Animal Behaviour最新文献

{"title":"Leveraging animal behaviour can improve translocation success in the face of anthropogenic stressors","authors":"Elizabeth K. Peterson ,&nbsp;M. Elsbeth McPhee ,&nbsp;Rachel Y. Chock ,&nbsp;Bruce A. Schulte ,&nbsp;Julie K. Young","doi":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123320","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123320","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Anthropogenic stressors, such as habitat loss and fragmentation, destabilize animal populations, putting species at risk of extirpation or extinction. Conservation translocations, i.e. moving animals from one area of their native habitat to create new populations or bolster existing populations in other areas, are increasingly necessary to combat species decline. However, translocation success is variable, and failure is common, regardless of the resources invested in the programme. Additional anthropogenic stressors, such as climate change, pollution, harvesting, invasive species and human–wildlife conflict, further complicate the translocation process. Methods to reduce variable results and increase success are needed, and incorporating animal behaviour and its relevant theories has that potential. We reviewed cases where animal behaviour contributed to the success or failure of a translocation programme where anthropogenic stressors (in particular, climate change, pollution, harvesting, invasive species and human–wildlife conflict) contributed to or were the driving force of the programme's outcome. We further identify areas where conservation behaviour could be implemented to improve the success of translocation programmes and highlight why we need to better leverage our knowledge of animal behaviour to improve the success of translocations in a rapidly changing environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50788,"journal":{"name":"Animal Behaviour","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 123320"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145270264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evolutionary influences on multiple paternity in mammals","authors":"F. Stephen Dobson ,&nbsp;Hannah E. Correia ,&nbsp;Ash Abebe ,&nbsp;Carsten Schradin ,&nbsp;Madison Roberts ,&nbsp;Loren D. Hayes","doi":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123351","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123351","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Multiple paternity is a widespread phenomenon, but the underlying factors that influence the considerable variation across species remain unclear. We examined four hypotheses to explain variation in multiple paternity across 98 populations of 60 mammalian species. We tested whether the log-odds of multiple paternity could be explained by sexual size dimorphism as an indicator of male–male competition, habitat used (aerial, arboreal, terrestrial), feeding groups (carnivores, omnivores, herbivores) and male social organization (males living separately from females, groups with one male or groups with multiple males). Phylogeny and intraspecific variation (random effects) of populations accounted for 8% of the total variation in the log-odds of multiple paternity, with phylogeny and variations within species each explaining about 4% of the total variation. The hypotheses and a litter size covariate (fixed effects) accounted for about 85% of the total variation. After accounting for phylogenetic relationships and within-species variation, the log-odds of multiple paternity exhibited a slight increase with sexual size dimorphism, in the opposite direction to what was expected. Spatial dimensions of habitats that species used were strongly supported as an influence on the probability of multiple paternity. Contrary to predictions, trophic levels did little to explain the odds of multiple paternity. Predictions of influences of male social organization on multiple paternity were only partially supported: species whose male social organization was composed of groups with multiple males averaged greater odds of multiple paternity than species whose main male social organization was composed of social units with one male. The probability of multiple paternity in mammals appears to be little influenced by phylogeny or within-species variation. But, it seems likely that several factors play a role in explaining variation in the probability of multiple paternity within and among species, including habitat use and social behaviour.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50788,"journal":{"name":"Animal Behaviour","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 123351"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145270266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evolutionary influences on multiple paternity in mammals","authors":"F. Stephen Dobson ,&nbsp;Hannah E. Correia ,&nbsp;Ash Abebe ,&nbsp;Carsten Schradin ,&nbsp;Madison Roberts ,&nbsp;Loren D. Hayes","doi":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123351","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123351","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Multiple paternity is a widespread phenomenon, but the underlying factors that influence the considerable variation across species remain unclear. We examined four hypotheses to explain variation in multiple paternity across 98 populations of 60 mammalian species. We tested whether the log-odds of multiple paternity could be explained by sexual size dimorphism as an indicator of male–male competition, habitat used (aerial, arboreal, terrestrial), feeding groups (carnivores, omnivores, herbivores) and male social organization (males living separately from females, groups with one male or groups with multiple males). Phylogeny and intraspecific variation (random effects) of populations accounted for 8% of the total variation in the log-odds of multiple paternity, with phylogeny and variations within species each explaining about 4% of the total variation. The hypotheses and a litter size covariate (fixed effects) accounted for about 85% of