Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology最新文献

{"title":"Good body condition increases male attractiveness but not caring quality in a neotropical arachnid with male-only care","authors":"Louise M. Alissa, Glauco Machado, Gustavo S. Requena","doi":"10.1007/s00265-024-03439-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-024-03439-6","url":null,"abstract":"<h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Abstract</h3><p>Female mate choice is usually based on traits that signal male quality as a sexual partner. According to the “good parent” hypothesis, female mate choice may also consider male quality as a caregiver in species with male-only care. Because parental activities may be costly, males in good condition should be more attractive to females than those in poor condition. We experimentally manipulated the body condition of non-parental and parental males of the egg-tending harvestman <i>Iporangaia pustulosa</i> and then evaluated how it affected their mating success and ability to protect eggs under field conditions. For non-parental males, individuals in good condition had twice the probability of mating than those in poor condition. For parental males, individuals in good condition had two times more chances of mating and acquired five times more eggs than those in poor condition. Surprisingly, males’ body condition had no effect on the efficiency of egg protection. Although our results indicate that the male condition is a sexually selected trait, we found no support for the “good parent hypothesis” given that an increase in body condition does not improve the survival of the offspring under male care. Instead, these findings are congruent with predictions of the “essential male care” model, which suggests that, when the costs of parental care are low (as is the case of egg attendance), most males can provide the minimum necessary care for offspring survival. However, only males in good condition can allocate surplus energy to advertise their overall quality and attract more mates.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Significance statement</h3><p>Studies examining female mate choice based on condition-dependent traits that serve as reliable indicators of male caregiving quality are mostly limited to vertebrates. We present one of the first empirical examples demonstrating that male body condition influences male attractiveness in an arthropod species exhibiting male-only care. Our field-based results show that females prefer males, whether non-parental or parental, in good body condition over those in poor condition. However, we found no evidence that an increase in body condition improves the survival of the offspring under male care. We propose that males in good body condition are more attractive because the relatively low costs of egg attendance allow them to allocate their surplus energy into advertising their overall quality. Our findings are congruent with predictions of the “essential male care” model, which explores resource allocation between paternal care and sexual advertising.</p>","PeriodicalId":8881,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology","volume":"308 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139768561","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":"Does mutualism provide additional indirect benefits? Behavioral indicators of chemical communication in a temporally dynamic fish-mussel mutualism","authors":"Ning Zhang, Chris K. Elvidge, Qinlei Li, Shijian Fu, Jigang Xia","doi":"10.1007/s00265-024-03440-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-024-03440-z","url":null,"abstract":"<h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Abstract</h3><p>Mutualistic relationships confer selective advantages to interacting species through enhanced ecological benefits but may be functionally limited to certain life history stages. However, it is not yet known whether one party can indirectly benefit from risky cues released when the other party is threatened. Larval glochidia of the Chinese pond mussel (<i>Anodonta woodiana</i>) attach to fishes including the rosy bitterling (<i>Rhodeus ocellatus</i>) for dispersal, while reproductive-phase bitterling use the gills of adult mussels as spawning substrate, and their larvae remain inside the host mussel shells until they are capable of swimming. Here, we examined heterospecific responses to risky chemical cues by rosy bitterling as an indirect indicator of species affinity consistent with mutualism at different life history stages, to test for age-dependent response patterns indicating temporal patterning of shared predation risk. Bitterling demonstrated equivocal but similar responses to water controls and mussel odor and significant antipredator responses to bitterling chemical alarm cues (CAC) independent of life stage, while only reproductive adult bitterling demonstrated significant antipredator responses to mussel CAC. These findings suggest that the mutualistic affinity to mussels present in reproductive-phase adult rosy bitterling may result in shared predation risk and therefore provide them with additional indirect antipredator benefits. Our results revealed a life history stage-dependent mutualism in this bitterling-mussel system and describe a novel application of predation risk assays for studying temporal patterning in mutualistic relationships.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Significance statement</h3><p>Interspecific interactions, including mutualisms, are a central component of community composition. Some freshwater fishes, including the rosy bitterling, and mussels share an interesting mutualism where each species provides early life habitat to the other. However, does mutualism provide additional indirect benefits? Here, we used responses to conspecific and Chinese pond mussel chemical cues in different life stages of bitterling to identify the occurrence of mutualistic behaviors. We demonstrated that the putative occurrence of mutualistic behaviors in rosy bitterling is not consistent over time and instead varies predictably with reproductive status of different life history stages. This study provides a novel perspective for a deeper understanding of labile interspecific relationships and provides a theoretical basis for indirectly examining mutualisms through chemical communication-based behavioral assays.