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An Introduction To Behavioural Ecology

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... There are three general areas of behavioral ecological theory where in situ observations in marine systems have been especially important: (1) optimization theory, (2) differential reproductive success, and (3) evolutionary stable strategies. The behavior of organisms in response to their environment is a central theme of ecology, since these traits are adaptive through natural selection to optimize ecological trade-offs, maximize efficiencies, and ultimately enhance fitness (Krebs and Davies, 1993;Begon et al., 2005;Cooper and Frederick, 2010;Webb et al., 2010). An inductive and deductive scientific approach, whereby behavioral observations lead to experimentation, often followed by more detailed observations of behavior and more refined experiments, has facilitated the rapid growth of the field of behavioral ecology (Herrnkind, 1974;Begon et al., 2005). ...
... Behavioral ecology is the study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior, and the roles of behavior in enabling an animal to adapt to its environment and maximize its lifetime fitness or reproductive success (Krebs and Davies, 1993). In addition to identifying novel behaviors and unanticipated ecological processes, there are three general areas of behavioral ecological theory where in situ observations in marine systems have been especially important: optimization theory, differential reproductive success, and evolutionary stable strategies. ...
... Ultimately, however, behavior is subject to natural selection just as any other trait, resulting in differential reproductive success. For example, animals that employ optimal behavioral strategies specific to their environment will generally leave greater numbers of offspring than their suboptimal conspecifics, and greater numbers of offspring generally lead to greater fitness (Krebs and Davies, 1993). Given that environments change over time, and at an ever-increasing rate due to anthropogenic factors, an optimal behavior now may not be optimal in the future. ...
... A resource may be anything relevant to the fitness of the foraging individual (Parker & Stuart, 1976), such as mating opportunities (Parker et al., 1999), body fat reserves (Hurly, 1992) or even social information (Turrin et al., 2017). The corresponding currencies that are used to maximize evolutionary fitness range from fertilization rates, risk and starvation avoidance to the one most relevant to this study, the net rate of energy gain (Krebs & Davies, 1993;Stephens & Krebs, 1986). When searching for these resources, the optimal foraging behavior depends on the benefit of the resource gained, the costs of reaching the patch (which is the source of resources) and the characteristics of the patch, such as its (limit of) resource yield or density or the costs of procuring the resource. ...
... Variable t is then the time spent traveling to the patch or supermarket in minutes. It consists of the sum of the time for travel to the supermarket and travel home (Krebs & Davies, 1993). Here, it is important to pay attention to subgroups that emerge when studying human foraging in urbanized environments. ...
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This study examined whether supermarkets can be considered patches in the marginal value theorem (MVT) sense despite their particular features and whether they are models of human food foraging in resource-dense conditions. On the basis of the MVT, the quantitative relationship between gains in the Euro and patch residence time was modeled as an exponential growth function toward an upper asymptote, allowing the choice of an optimal strategy under diminishing returns. N = 61 participants were interviewed about their current shopping trip and contextual variables at a German supermarket and provided data to estimate relevant model parameters. A nonlinear model of the patch residence time and resulting gain based on an exponential function was fitted via nonlinear orthogonal distance regression. The results generally revealed the relationships predicted by the model, with some uncertainty regarding the estimation of the upper asymptote due to a lack of data from participants with long residence times. Despite this limitation, the data support the applicability of the MVT-based model. The results show that approaches from optimal foraging theory, such as the MVT, can be used successfully to model human shopping behavior even when participants’ verbal reports are used.
... Animal behavior is of central interest in ecology and evolution because an individual's behavior affects its reproductive opportunities and probability of survival [1]. Additionally, understanding animal behavior can be key to identifying conservation problems and planning successful management interventions [2], for example in rearing captive animals prior to reintroduction [3], designing protected areas [4], and reducing dispersal of introduced species [5]. ...
... For full implementation details, we refer the reader to the dataset preprocessing source code. 1 For all datasets, we used calibrated data and annotations provided by the original dataset authors; with the exception of the Crow dataset (described above and below), we refer the reader to the original publications for details. For two datasets (Sea Turtle, Gull), the average magnitude of the acceleration vector varied by more than 10% between tag deployments. ...
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Background Animal-borne sensors (‘bio-loggers’) can record a suite of kinematic and environmental data, which are used to elucidate animal ecophysiology and improve conservation efforts. Machine learning techniques are used for interpreting the large amounts of data recorded by bio-loggers, but there exists no common framework for comparing the different machine learning techniques in this domain. This makes it difficult to, for example, identify patterns in what works well for machine learning-based analysis of bio-logger data. It also makes it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of novel methods developed by the machine learning community. Methods To address this, we present the Bio-logger Ethogram Benchmark (BEBE), a collection of datasets with behavioral annotations, as well as a modeling task and evaluation metrics. BEBE is to date the largest, most taxonomically diverse, publicly available benchmark of this type, and includes 1654 h of data collected from 149 individuals across nine taxa. Using BEBE, we compare the performance of deep and classical machine learning methods for identifying animal behaviors based on bio-logger data. As an example usage of BEBE, we test an approach based on self-supervised learning. To apply this approach to animal behavior classification, we adapt a deep neural network pre-trained with 700,000 h of data collected from human wrist-worn accelerometers. Results We find that deep neural networks out-perform the classical machine learning methods we tested across all nine datasets in BEBE. We additionally find that the approach based on self-supervised learning out-performs the alternatives we tested, especially in settings when there is a low amount of training data available. Conclusions In light of these results, we are able to make concrete suggestions for designing studies that rely on machine learning to infer behavior from bio-logger data. Therefore, we expect that BEBE will be useful for making similar suggestions in the future, as additional hypotheses about machine learning techniques are tested. Datasets, models, and evaluation code are made publicly available at https://github.com/earthspecies/BEBE, to enable community use of BEBE.