the total variation. After accounting for phylogenetic relationships and within-species variation, the log-odds of multiple paternity exhibited a slight increase with sexual size dimorphism, in the opposite direction to what was expected. Spatial dimensions of habitats that species used were strongly supported as an influence on the probability of multiple paternity. Contrary to predictions, trophic levels did little to explain the odds of multiple paternity. Predictions of influences of male social organization on multiple paternity were only partially supported: species whose male social organization was composed of groups with multiple males averaged greater odds of multiple paternity than species whose main male social organization was composed of social units with one male. The probability of multiple paternity in mammals appears to be little influenced by phylogeny or within-species variation. But, it seems likely that several factors play a role in explaining variation in the probability of multiple paternity within and among species, including habitat use and social behaviour.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50788,"journal":{"name":"Animal Behaviour","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 123351"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145269790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Leveraging animal behaviour can improve translocation success in the face of anthropogenic stressors","authors":"Elizabeth K. Peterson ,&nbsp;M. Elsbeth McPhee ,&nbsp;Rachel Y. Chock ,&nbsp;Bruce A. Schulte ,&nbsp;Julie K. Young","doi":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123320","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123320","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Anthropogenic stressors, such as habitat loss and fragmentation, destabilize animal populations, putting species at risk of extirpation or extinction. Conservation translocations, i.e. moving animals from one area of their native habitat to create new populations or bolster existing populations in other areas, are increasingly necessary to combat species decline. However, translocation success is variable, and failure is common, regardless of the resources invested in the programme. Additional anthropogenic stressors, such as climate change, pollution, harvesting, invasive species and human–wildlife conflict, further complicate the translocation process. Methods to reduce variable results and increase success are needed, and incorporating animal behaviour and its relevant theories has that potential. We reviewed cases where animal behaviour contributed to the success or failure of a translocation programme where anthropogenic stressors (in particular, climate change, pollution, harvesting, invasive species and human–wildlife conflict) contributed to or were the driving force of the programme's outcome. We further identify areas where conservation behaviour could be implemented to improve the success of translocation programmes and highlight why we need to better leverage our knowledge of animal behaviour to improve the success of translocations in a rapidly changing environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50788,"journal":{"name":"Animal Behaviour","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 123320"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145269788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An experimental test of seasonal and social influences on caching in black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus","authors":"Ipshita Gayen ,&nbsp;Kimberley J. Mathot","doi":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123350","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123350","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Caching (i.e. storing food for later) acts as an external energy reserve, increasing the probability of winter survival in small birds. For many species, high-intensity caching occurs in autumn when food is comparatively abundant. Theoretical models predict that reduced foraging predictability favours increased caching. Higher-ranked individuals often experience greater predictability in their access to food and are therefore expected to rely less on caching. We used radiofrequency identification (RFID)-enabled feeders to quantify the use of cacheable and noncacheable food in a free-living marked population of 91 black-capped chickadees, <em>Poecile atricapillus</em>, including the daily and seasonal caching patterns for individuals of different ranks. We used two separate proxies for dominance. First, we used sex (male or female) as a proxy for dominance because, in chickadees, males are dominant over females. Second, we used the number of feeder sites visited (one site or multiple sites), based on both theoretical and empirical work suggesting that subordinates use larger areas to meet their foraging needs, presumably due to their lower ability to monopolize resources. Contrary to our prediction that subordinates would cache more, we found that males had a higher use of cacheable food than females, and within sexes, individuals using a single feeder site had a higher use of cacheable food than individuals using multiple feeder sites. We also found a decline in the use of cacheable food, but not noncacheable food, over the course of the experiments (mid-October to mid-November), which was steeper for males and single feeder site users compared to females and multiple feeder site users. We suggest that higher use of cacheable food by males and single feeder site users in our study may be because the food provided was sufficiently limited such that dominants outcompeted subordinates, limiting subordinates’ access to cacheable food. Future work manipulating food abundance during the caching period is needed to test this hypothesis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50788,"journal":{"name":"Animal Behaviour","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 123350"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145269791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An