</p>","PeriodicalId":8881,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139768474","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":"Black-and-white pelage as visually protective coloration in colobus monkeys","authors":"Ossi Nokelainen, Sandra Winters, Zeke Rowe, Fernando A. Campos, Eva C. Wikberg, Natasha Howell, Tim Caro","doi":"10.1007/s00265-024-03434-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-024-03434-x","url":null,"abstract":"<h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Abstract</h3><p>Conspicuous coloration is often seen as the evolutionary consequence of either sexual selection or warning predators visually about prey defences, although not all conspicuous species fit this paradigm. Exceptions include several species of colobus monkeys whose black-and-white coloration, characteristic of larger colobines, has never been explained. Here, using photographs of black-and-white colobus (<i>Colobus vellerosus</i>) taken in the wild, quantitative image analysis, and vision modelling (acuity-corrected feline, chimpanzee, and raptor vision), we provide evidence that their coloration provides distance-dependent camouflage in natural forest environments. At all viewing distances, black-and-white colobus monkeys blend into their environment because of their high chromatic overlap with the background when viewed by ecologically relevant predator vision models which have low visual acuities. Additionally, for chimpanzee and felid vision, there was evidence of edge disruption at longer viewing distances. Our comparative analyses of different species of colobines do not support an association between black-and-white coloration and larger body mass or group size, but this may simply be due to the limited number of species within the family. We reason that black-and-white colobines gain visually protective coloration through background matching against felids, and also benefit through disruptive coloration against felids and chimpanzees but rely on these protective coloration mechanisms less against raptors.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Significance statement</h3><p>Conspicuous black-and-white coloration in colobus monkeys has long eluded an evolutionary explanation. Our research, employing photographs of colobus monkeys, image analysis, and vision modelling, unveils a novel approach to this coloration. We show that in their natural forest habitats, black-and-white colobus monkeys employ distance-dependent camouflage against ecologically relevant predators with low visual acuity, blending in with the background at increasing viewing distances. In summary, the evolution of black-and-white colobus coloration appears to be related to background matching against felids, with added benefits of disruptive camouflage against felids and chimpanzees, less so to raptors, offering fresh insights into the complex interplay of coloration and survival strategies in mammals.</p>","PeriodicalId":8881,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology","volume":"308 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139768582","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":"Extended parental care in the mass provisioning silk wasp, Microstigmus rosae","authors":"Rosa Leena Bonifacii, Jeremy Field","doi":"10.1007/s00265-024-03437-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-024-03437-8","url":null,"abstract":"<h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Abstract</h3><p>Insurance-based mechanisms, where surviving group-members can complete parental care after the death of a nestmate, are key to the origin of cooperative group formation in insects. Selection for group living via these models is proposed to be dependent on the life expectancy of adult carers relative to the duration of offspring dependency on parental care. Progressive provisioning, where adults feed offspring gradually as they grow, is thought to extend this period of dependency and is therefore suggested to be an important factor promoting the evolution of sociality. In contrast, mass-provisioning species provide offspring with all the food they need to reach maturity at the beginning of their development. Since offspring are then nutritionally independent, the applicability of insurance models is less clear. In this paper we experimentally demonstrate that adult presence on the nest, even after the end of provisioning, is critical for brood survival in the mass provisioning silk wasp <i>Microstigmus rosae</i>. After 10 days, experimentally orphaned nests contained 65% fewer healthy offspring than controls. Adult females were also recorded performing post-provisioning parental care behaviours including nest maintenance and repair, putative hygienic brood care and aggressive nest defence against both ants and parasitoid wasps. By demonstrating the potential applicability of insurance advantages our results highlight how, even in mass provisioners, insurance-based mechanisms may be part of what favours group living.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Significance statement</h3><p>Extended parental care is an important precursor to the evolution of eusociality. In this context, group living can serve as a form of “life insurance”, ensuring that dependent offspring receive the care they need to reach maturity should the mother die. Such mechanisms are especially important to our understanding of social evolution as they are able to account for the origins of cooperative group formation, not just its maintenance. However, for mass-provisioning species, where all food items are provided upfront, the significance of insurance advantages remains unclear. In this study, we experimentally demonstrate that adult attendance is critical for brood survival in the mass provisioning wasp, <i>Microstigmus</i> <i>rosae</i>. Our results reveal the applicability of insurance advantages to <i>M. rosae</i> with important implications for our understanding of the potential adaptive value of group living in mass provisioning species.