... A introdução de uma espécie migratória em uma nova comunidade pode alterar as interações competitivas locais, especialmente se a espécie migratória se torna abundante. A presença dessas aves Fonte: CEMAVE/ ICMBio/MMAISBN: ISSN: 2359-1749(versão impressa) ISSN: 2446 pode transformar a dinâmica de predação: se uma espécie migratória se torna uma fonte importante de alimento para predadores locais, ela pode alterar o equilíbrio entre predadores e presas, relegando as espécies locais a presas secundárias (Krebs;Davies, 1993). Esse influxo de alimentos pode causar um aumento na população de predadores, que, por sua vez, pode impactar as populações de suas presas habituais quando as aves migratórias retornam a seus habitats originais (Milner-Gulland et al., 2011). ...
... A introdução de uma espécie migratória em uma nova comunidade pode alterar as interações competitivas locais, especialmente se a espécie migratória se torna abundante. A presença dessas aves Fonte: CEMAVE/ ICMBio/MMAISBN: ISSN: 2359-1749(versão impressa) ISSN: 2446 pode transformar a dinâmica de predação: se uma espécie migratória se torna uma fonte importante de alimento para predadores locais, ela pode alterar o equilíbrio entre predadores e presas, relegando as espécies locais a presas secundárias (Krebs;Davies, 1993). Esse influxo de alimentos pode causar um aumento na população de predadores, que, por sua vez, pode impactar as populações de suas presas habituais quando as aves migratórias retornam a seus habitats originais (Milner-Gulland et al., 2011). ...
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Entre céu e mar: a migração das aves nas praias de São Paulo é uma obra que vai além da simples observação; ela eleva essa prática a uma verdadeira arte, uma forma de conexão profunda com o mundo natural. Para aqueles que desejam não apenas ver, mas compreender, esta obra se torna uma necessidade, uma janela aberta para o entendimento das complexas interações entre as aves migratórias e os ambientes que atravessam. Sob a orientação e o vasto conhecimento do Professor Doutor Edison Barbieri, este livro oferece mais do que informações; oferece uma imersão total no encanto e na vida dessas aves, muitas das quais permanecem um mistério para a maioria das pessoas. Cada página deste livro é uma porta de entrada para desvendar os mistérios e apreciar a incrível diversidade dessas aves, que dividem conosco as praias e os céus do nosso amado estado de São Paulo. Através de descrições detalhadas, ilustrações ricas e uma narrativa envolvente, você será guiado por uma jornada que celebra não apenas a beleza das aves, mas também a complexidade da natureza que as sustenta. Esta obra é mais do que um simples registro científico; é uma celebração vibrante da beleza e da complexidade do mundo natural, um tributo às aves que, ano após ano, desafiam distâncias inimagináveis, cruzando céus e mares em uma demonstração de pura sobrevivência e adaptação. Ao mergulhar neste livro, você não apenas aprenderá sobre essas magníficas criaturas, mas também será convidado a refletir sobre o delicado equilíbrio que mantém essas migrações, sobre os desafios que essas aves enfrentam em um mundo em constante mudança, e sobre o papel que todos nós desempenhamos na preservação de suas rotas e habitats. Venha conosco nessa jornada e permita-se ser encantado por este espetáculo da vida, onde cada voo, cada canto e cada pouso revelam a história de resiliência, beleza e conexão que as aves migratórias compartilham com todos nós.
... The key tenet of any society is the inclination to form groups (Chakrabarti, 2018). The decisions animals make are between alternative courses of action in terms of their costs and benefits (Krebs & Davies, 1987). Group living has evolved because the benefits outweigh the costs. ...
... It can affect the resolution of disputes within social groups and help balance out innate differences in dominance potential between individuals in group-living species (Smith et al., 2023). Evolutionary strategies like group living exhibit a range of alternatives between and within species (Krebs & Davies, 1987).This intraspecific variation in social structure is found in a range of mammalian species (Connor et al., 2017) and owing to divergent strategies of male dispersal and female philopatry in polygynous species, the sexes are usually segregated (Greenwood, 1980;Keerthipriya et al., 2021;Kie & Bowyer, 1999;Shannon et al., 2008). These sex-based differences may increase the propensity to form kin-based intragroup associations, making them more common in females than males (Smith et al., 2023). ...
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I employed a polygon-search based spatially explicit capture-recapture framework to estimate the abundance and density of adult male Asian elephants and also looked at what factors influence male association patterns in Rajaji Tiger Reserve in North-western India.
... Thus, sociality may increase with group size, the extent to which individuals associate spatially and temporally, but also with the extent to which group members cooperate (directly or indirectly) to obtain food, avoid predators, or rear their offspring (Ebensperger & Hayes 2016, from whom I have largely taken this chapter). Studies on sociality have traditionally focused on the relative fitness benefits and costs of social living (Krause & Ruxton 2002;Lacey & Sherman 2007;Davies et al. 2012). Enhanced access to resources, decreased predation risk, or decreased energy expenditure represent some commonly examined benefits (Ebensperger 2001). ...
... Predation risk is a major ecological driver of animal sociality (Krause & Ruxton 2002;Krams et al. 2009;Davies et al. 2012;Yang et al. 2019). Social individuals reduce predation risk through different, non-mutually exclusive mechanisms (Caro 2005; see Heininger 2024, part 2 of this series). ...
... Predation affects in various ways the mortality and regulation of prey populations [1][2][3]. Depending on the breadth of its diet, a predator can be characterised as a generalist or a specialist [4,5]. Generalist predators opportunistically prey upon all suitable prey items encountered, while specialists more or less select (or seem to select [6]) from available alternatives, showing (real or seeming [6]) preference for certain kinds of prey. ...