experimental test of seasonal and social influences on caching in black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus","authors":"Ipshita Gayen ,&nbsp;Kimberley J. Mathot","doi":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123350","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123350","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Caching (i.e. storing food for later) acts as an external energy reserve, increasing the probability of winter survival in small birds. For many species, high-intensity caching occurs in autumn when food is comparatively abundant. Theoretical models predict that reduced foraging predictability favours increased caching. Higher-ranked individuals often experience greater predictability in their access to food and are therefore expected to rely less on caching. We used radiofrequency identification (RFID)-enabled feeders to quantify the use of cacheable and noncacheable food in a free-living marked population of 91 black-capped chickadees, <em>Poecile atricapillus</em>, including the daily and seasonal caching patterns for individuals of different ranks. We used two separate proxies for dominance. First, we used sex (male or female) as a proxy for dominance because, in chickadees, males are dominant over females. Second, we used the number of feeder sites visited (one site or multiple sites), based on both theoretical and empirical work suggesting that subordinates use larger areas to meet their foraging needs, presumably due to their lower ability to monopolize resources. Contrary to our prediction that subordinates would cache more, we found that males had a higher use of cacheable food than females, and within sexes, individuals using a single feeder site had a higher use of cacheable food than individuals using multiple feeder sites. We also found a decline in the use of cacheable food, but not noncacheable food, over the course of the experiments (mid-October to mid-November), which was steeper for males and single feeder site users compared to females and multiple feeder site users. We suggest that higher use of cacheable food by males and single feeder site users in our study may be because the food provided was sufficiently limited such that dominants outcompeted subordinates, limiting subordinates’ access to cacheable food. Future work manipulating food abundance during the caching period is needed to test this hypothesis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50788,"journal":{"name":"Animal Behaviour","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 123350"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145270267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Communication about aerial threat: flexible usage of elements in alarm calls","authors":"Xiang Gong,&nbsp;Yuqi Sun,&nbsp;Jinling Sui","doi":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123341","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123341","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Animals respond to different predators in their environment by using various alarm calls. In addition, animals can further convey different information through discrete or graded variations in their alarm calls. However, few studies have focused on the mechanism by which animals use these variations in aerial alarm calls to convey information about aerial threats. In this study, experiments on free-living urban azure-winged magpies, <em>Cyanopica cyanus</em>, were conducted by simulating threats from the sky using a drone and controlling the drone’s height to indicate the distance of the threat. When confronted with a threat from the sky, magpies used two different alarm calls: A (consisting of a single ‘a’ element) versus B (consisting of a single ‘b’ element and multiple ‘c’ elements). The probability of magpies using alarm call B increased with the decrease of drone height. Moreover, the specific elements in alarm calls changed as the drone height decreased, with the length of the ‘a’ element being shortened in alarm call A, the number of the ‘c’ elements being increased in alarm call B, the length of the first ‘c’ element being lengthened and the interval between the first and second c element being shortened. Further playback experiments indicated that alarm call B elicited more fleeing behaviour responses compared with alarm call A. Moreover, as the number of ‘c’ elements in alarm call B increased, magpies spent more time scanning and looking towards the sky during scanning. These results indicate that azure-winged magpies encode information about the degree of danger and location of threats by modifying the usage, structural features and quantity of elements in their alarm calls.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50788,"journal":{"name":"Animal Behaviour","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 123341"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145269789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Communication about aerial threat: flexible usage of elements in alarm calls","authors":"Xiang Gong,&nbsp;Yuqi Sun,&nbsp;Jinling Sui","doi":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123341","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123341","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Animals respond to different predators in their environment by using various alarm calls. In addition, animals can further convey different information through discrete or graded variations in their alarm calls. However, few studies have focused on the mechanism by which animals use these variations in aerial alarm calls to convey information about aerial threats. In this study, experiments on free-living urban azure-winged magpies, <em>Cyanopica cyanus</em>, were conducted by simulating threats from the sky using a drone and controlling the drone’s height to indicate the distance of the threat. When confronted with a threat from the sky, magpies used two different alarm calls: A (consisting of a single ‘a’ element) versus B (consisting of a single ‘b’ element and multiple ‘c’ elements). The probability of magpies using alarm call B increased with the decrease of drone height. Moreover, the specific elements in alarm calls changed as the drone height decreased, with the length of the ‘a’ element being shortened in alarm call A, the number of the ‘c’ elements being increased in alarm call B, the length of the first ‘c’ element being lengthened and the interval between the first and second c element being shortened. Further playback experiments indicated that alarm call B elicited more fleeing behaviour responses compared with alarm call A. Moreover, as the number of ‘c’ elements in alarm call B increased, magpies spent more time scanning and looking towards the sky during scanning. These results indicate that azure-winged magpies encode information about the degree of danger and location of threats by modifying the usage, structural features and quantity of elements in their alarm calls.