</p>","PeriodicalId":8881,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139680028","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":"The effect of repeated measurements and within-individual variance on the estimation of heritability: a simulation study","authors":"Mónika Jablonszky, László Zsolt Garamszegi","doi":"10.1007/s00265-024-03435-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-024-03435-w","url":null,"abstract":"<h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Abstract</h3><p>The estimation of heritability is a common practice in the field of ecology and evolution. Heritability of the traits is often estimated using one single measurement per individual, although many traits (especially behavioural and physiological traits) are characterized by large within-individual variance, and ideally a large number of within individual measurements can be obtained. Importantly, the effect of the within-individual variance and the rate at which this variance is sampled on the estimation of heritability has not been thoroughly tested. We fill this gap of knowledge with a simulation study, and assess the effect of within- and between-individual sample size, and the true value of the variance components on the estimation of heritability. In line with previous studies we found that the accuracy and precision of heritability estimation increased with sample size and accuracy with higher values of additive genetic variance. When the sample size was above 500 accuracy and power of heritability estimates increased in the models including repeated measurements, especially when within-individual variance was high. We thus suggest to use a sample of more than 100 individuals and to include more than two repeated measurements per individual in the models to improve estimation when investigating heritability of labile traits.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Significance statement</h3><p>Heritability reflects the part of the trait’s phenotypic variation underlined by genetic variation. Despite the difficulties of heritability calculation (high number of individuals is needed with known relatedness), it is a widely used measure in evolutionary studies. However, not every factor potentially affecting the quality of heritability estimation is well understood. We thus investigated with a comprehensive simulation study how the number of repeated measurements per individuals and the amount of within-individual variation influence the goodness of heritability estimation. We found that although the previously described effect of the number of studied individuals was the most important, including repeated measurements also improved the reliability of the heritability estimates, especially when within-individual variation was high. Our results thus highlight the importance of including repeated measurements when investigating the heritability of highly plastic traits, such as behavioural or physiological traits.</p>","PeriodicalId":8881,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139664991","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":"Little evidence for color- or size-based mating preferences by male strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio)","authors":"Mik R. Lehman, Marco González-Santoro, Corinne L. Richards-Zawacki","doi":"10.1007/s00265-024-03436-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-024-03436-9","url":null,"abstract":"<h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Abstract</h3><p>While there are many studies documenting female mating preferences across taxa, male mate choice remains relatively understudied. Male mate choice often develops when there is variation in female quality and thus the fitness benefits of mating with particular females. Specifically, males tend to prefer females with traits that confer direct fitness benefits such as large body size, which may be linked with high fecundity. Prior work has shown that females of the strawberry poison frog, <i>Oophaga pumilio</i>, prefer males bearing certain coloration (most often the female’s own color), and that this preference can be learned through maternal imprinting. Females have been shown to prefer larger males as well. Here we test whether similar mate preferences for color and size exist in males of this species using two-way choice tests on captive bred male <i>O. pumilio</i>. In each test focal males were placed in an arena with two stimulus females: either both of the same size but differing in color, or both of the same color but differing in size. We found only weak evidence for behavioral biases toward particular colors and no evidence for biases toward larger females, suggesting that males of <i>O. pumilio</i> do not predictably choose mates based on these female traits. Despite several aspects of their natural history that suggest males have reasons to be choosy, our findings suggest that the cost of mate rejection may outweigh any fitness benefits derived from being selective of mates. Studies of additional populations, ideally conducted on wild individuals, are needed to better understand the range of conditions under which males may exhibit mate choice and the types of traits on which they base these choices.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Significance statement</h3><p>To fully understand the fitness landscapes and evolutionary trajectories that result from sexual selection, we need to understand when and how the mate preferences of the two sexes act and interact. While female mate choice has been widely studied, male mate choice remains poorly understood. To help bridge this gap, we studied male mate preferences in the strawberry poison frog <i>Oophaga pumilio</i>, a small brightly colored frog for which female preferences for male color and size have been well-documented. We found no evidence that male <i>O. pumilio</i> exhibit mate preferences based on female size and little evidence for male mate preferences based on female color. This is surprising given that larger females are often more fecund, male <i>O. pumilio</i> are known to exhibit color-based behavioral biases in the context of male-male competition, and both sexes provide parental care.