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This study assesses how the predation by the Eurasian sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus and the Eurasian goshawk Astur gentilis may affect the composition of prey communities breeding in rural and peri-urban landscapes. It asks how consistent the vulnerability of prey species is between different predator species and landscapes and which characteristics of prey species affect their vulnerability. Vulnerability of prey species to predation was characterised by the difference between the proportion of the prey species in the sample of prey items caught and the proportion of the species in the local pool of suitable prey. For both predators, vulnerability of shared prey species was positively related to vulnerability to predation between landscapes. Positive relationships between predators suggested that they prey independently from each other, while negative relationships suggest some interaction between predators. Higher vulnerability of shared prey species to sparrowhawk predation suggests that these species were less important prey for the goshawk. Effects of various characteristics of prey species on their vulnerability to predation varied to some extent between predator species and between landscapes. In particular, this was the case for sparrowhawk predation between rural and peri-urban areas. Prominent impact of prey body mass and population density on vulnerability to predation was highlighted.
... Predation refers to the process wherein a predator seeks out and consumes various prey species throughout life (Krebs and Davies 1993). To understand the impact a predator has on the population dynamics of its prey, it is crucial to consider speci c traits of the adult predator. ...
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The characteristics, including the foraging behaviour of an adult predator, are crucial for assessing its impact on prey populations within an ecosystem. Our recent research aimed to explore how the age and sex of the adult predatory soil mite Blattisocius mali Oudemans (Acari: Mesostigmata) impact its predatory behaviour when preying on the mould mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae Schrank (Acari: Acaridae). Male or female B. mali of five ages, 2, 10, 18, 26, and 34-day-old were exposed to seven prey densities ranging between 10 and 160 eggs. We employed logistic regression and Hassell's model to determine the type of functional response and its parameters, respectively. Across all ages, both male and female B. mali exhibited Type III functional responses. The handling time (T h ) for 10-day-old adult males was the shortest, i.e., 0.0114 days, indicating their highest efficiency at this age. In contrast, the handling times for 34-day-old and 10-day-old female adults were shorter, i.e., 0.0070 and 0.0072 days, respectively, indicating that female B. mali were more efficient at these ages than others. The predation rate varied with age in females but remained unchanged in males. Overall, both male and female B. mali have the potential to serve as effective biological control agents for T. putrescentiae throughout their lives.
... Predator-prey interactions can be divided into 4 stages: searching, recognition, catching, and handling (Davies et al. 2012). Prey species have counteradaptations at each of these stages. ...
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Predation is one of the major forces driving the evolution of defensive tactics in prey. Recently, post-capture active escape behaviors of different prey animals from the predator’s digestive tract have been reported. However, no studies have yet examined when these escape behaviors are developed through the ontogeny of the prey. This study examined the ontogenetic change in a unique defensive tactic of juvenile Japanese eels Anguilla japonica in which they escape via the predator’s gills after being captured. We used A. japonica ranging in stage from pre-settlement glass eels to post-settlement yellow eels (based on their habitat change from tidal estuaries to freshwater rivers). The results indicated that individuals in the 2 earliest stages of glass eels (stages VI A0 and VI A1 ) never escaped after being captured, while 28.1% of individuals after the middle glass eel stages (VI A2 and later stages) escaped via the predator’s gill. The ontogenetic timing of the development of escape ability coincides with when eels settle into benthic riverine and estuarine habitats as suggested by previous studies. Additionally, the pre-capture attack avoidance ability of Japanese eels improved rapidly with growth in the subsequent elver and yellow eel stages. These results suggest that the unique post-capture defensive tactic of eels may be particularly important during the vulnerable period around the settlement phase when they are less capable of avoiding predator attacks. Our study offers valuable insights into the behavioral ecology and conservation of anguillid eels, which have faced considerable population declines.
... The social behaviors of fishes, particularly in regard to reproduction and social structures, have been intensively studied in the wild over the last four decades (e.g., Thresher, 1984;Kuwamura, 1984Kuwamura, , 1997Kohda, 1997). Like social mammals and birds, many sedentary fish species exhibit parental care as part of nesting (bi-parental and uni-parental;Blumer, 1982;Barlow, 1984;Gross and Sargent, 1985;Clutton-Brock, 1991) and mating strategies (Davies et al., 2012), which is often associated with dominance hierarchies and territory maintenance (e.g., Thresher, 1984;Taborsky, 1984Taborsky, , 1994Kuwamura, 1997). We hypothesize that sedentary teleost fish in freshwater and coastal areas in the Paleozoic era had likely developed complex social interactions and that selection pressures existed for the evolution of individual face recognition. ...
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The face is the most important area on the human body for visually differentiating between individuals. When encountering another person, humans initially gaze at and perceive the face holistically, utilizing first-order relational information and specific neural systems. Information such as identity and emotional state are then obtained from the face by distinguishing between small inter-individual differences, i.e., second-order relational information. Similar patterns and mechanisms underlying individual face recognition have been documented in primates, other social mammals, birds, and more recently in some fishes. Like humans, fish are capable of rapidly (<0.5 s) and accurately recognizing multiple familiar conspecifics by individual-specific variation in the face. Fish can also recognize faces from various distances and angles, providing evidence for mental representation of faces in this large and diverse vertebrate group. One species, the cleaner fish, has even demonstrated mirror self-recognition (MSR) via self-face recognition, strengthening the claim that non-human animals are capable of having mental images and concepts of faces. Here, we review the evidence for individual face recognition in fishes and speculate that face identification neural networks are both similar and widespread across vertebrates. Furthermore, we hypothesize that first-and second-order face recognition in vertebrates originated in bony fishes in the Paleozoic era ~450 Mya, when social systems first evolved, increasing the importance of individual recognition.
... (Packer and Pusey, 1983). The benefit of infanticide for a male that takes over a pride is that killing the cubs of the previous male brings the female back into reproductive condition much more quickly (Davies et al., 2012). ...
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This study aimed to determine the predominant mating system among felids and understand the ecological and behavioral factors driving these systems through a systematic review of existing literature. I conducted a comprehensive search following PRISMA guidelines across Scopus and Web of Science databases, focusing on peer-reviewed articles about felid mating systems and social organization. The review revealed that most felid species exhibit a polygynous mating system, where males compete for access to multiple females, influenced by factors such as solitary lifestyles, territoriality, and minimal paternal care. However, some species differ from this pattern: domestic cats and lions show a variation from simple polygyny, while cheetahs practice polyandry. These exceptions highlight the influence of environmental conditions and species-specific behaviors on mating strategies, showing how felids adapted their reproductive behaviors to maximize reproductive success in different environments.