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50788,"journal":{"name":"Animal Behaviour","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 123341"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145270265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Indian peafowls can count numbers: experimental evidence of numerical cognition in peafowls","authors":"Remi Sakamoto,&nbsp;Tadatoshi Ogura","doi":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123348","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123348","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Indian peafowl, <em>Pavo cristatus</em>, shows sexual dimorphism. Adult males have bright blue bodies and elaborate ornamental feathers with an eyespot pattern called trains. This morphological feature is believed to have evolved through sexual selection, and it serves as a cue for mate choice by females. However, previous research findings do not support this hypothesis, and the debate remains unresolved. To answer this question from a new perspective, the numerical cognition of Indian peafowl with regard to mate choice based on train morphology was explored in this study. Two-choice tasks with operant conditioning were used to evaluate the ability of six peafowls to discriminate visual stimuli based on the quantity of dots (1–5) while controlling for nonnumerical factors such as dot area. The subjects selected the correct quantity within the range of 1–5, which is significantly more than by chance. They relied on numerical cues for discrimination rather than nonnumerical attributes. They also compared dot quantities based on the relationship between the two stimuli (larger or smaller). Experimental results revealed that the accuracy of judgement follows Weber's law, in which discrimination accuracy decreases as the numerical ratio between stimuli decreases. These results provide evidence of numerical competence in peafowl, thereby contributing to the broader debate on the evolution of male train morphology in peafowl and highlighting the need for further studies to examine the role of numerical cognition in sexual selection and its potential sex differences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50788,"journal":{"name":"Animal Behaviour","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 123348"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145270261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Heterogeneous microcosm mazes affect reproduction and survival in a wingless hyperparasitoid wasp","authors":"Xianhui Shi ,&nbsp;Rieta Gols ,&nbsp;Jetske G. de Boer ,&nbsp;Jitske Spee ,&nbsp;Irla Hanum ,&nbsp;Sergio A. Pelaez-Plazas ,&nbsp;Jocelyn da Cruz Freitas ,&nbsp;Jeffrey A. Harvey","doi":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123344","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123344","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In nature, resources necessary for reproduction and survival are often spatially distributed or scarce. Parasitoid wasps are insects that develop as larvae in or on a single invertebrate resource (often another insect), while the adults are free-living and rely on carbohydrates, for example, floral nectar, for maintenance. Finding these different types of resources may affect fitness-related traits such as fecundity and survival. We compared reproduction and longevity in a hyperparasitoid wasp, <em>Gelis agilis</em>, using cocoons of the primary parasitoid <em>Cotesia glomerata</em> as hosts in microcosm arenas consisting of a single Petri dish or two dishes connected by a tube. The number of compartments in each dish was varied, and the provisioning of food and hosts was either temporally separated at 48 h intervals (single-dish microcosms) or spatially separated (two-dish microcosms). In the two experimental designs, batches of host cocoons were offered to <em>G. agilis</em> females, and cocoon fate (emergence of an adult primary or hyperparasitoid or precocious death) was recorded. In the single-dish arenas where the provisioning of cocoons and food was alternated every 48 h, there were no consistent effects of the number of compartments in the dishes on hyperparasitoid longevity and fecundity or host survival. However, when food and host access were spatially separated in two petri dishes connected by a plastic tube, the longevity and fecundity of <em>G. agilis</em> traits were reduced. Conversely, the survival of <em>C. glomerata</em> increased, particularly when the number of compartments was increased. Additional experiments further showed that finding food is a major factor limiting longevity and, concomitantly, the fecundity of hyperparasitoids in more complex environments. Habitat heterogeneity and complexity, even at small scales, play a crucial role not only in influencing the dynamics of host-parasitoid interactions but also in determining the risk of overexploitation or underexploitation of resources by consumers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50788,"journal":{"name":"Animal Behaviour","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 123344"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145269793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}