</p>","PeriodicalId":8881,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology","volume":"62 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139665095","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":"Carcass provisioning and intra-guild risk avoidance between two sympatric large carnivores","authors":"Kristoffer Nordli, Zea Walton, Ane Eriksen, Marius Rogstad, Barbara Zimmermann, Camilla Wikenros, Malin Aronsson, Petter Wabakken","doi":"10.1007/s00265-023-03423-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-023-03423-6","url":null,"abstract":"<h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Abstract</h3><p>Apex carnivores that rely primarily on predation play a central but complex role within scavenging ecology by potentially suppressing intra-guild competitors, but also facilitating them by providing a reliable supply of carrion. We investigated the competitive relationship between sympatric wolves (<i>Canis lupus</i>) and wolverines (<i>Gulo gulo</i>) in Norway across three seasons. We deployed remote cameras at fresh wolf kills (<i>n</i> = 29) and built Bayesian generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) to explore the use of fresh wolf-killed prey by sympatric wolves and wolverines. Our results showed that wolves facilitated wolverines by providing scavenging opportunities. Biomass available from wolf kills was influenced by seasonal wolf prey preference and group size. Wolverines visited 100% of wolf kills in fall and winter, whereas only 18% in summer. We found that in winter, wolverines visited wolf kills 3.6 and 6.7 times more often than single wolves and wolf groups revisited their kills, and spent 10 and 25 times as much time at carcasses compared to single wolves and groups of wolves. Thus, wolverines played an important role in the depletion of wolf-killed prey, with potential effects on the scavenging behavior of other guild members. Understanding how globally threatened top predators may function as key species in scavenging processes is important to conservation as this may have community-wide cascading effects and support important ecosystem functions and services.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Significance statement</h3><p>Large carnivores serve a central role within scavenging ecology through the suppression and facilitation of intraguild competitors. The wolf, as an apex obligate predator, can provide a reliable supply of carrion, that can serve as an important resource to facultative scavengers. However, while facultative behavior helps to mitigate the effects of limited prey for scavengers, it can also increase exposure to competition and intraguild predation. Across three seasons, we explored the use of fresh wolf-killed prey by sympatric wolves and wolverines. Our findings reveal that wolves facilitate wolverines by providing scavenging opportunities, where biomass available from kills is influenced by wolves’ prey preference and group size. Wolverines, like wolves, utilized kills heavily during winter, when increased access to food is important to wolverine reproductive rates. Wolverines exhibited caching behavior, possibly reducing exposure to interspecific competition, while serving an important role in the depletion of carrion biomass.</p>","PeriodicalId":8881,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology","volume":"50 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139648384","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":"No evidence that recruitment pheromone modulates olfactory, visual, or spatial learning in the ant Lasius niger","authors":"","doi":"10.1007/s00265-024-03430-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-024-03430-1","url":null,"abstract":"<span> <h3>Abstract</h3> <p>Pheromones are perhaps the most common form of intraspecific communication in the animal kingdom and used in various contexts. Their modulatory potential on cognitive processes has been demonstrated in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Particularly interesting in this regard are social insects, due to their extensive use of pheromones to organise collective behaviour. Recruitment pheromones might be expected to encourage learning, but could also hinder learning due to a blocking effect, whereby the pheromone already partially predicts the reward, hindering further cues being associated with the reward. Here, we use free-running learning assays using realistic pheromone strength to test for a modulation effect on learning in the black garden ant <em>Lasius niger</em>. We found no evidence that learning in three modalities (olfactory, visual, and spatial) is affected by the presence of a realistic pheromone trail<em>.</em> Interestingly, this is in contrast to findings in honeybees. The fact that associative learning does not seem to be influenced by recruitment pheromone in <em>L. niger</em> and reportedly the Argentine ant, while it is in honeybees, the possibly best-studied social insect species, is noteworthy. We speculate that a species-specific importance of social information use could drive modulatory effects of pheromones on a wide range of cognitive processes.</p> </span> <span> <h3>Significance statement</h3> <p>Pheromones have been shown to modulate associative learning in a variety of animals. Among social insects, attractive pheromone has been found to enhance associative olfactory learning in honeybees but not in ants. In ants, recruitment pheromone predicts a food source; therefore, it might hinder learning of a new cue for a food reward. We use a free-running learning assay to test for an effect of trail pheromone on associative learning in three different modalities—olfactory, spatial, visual—in <em>Lasius niger</em>, but find no evidence of any effect. Our learning assay demonstrated fast olfactory learning, moderate spatial learning, and no visual learning after only one training visit. Based on our findings, and findings in two other ant species, we speculate that the ecological foraging conditions of mass-recruiting ants, i.e. following a trail, have not favoured a modulation potential of recruitment pheromone opposed to attractive pheromone in honeybees.