... Theo FAO (1998), bộ này có 5 họ, trong đó 2 họ Odontodactylidae và Gonodactylidae có chân ngực thứ 2 phát triển tại khớp của đốt ngón (propodus) và đốt bàn (dactylus), sự co duỗi 2 đốt của chân này tạo lực đập mạnh như cái búa để săn mồi và làm vỡ vỏ con mồi (San, 1998), 2 họ này chuyên săn con mồi có vỏ cứng như động vật thân mềm (hai mảnh vỏ và ốc) và nhóm cua (Reaka & Manning, 1987;Krebs & Davies, 1993;Sunjian, 1998;Caldwell, 2005;Patek & Caldwell, 2005;Humann & Loach, 2010). Chúng sống chủ yếu nước trong, nền đáy cát mịn hoặc thô, sống trong hang, hốc, kẽ đá san hô (Cronin et al., 1994a;Caldwell, 2005;Militante, 2010), hai họ này hiếm gặp ở đồng bằng sông Cửu Long (ĐBSCL) nơi có độ đục cao. ...
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Nghiên cứu nhằm xác định thành phần loài và hiện trạng khai thác tôm tít (TT) ở vùng biển huyện Đông Hải, tỉnh Bạc Liêu từ tháng 5/2023 đến tháng 2/2024. Mẫu được thu 2 tuần/lần bằng ghe cào, đáy và dớn. Mẫu sau khi thu được cân (g), đo chiều dài tổng (mm), chụp ảnh các chi tiết đặc điểm để định danh loài với độ phóng đại 6 đến hơn 50 lần. Ngoài ra, 30 hộ khai thác thủy sản trong khu vực về hiện trạng TT cũng được khảo sát. Kết quả xác định được 7 loài TT bao gồm 2 loài kích thước lớn (Harpiosquilla harpax, H. raphidea), 5 loài kích cỡ vừa và nhỏ (Miyakea nepa, Erugosquilla woodmasoni, Oratosquillina interrupta, Cloridopsis scorpio, Alima orientalis). TT được khai thác quanh năm. Những cá thể kích cỡ lớn được khai thác bằng ghe cào xa bờ và đáy, các cá thể nhỏ chủ yếu ở ven bờ bằng đáy và dớn. Số lượng TT đang giảm do môi trường đang bị ô nhiễm và khai thác quá mức. Giá TT phụ thuộc vào kích cỡ, và tôm sống có giá bán cao hơn tôm ướp lạnh cùng cỡ.
... In this context, 'Storer-Ashmole's halo' arises when predators cause patch quality to decline near the central place (Storer 1952;Ashmole 1963;Birt et al. 1987;Elliott et al. 2009). One direct effect of Ashmole's halo is that central-place foragers are expected to increase transit time (foraging distance) in exchange for decreased search time (exploration costs) and higher prey load (Orians and Pearson 1979;Krebs and Davies 1989). Although transit time to and from the central place to the area outside of Ashmole's halo where prey depletion is limited generates energy and time costs, they have the potential to outweigh the increased search costs of remaining close to the central place (Orians and Pearson 1979). ...
Article
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Central place foraging may lead to local prey depletion as foragers select nearby prey (“Storer-Ashmole’s halo”), causing individuals to forage progressively farther from the central place. We tested this idea by coupling GPS tracking (foraging behavior) and plasma metabolites (nutritional biomarkers) when studying thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia; N = 237), a colonial-nesting seabird where central place foraging constraints are expected to be particularly pronounced due to high transit costs. Foraging range decreased when birds were constrained to visit the central place several times per day (chick-rearing) compared to self-feeding (incubation), illustrating the constraint of central place foraging. Moreover, adult feeding frequency, as determined by plasma triglycerides, were higher during incubation, consistent with the longer fasts (incubation shifts) during that period. Transit time (foraging distance) increased with date during chick-rearing but not incubation, consistent with prey depletion due to central place foraging within the restricted chick-rearing foraging range. During late chick-rearing, when a diet switch to low-quality, smaller prey occurs, birds switched to foraging near the colony, consistent with the foraging range being overextended. Unlike other, smaller colonies where foraging success is higher due to a smaller halo, sexes had similar foraging behaviour in our study, except during early incubation when females foraged more (more flying, more swimming) as they overcame the cost of producing the egg. When we take our results with other lines of evidence (increased foraging distance with colony size, prey switching as birds “feed down the food chain”), we conclude that central place foraging seabirds may cause prey depletion at one of the world’s largest murre colonies.
... To our knowledge, the term 'critical age group' has not been used yet in behavioural studies to describe the age class contributing the most to density regulation. This is surprising as behavioural ecologists have extensively explored among-individual differences in animals' competitive abilities to get access to food resources, territory, mating partners, etc. [36,37] and the consequences of this for their vital rates [38] and the population growth rate. Competitive abilities can be related to personality traits (or temperament, [39]), like aggressiveness, exploration, problem-solving performance, etc. [40]. ...
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Density dependence plays an important role in population regulation in the wild. It involves a decrease in population growth rate when the population size increases. Fifty years ago, Charlesworth introduced the concept of ‘critical age group’, denoting the age classes in which variation in the number of individuals most strongly contributes to density regulation. Since this pioneering work, this concept has rarely been used. In light of Charlesworth’s concept, we discuss the need to develop work between behavioural ecology, demography and evolutionary biology to better understand the mechanisms acting in density-regulated age-structured populations. We highlight demographic studies that explored age-specific contributions to density dependence and discuss the underlying evolutionary processes. Understanding competitive interactions among individuals is pivotal to identify the ages contributing most strongly to density regulation, highlighting the need to move towards behavioural ecology to decipher mechanisms acting in density-regulated age-structured populations. Because individual characteristics other than age can be linked to competitive abilities, expanding the concept of critical age to other structures (e.g. sex, dominance rank) offers interesting perspectives. Linking research fields based on the concept of the critical age group is key to move from a pattern-oriented view of density regulation to a process-oriented approach. This article is part of the discussion meeting issue ‘Understanding age and society using natural populations’.
