individuals were significantly higher than those exhibited by second-biting individuals in both paired conditions. Our findings demonstrate that defensive behaviour can be frequently observed in first-biting individuals despite the presence of two individuals of the same caste, suggesting that the variation of defensive behaviour may be increased in the presence of nestmates.</p>","PeriodicalId":50494,"journal":{"name":"Ethology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41845076","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}