</p> </span>","PeriodicalId":8881,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139561367","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":"Ecological and social factors affecting the occurrence of kleptoparasitism in two recently established sympatric breeding falcons","authors":"Alessandro Berlusconi, Davide Scridel, Luca Eberle, Alessio Martinoli, Gaia Bazzi, Giacomo Assandri, Nunzio Grattini, Damiano Preatoni, Jacopo G. Cecere, Adriano Martinoli, Diego Rubolini, Michelangelo Morganti","doi":"10.1007/s00265-024-03433-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-024-03433-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Co-occurrence of ecologically similar species can lead to direct agonistic interactions, including kleptoparasitism, where one individual consumes trophic resources acquired by another. We documented facultative kleptoparasitism in two similarly-sized raptors, the lesser kestrel (<i>Falco naumanni</i>) and the red-footed falcon (<i>Falco vespertinus</i>). These two species currently co-occur in Northern Italy due to recent range shifts influenced by climate and land-use changes. Multi-year focal observations revealed that single or multiple red-footed falcons were associated with 72% of foraging groups of lesser kestrels. Red-footed falcons initiated kleptoparasitic attacks on lesser kestrels in 46% of foraging group observations, with a success rate of 34%. Attacks were more likely when the prey capture rate (i.e. a proxy of foraging efficiency) of lesser kestrels was high. Red-footed falcons were more successful in stealing prey when the food items carried by lesser kestrels were larger, and kleptoparasitic attacks by groups of red-footed falcons had a higher success rate than attacks by singletons. Overall, we propose that such frequent kleptoparasitic events, which have never been previously documented in these two species, may have emerged as a consequence of their recently established co-occurrence. Kleptoparasitism could reduce the foraging efficiency and fitness of lesser kestrels, potentially leading to broader ecological consequences, such as population declines or range shifts. These findings highlight how species redistributions associated with global changes may lead to novel interspecific interactions with unforeseen ecological implications.</p>","PeriodicalId":8881,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139509769","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":"Deluded zombies: induced behavioral modification in a cobweb spider does not increase the survival of its parasitoid wasp","authors":"Thiago Gechel Kloss, Marcelo Oliveira Gonzaga, Thairine Mendes-Pereira, Stefany dos Santos de Almeida","doi":"10.1007/s00265-024-03428-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-024-03428-9","url":null,"abstract":"<h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Abstract</h3><p>Behavioral modifications induced by parasites have been extensively documented across multiple taxa. However, a major challenge is to experimentally determine whether such manipulations confer an adaptive advantage to the parasite. Behavioral alterations in spiders attacked by ichneumonid wasps are characterized by the construction of modified webs. These modified webs can enhance the survival chances of the parasitoid by reducing mortality due to natural enemies and environmental factors during the pupal stage. Additionally, some modified webs offer extra protection by keeping a centrally attached leaf shelter, originally used by the spider as a refuge, where parasitoids can build their cocoon. In these webs, it is possible that web modifications are not critical for the survival of parasitoid pupae. We evaluated the hypothesis that modifications made by parasitized spiders in a web with leaf shelter do not improve the survival of the parasitoid and presented details of behavioral modifications induced by the wasp <i>Zatypota alborhombarta</i> (Ichneumonidae) in its host spider <i>Cryptachaea migrans</i> (Theridiidae). We observed that modified webs built by parasitized spiders had silk thread around the web shelter, reduced vertical lines, and an increase in forked distal ends of lines. However, these changes in the host web did not improve the survival of parasitoid pupae. Our results indicate that the benefits of host behavioral modification for the parasitoids may vary across different host species. In addition, we suggested that the effects of altered web designs may depend on specific host-created web features and environmental factors like predation pressure.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Significance statement</h3><p>Behavioral manipulations of hosts induced by parasites are often suggested as an adaptive trait, increasing the fitness of the parasitic organism. Still, the influence of host characteristics on the parasite’s fitness is rarely experimentally assessed, raising questions about the extent of the adaptive nature of manipulation. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that behavioral modifications induced by Ichneumonidae wasps in a cobweb spider do not increase the survival of the parasitoids. We argue that the presence of shelters in these webs, used by parasitoids in their pupal stages, provides a safe environment for development, independent of other modifications. Furthermore, we suggest that the behavioral modification reflects the maintenance of a phylogenetically conserved trait. </p>","PeriodicalId":8881,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology","volume":"212 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139501385","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}