... However, due to the increased possibility for error in measuring curved bills, we excluded those 177 data. To describe cognitive aptitude we corrected for body size(Mace et al. 1981), taking the 178 residuals from best fit power model of brain volume and body mass(Krebs and Davies 1993). With179 the taxonomic classifications of tribe, genus, and species (Schodde et al. 2013), these data are a 180 suite of potential model covariates. ...
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Parrots are a highly intelligent taxon whose complex behaviors in wild societies require description. Here we observed 12 species of parrots, macaws, and parakeets in mixed flocks foraging on exposed cliffs in southeast Perú. For each species, we developed a single bootstrapped index of sociality from 9 derived metrics of abundance, chronology, functional roles, and agonistic interactions. This multivariate index emphasizes species that join flocks in large numbers, participate early, serve in functional roles, interact with others, and are socially dominant. We used Random Forest (“RF”) algorithms to build nonlinear multiple regressions to assess and rank the influence of a suite of taxonomic and morphometric factors on sociality. The RF models performed well (R2 = 0.96) and indicate species with smaller brains (controlled for body size) and lower dispersal abilities are most social, though the underlying mechanisms may be indirect. In addition, we document a distinct sequence of species flock participation where subordinate species serve as nuclear species that initiate flock assembly and foraging, while dominant species serve as sentinels, foraging after subordinates. This suggests cooperation in this mixed society features sequenced tradeoffs and reciprocal altruism.
... D'une part, elle peut induire des dépenses énergétiques importantes, des risques de prédation accrues, des temps de reproduction réduits. D'autre part, elle peut également permettre aux individus de profiter des meilleures conditions pour leur développement, leur croissance, ou encore leur survie et leur reproduction (Northcote, 1978;Krebs & Davies, 1993). Pour la faune aquatique, la stratégie de migration dite « diadrome » inclut des phases de cycle de vie prenant lieu successivement entre les biomes d'eau douce et les eaux marines (et/ou saumâtres). ...
... For instance, researchers in behavioural ecotoxicology regularly use a wide variety of study species, obtain their study organisms from diverse sources, employ non-standard exposure scenarios and durations, and perform a broad spectrum of behavioural assays. Importantly, behavioural ecologists have been using many of these experimental design elements for decades to examine interactions between organismal behaviour and environmental factors (Candolin & Wong 2012;Davies, Krebs & West, 2012). This comprehensiveness of experimental design approaches facilitates a more complete understanding of how different individuals, populations, and communities respond to pollutants across diverse contexts. ...
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Behavioural analysis has been attracting significant attention as a broad indicator of sub‐lethal toxicity and has secured a place as an important subdiscipline in ecotoxicology. Among the most notable characteristics of behavioural research, compared to other established approaches in sub‐lethal ecotoxicology (e.g. reproductive and developmental bioassays), are the wide range of study designs being used and the diversity of endpoints considered. At the same time, environmental hazard and risk assessment, which underpins regulatory decisions to protect the environment from potentially harmful chemicals, often recommends that ecotoxicological data be produced following accepted and validated test guidelines. These guidelines typically do not address behavioural changes, meaning that these, often sensitive, effects are not represented in hazard and risk assessments. Here, we propose a new tool, the EthoCRED evaluation method, for assessing the relevance and reliability of behavioural ecotoxicity data, which considers the unique requirements and challenges encountered in this field. This method and accompanying reporting recommendations are designed to serve as an extension of the “Criteria for Reporting and Evaluating Ecotoxicity Data (CRED)” project. As such, EthoCRED can both accommodate the wide array of experimental design approaches seen in behavioural ecotoxicology, and could be readily implemented into regulatory frameworks as deemed appropriate by policy makers of different jurisdictions to allow better integration of knowledge gained from behavioural testing into environmental protection. Furthermore, through our reporting recommendations, we aim to improve the reporting of behavioural studies in the peer‐reviewed literature, and thereby increase their usefulness to inform chemical regulation.
... Even though social monogamy is a typical mating system in most extant birds (Alcock, 2016;Gowaty, 2018), polygamous or promiscuous mating systems are assumed to occur disproportionately in galliform species . 2) Low levels of cooperative breeding (Cockburn, 2006, 13 Lislevand et al., 2009, Davies et al., 2012 or lack of alloparental care (Riedman, 1982;Ben Mocha et al., 2023). In other words, other than the parents, other individuals (i.e., conspecifics) do not provide care for the chicks. ...
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Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and that the work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. I certify that where reference has been made to the work of others in this thesis, appropriate credit has been given. Erklärung Ich erkläre hiermit, dass es sich bei dieser Arbeit um meine eigene Arbeit handelt und dass die Arbeit nicht für einen anderen Abschluss oder eine andere berufliche Qualifikation eingereicht wurde. Ich versichere, dass in dieser Arbeit auf die Arbeit anderer Personen Bezug genommen wurde und dass diese in angemessener Weise erwähnt wurde. Bonn: __________________ ____________ iv Acknowledgements
... Mating systems reflect the outcomes of the behaviour of individuals of both sexes competing to maximise their reproductive success. A major determinant of mating system type is the dispersion of males and females in space and time (Emlen and Oring 1977;Davies et al. 2012). In species without male parental care, female dispersion is often determined by the dispersion of resources they need, which in turn affects how males position themselves so they can defend as many females as possible. ...
