
Alex ThompsonUniversity of Cape Town | UCT · Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology
Alex Thompson
PhD UCT, BA (Hons) Cantab
About
12
Publications
4,472
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Introduction
I have recently finished my PhD at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town. My thesis investigated begging and development in fledgling pied babblers (Turdoides bicolo). This work involved using field experiments to manipulate wild, habituated birds in the southern Kalahari.
Additional affiliations
January 2011 - present
Education
October 2004 - June 2007
Publications
Publications (12)
Interspecific communication is common in nature, particularly between mutualists.
However, whether signals evolved for communication with other
species, or are in fact conspecific signals eavesdropped upon by partners,
is often unclear. Fork-tailed drongos (Dicrurus adsimilis) associate with
mixed-species groups and often produce true alarms at pre...
Elaborate solicitation displays are a common feature of interactions between care-givers and offspring. These displays are interpreted as the phenotypic expression of the conflict of interests between parents and offspring over parental investment. Offspring typically have siblings and thus do not exist in isolation. Therefore, they may adjust thei...
Eavesdropping behaviour can increase the total amount of information available to an individual and therefore has the potential to provide substantial benefits. Recent research has suggested that some species are ‘information givers’, particularly social species with cooperative vigilance systems, and that these species may consequently affect comm...
In many cooperatively breeding societies, only a few socially dominant individuals in a group breed, reproductive skew is high, and reproductive conflict is common. Surprisingly, the effects of this conflict on dominant reproductive success in vertebrate societies have rarely been investigated, especially in high-skew societies. We examine how subo...
One theory to explain the existence of conspicuous solicitation is that it is a way for young to ‘blackmail’ carers into provisioning them, by threatening their own destruction. Fledgling birds offer a unique opportunity to investi- gate the ‘blackmail theory’, as their mobility enables them to influence the predation risk they face. We investigate...
Sentinel behaviour, where individuals take turns to watch for danger and give alarm calls to approaching predators, has been observed in a number of animal societies. However, the evolutionary causes of this behaviour remain unclear. There are two main, competing hypotheses regarding the evolution of sentinel behaviour. The first hypothesis is that...
Many cooperative bird species have an extended period of post-fledging care. Despite the fact that this period of care can last up to several months, it remains a relatively understudied stage of chick development. This period, when young are actively begging but highly mobile, provides an opportunity for young to maximise the amount of care they r...
While egg destruction by brood parasites is a relatively well-known phenomenon, such destruction by non-brood-parasitic heterospecifics is less common. Here, we provide the first evidence of egg destruction by Wattled Starlings Creatophora cinerea on Pied Babblers Turdoides bicolor. We find that the incubation success of Pied Babblers decreases sig...
The southern African subspecies of Jacobin Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus serratus is a brood parasite of a range of host species. While Jacobin Cuckoos do not evict host young, previous research has found that host young rarely survive the nestling period. Here we provide the first records of Jacobin Cuckoo parasitism of a new host species, the Souther...
Wherever individuals perform cooperative behaviours, each should be selected to adjust their own current contributions in relation to the likely future contributions of their collaborators. Here, we use the sentinel system of pied babblers (Turdoides bicolor) to show that individuals anticipate contributions by group mates, adjusting their own cont...
The Duke of Burgundy butterfly (Hamearis lucina) has declined severely since the 1970s and is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan Priority species. Its populations are mostly
confined to scrubby calcareous grassland, where management for short-turf species can be detrimental to the butterfly. We
briefly review the literature on the Duke of Burgundy and i...
Questions
Question (1)
The conference is in Australia and as I have finished at my current university I am unable to apply for university funding.