... In the context of non-human animal research, the term "communication" is used to describe the process by which a change in one individual's behaviour causes a change in another individual, mediated by either signals or cues (Freeberg et al., 2021). Signals are non-verbal expressions, which evolved for their effect on others (Krebs & Davies, 1993), such as mating displays that index a sender's fitness or alarm calls that warn about predatory threat (Smith & Harper, 1995). They benefit senders indirectly by changing a receiver's behaviour. ...
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Cracking the non‐verbal “code” of human emotions has been a chief interest of generations of scientists. Yet, despite much effort, a dictionary that clearly maps non‐verbal behaviours onto meaning remains elusive. We suggest this is due to an over‐reliance on language‐related concepts and an under‐appreciation of the evolutionary context in which a given non‐verbal behaviour emerged. Indeed, work in other species emphasizes non‐verbal effects (e.g. affiliation) rather than meaning (e.g. happiness) and differentiates between signals, for which communication benefits both sender and receiver, and cues, for which communication does not benefit senders. Against this backdrop, we develop a “non‐verbal effecting” perspective for human research. This perspective extends the typical focus on facial expressions to a broadcasting of multisensory signals and cues that emerge from both social and non‐social emotions. Moreover, it emphasizes the consequences or effects that signals and cues have for individuals and their social interactions. We believe that re‐directing our attention from verbal emotion labels to non‐verbal effects is a necessary step to comprehend scientifically how humans share what they feel.
... Clonality is often cited as a fundamental pillar of the evolution of the extreme aphid altruism that is sometimes observed (e.g. Krebs & Davies 1993) and it has been claimed that the relatedness value of 1 often seen in aphids is the ultimate predisposition to altruism. However, the rarity of social aphid species (which represent just 1% of aphids) provides a clear demonstration that clonality alone is not sufficient to produce altruism (Stern & Foster 1996;Pike & Foster 2008). ...
... Conversely, social sleeping could result in increased resource competition (Génin, 2010) or parasite transmission among individuals (Cote and Poulin, 1995) or could allow for greater rates of physical disturbance (Loftus et al., 2022). Previous work has noted a number of potential tradeoffs to social animals living in groups (Davies et al., 2012). One aspect of sociality that remains largely unexplored, however, is the effect that sleeping in a group has on sleep itself (Gravett et al., 2017). ...
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Sleep is associated with many costs, but is also important to survival, with a lack of sleep impairing cognitive function and increasing mortality. Sleeping in groups could alleviate sleep‐associated costs, or could introduce new costs if social sleeping disrupts sleep. Working with the Jamaican fruit bat ( Artibeus jamaicensis) , we aimed to: (1) describe sleep architecture, (2) assess how sleeping in groups affects sleep, and (3) quantify total sleep time and identify rapid eye movement (REM) sleep using behavioral indicators that complement physiological evidence of sleep. Twenty‐five adult bats were captured in Panama and recorded sleeping in an artificial roost enclosure. Three bats were fitted with an electromyograph and accelerometer and video recorded sleeping alone in controlled laboratory settings. The remaining 22 bats were assigned to differing social configurations (alone, dyad, triad, and tetrad) and video recorded sleeping in an outdoor flight cage. We found that sleep was highly variable among individuals (ranging from 2 h 53 min to 9 h 39 min over a 12‐h period). Although we did not detect statistically significant effects and our sample size was limited, preliminary trends suggest that male bats may sleep longer than females, and individuals sleeping in groups may sleep longer than individuals sleeping alone. We also found a high correspondence between total sleep time quantified visually and quantified using actigraphy (with a 2‐min immobility threshold) and identified physiological correlates of behaviorally‐defined REM. These results serve as a starting point for future work on the ecology and evolution of sleep in bats and other wild mammals.
... Ethology provides valuable insights about the adaptive strategies employed by organisms in their environments (Davies et al. 2012). Among the myriad of possible behaviors, agonistic behavior stands out as a compelling manifestation of the evolutionary pressures driving competitive interactions among individuals within and across species boundaries (Kudryavtseva 2000). ...
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The examination of agonistic behavior in Neotropical crickets provides insight into the intricate strategies they employ to establish dominance. This study focuses on Eidmanacris meridionalis, a non-stridulating species belonging to the Phalangopsidae family. Through observations of male-male encounters, we outline a sequence of behaviors, encompassing environmental and opponent recognition, agonistic conflict, and the determination of dominance and submission. Our observations unveil a diverse repertoire of agonistic behaviors, including body lifting, fighting, and biting, indicating the presence of complex communication and conflict resolution mechanisms. Antennal signaling and body size assessment likely serve as crucial factors in these interactions. Moreover, we note submissive males displaying behaviors akin to females during copulation, hinting at a potential interconnection between mating competition and agonistic interactions. These behaviors not only shape social hierarchies but also exert influence over reproductive success and survival. This study underscores the significance of ethological research in unraveling the intricacies of cricket biology and ecology while posing intriguing avenues for future investigations.
... These results concur with lake trout mating strategies observed in the Great Lakes, where males tend to be captured more significantly and congregate more on spawning sites than females (Muir et al., 2012). Male congregations are consistent with a bet-hedging strategy where males maximize their encounters with females by remaining at a high-quality spawning site while awaiting the arrival of females (Leggett, 1977;Krebs and Davies, 1993). During the day, males and females in our study tended to favour areas that SON membership identified as being sandy substrate, particularly over the escalation to de-escalation stages (Fig. 4). ...
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Lake whitefish ( Coregonus clupeaformis ) are ecologically, economically, and culturally significant across their range, yet little is documented about the species’ spawning behaviour. Here, we used a VEMCO Positioning System (VPS) and the local ecological knowledge of Saugeen Ojibway Nation in a Two-Eyed Seeing approach to characterize sex-specific movement patterns of lake whitefish at a spawning shoal in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron (Ontario, Canada). In fall 2020, 50 lake whitefish were tagged with acoustic transmitters and 28 of those fish were detected during the deployment of the VPS between 15 October 2021 and 18 January 2022. Occupancy of lake whitefish on the VPS followed a bell-shaped pattern, with an increase, plateau that lasted ∼1 week, and subsequent decrease in activity over a 48-day period demarcating the 2021 spawning season. Apart from 2 resident females, males appeared in the area first. Both sexes moved into shallower lake depths at night and deeper depths during the day. Females moved 18.0% faster than males during the day whereas males moved 39.5% faster than females at night. Depths occupied became shallower over time until the peak activity phase, followed by a transition back to deeper waters. Both sexes used a variety of habitats over the spawning season, including the main spawning shoal, sandy substrates, and steep slopes. These insights on the habitat usage and spawning phenology of lake whitefish provided through our Two-Eyed Seeing approach can help inform stewardship initiatives aimed at increasing recruitment of depleted populations of this important species.
... Furthermore, the results did not allow us to make this statement because the factor 396 "nest" may be associated with another characteristic, such as the number of eggs or parental 397 care, which yielded negative results but were associated with the same species (Psarocolius 398 and Cacicus). This could be a possible example of a "confounding variable," as mentioned in 399 the book by KREBS and DAVIES (1996), where a present characteristic is not necessarily 400 linked to the study factor but to another selective pressure outside our focus. The same could 401 apply to closed nests. ...
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Some birds exhibit the behavior of nest parasitism, which involves laying their eggs in the nests of other species to be incubated and cared for by the adoptive parents. Among all the studies conducted on this subject, there is a gap regarding the nest type of nest parasites and their hosts. Therefore, using species from the Icteridae family, this study aimed to identify if there is a tendency for more closed nests to be less parasitized than open nests and if there is a phylogenetic relationship between them. In this context, we expected open nests to be an ancestral condition to closed nests, serving as an evolutionary feature to avoid nest parasitism. We also analyzed other characteristics such as the number of eggs, nest type and parental care. As a result, we observed that open nests were more common, while closed nests were predominant in a specific clade and some isolated species. The analyses indicated a phylogenetic signal clustered within the Icteridae family concerning nest types, which may imply a selective pressure. However, we cannot assert that it is a direct response to nest parasitism, as closed nests are also parasitized, specifically by M. oryzivorus . Parental care and diet type also showed phylogenetic signal, indicating that these changes were not random. However, we did not observe associations in host selection by the parasites based on these characteristics. Furthermore, we found a progression in the number of species parasitized by Molothrus spp. along the phylogenetic lineage. We also observed a similarity in host choice between M. ater and M. aeneus , indicating evolutionary convergence, as they are not sister groups.
... Behavioural ecologists observe natural variation in social behaviour, and ask: "why?" (Davies et al., 2012;Tinbergen, 1963). Why do certain individuals cooperate by supporting each other against 5 conspecifics, or by spending a substantial amount of time grooming? ...
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A bstract A major goal of behavioural ecology is to explain how phenotypic and ecological factors shape the networks of social relationships that animals form with one another. This inferential task is notoriously challenging. The social networks of interest are generally not observed, but must be approximated from behavioural samples. Moreover, these data are highly dependent: the observed network edges correlate with one another, due to biological and sampling processes. Failing to account for the resulting uncertainty and biases can lead to dysfunctional statistical procedures, and thus to incorrect results. Here, we argue that these problems should be understood—and addressed—as problems of causal inference. For this purpose, we introduce a Bayesian causal modelling framework that explicitly defines the links between the target interaction network, its causes, and the data. We illustrate the mechanics of our framework with simulation studies and an empirical example. First, we encode causal effects of individual-, dyad-, and group-level features on social interactions using Directed Acyclic Graphs and Structural Causal Models. These quantities are the objects of inquiry, our estimands . Second, we develop estimators for these effects—namely, Bayesian multilevel extensions of the Social Relations Model. Third, we recover the structural parameters of interest, map statistical estimates to the underlying causal structures, and compute causal estimates from the joint posterior distribution. Throughout the manuscript, we develop models layer by layer, thereby illustrating an iterative workflow for causal inference in social networks. We conclude by summarising this workflow as a set of seven steps, and provide practical recommendations.
... This research strategy is not as new as the temptation. It has obvious links to research on adaptation in animal communication (Davies et al. 2012), an illustrious precedent in the work of Alexander (1979) and his students on kinship systems, and some vigorous history in the social sciences (Harris 1968, Bicchieri 2006. ...
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Human evolutionary demography is an emerging field blending natural science with social science. This edited volume provides a much-needed, interdisciplinary introduction to the field and highlights cutting-edge research for interested readers and researchers in demography, the evolutionary behavioural sciences, biology, and related disciplines. By bridging the boundaries between social and biological sciences, the volume stresses the importance of a unified understanding of both in order to grasp past and current demographic patterns. Demographic traits, and traits related to demographic outcomes, including fertility and mortality rates, marriage, parental care, menopause, and cooperative behavior are subject to evolutionary processes. Bringing an understanding of evolution into demography therefore incorporates valuable insights into this field; just as knowledge of demography is key to understanding evolutionary processes. By asking questions about old patterns from a new perspective, the volume—composed of contributions from established and early-career academics—demonstrates that a combination of social science research and evolutionary theory offers holistic understandings and approaches that benefit both fields. Human Evolutionary Demography introduces an emerging field in an accessible style. It is suitable for graduate courses in demography, as well as upper-level undergraduates. Its range of research is sure to be of interest to academics working on demographic topics (anthropologists, sociologists, demographers), natural scientists working on evolutionary processes, and disciplines which cross-cut natural and social science, such as evolutionary psychology, human behavioral ecology, cultural evolution, and evolutionary medicine. As an accessible introduction, it should interest readers whether or not they are currently familiar with human evolutionary demography.
... Animal reproduction often requires males to engage in physical competition and courtship to attract females in search of mates (Davies et al., 2012). From vertebrates to arthropods, these two needs have often led to the evolution of male weapons and ornaments through sexual selection (Emlen, 2008;McCullough et al., 2016;Goldberg et al., 2019). ...
... Notably, game 107 theoretical solutions are well established in fields where players lack 'agency'. In 108 behavioral ecology, for example, game theoretical models are used to define normative 109 descriptions for how animals should behave in scenarios involving optimizing a goal, 110 such as foraging or reproducing [23,24]. Thus, this theoretical approach is well suited for : bioRxiv preprint considering the limitations imposed by the structural connectome and the behavior of 113 other regions, with the aim of optimizing their communication efficiency? ...
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Communication in brain networks is the foundation of cognitive function and behavior. A multitude of evolutionary pressures, including the minimization of metabolic costs while maximizing communication efficiency, contribute to shaping the structure and dynamics of these networks. However, how communication efficiency is characterized depends on the assumed model of communication dynamics. Traditional models include shortest path signaling, random walker navigation, broadcasting, and diffusive processes. Yet, a general and model-agnostic framework for characterizing optimal neural communication remains to be established. Our study addresses this challenge by assigning communication efficiency through game theory, based on a combination of structural data from human cortical networks with computational models of brain dynamics. We quantified the exact influence exerted by each brain node over every other node using an exhaustive multi-site virtual lesioning scheme, creating optimal influence maps for various models of brain dynamics. These descriptions show how communication patterns unfold in the given brain network if regions maximize their influence over one another. By comparing these influence maps with a large variety of brain communication models, we found that optimal communication most closely resembles a broadcasting model in which regions leverage multiple parallel channels for information dissemination. Moreover, we show that the most influential regions within the cortex are formed by its rich-club. These regions exploit their topological vantage point by broadcasting across numerous pathways, thereby significantly enhancing their effective reach even when the anatomical connections are weak. Our work provides a rigorous and versatile framework for characterizing optimal communication across brain networks and reveals the most influential brain regions and the topological features underlying their optimal communication.
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Meta-analyses are powerful tools to synthesise the literature in several fields of study, including ecology and evolution. However, it remains uncertain whether ecologists and evolutionary biologists fully comprehend meta-analyses’ findings or effectively apply them when citing these studies in their own research. Here, we first discuss key meta-analytical concepts and provide a guide to researchers in ecology and evolution on how to harness meta-analyses’ insights. For instance, we clarify the meaning of effect sizes and heterogeneity to improve understanding of meta-analyses’ quantitative findings. In addition, we analysed articles published in 2023 in ecology and evolution to investigate how frequently and in what context meta-analyses were cited. We found that approximately 21% of articles cited at least one meta-analysis, and that the relative number of citations of meta-analyses (0.04% of all citations analysed) was similar to the publication frequency of meta-analytical articles (0.06% of all articles). Most importantly, we found that while the direction of mean effect sizes from cited meta-analyses was often mentioned, the magnitude of effect sizes and the limitations of the data analysed were frequently overlooked. These findings underscore the need for improved citation practices of meta-analyses in ecological and evolutionary research, which our recommendations seek to promote.
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Climate change threatens the long-established synchronization of seasonal pollinator activity and flowering time. Bumble bees are particularly vulnerable to these shifts, with resource availability playing a significant role in colony establishment and success. Recently, we documented a mechanism whereby pollen-deprived bumble bees deliberately damaged plant leaves, speeding up the production of flowers in two different species. However, it is unknown whether bumble bees obtain a benefit through this behaviour, both on a spatial and temporal scale. In the current study, we evaluate the effects of pollen availability on colony development, behaviour and reproductive fitness in Bombus terrestris using semi-natural and laboratory experiments. We find that the close proximity of flowers has significant effects on reproductive investment and output of B. terrestris colonies in a small-scale rooftop experiment. Moreover, we find that small shifts in the timing of pollen availability (5 days) shape the behaviour and development of the first generation of offspring, with significant carry-over effects on reproductive fitness for B. terrestris microcolonies. This suggests that small changes in the distribution of food may have significant impacts on colony success that cannot be compensated for over the course of the season. Furthermore, our findings suggest bumble bee colonies can feasibly profit by altering the timing of pollen resources, even by a few days.
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Sex pheromones mediate mate location in many animal taxa. Widow spider males are attracted to sex pheromones disseminating from female webs. Upon arrival on a web, males court in response to web-borne contact pheromone components. N -3-Methylbutanoyl- O -methylpropanoyl-L-serine methyl ester ( 1 ) is the single known, weakly effective, contact pheromone component of female western black widows, Latrodectus hesperus. Moreover, the seasonal periodicity of pheromone signalling by female spiders is unknown. We tested the hypotheses that female L. hesperus (1) deposit multiple contact pheromone components on their web that transition to mate-attractant pheromone components, and (2) increase pheromone signalling during the primary mating season. Analyses of web extract by gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS; LC-MS) revealed N -3-methylbutanoyl- O -methylpropanoyl-L-serine ( 7 ), the corresponding acid of 1 . Web extract of unmated female L. hesperus , and the synthetic blend of 1 and 7 , were equally effective in eliciting courtship by males but web extract induced more sustained courtship. Tested singly, 7 prompted longer courtship behaviour by males than 1 . Synthetic isobutyric acid ( 10 ), the hydrolysis product of 1 and 7 , attracted male spiders in a field experiment. The abundance of 1 and 7 on female webs, and the dissemination of 10 from webs, peaked during the summer when males are most abundant, indicating strategic sexual signalling by female spiders.
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Cooperative behavior by nonrelatives is an evolutionary puzzle, because costs of cooperation are often strong while selective factors favoring cooperative groups remain unclear. In some populations of the seed harvester ant Pogonomyrmex californicus, unrelated queens form groups at colony founding (pleometrosis), whereas in other populations, colonies are initiated by single queens (haplometrosis). We tested the hypothesis that energetic savings of grouping contribute a benefit that may enhance queen success during colony founding and early growth for pleometrotic colonies. We measured metabolic rates and locomotor activity of individuals or pairs of freshly collected, newly mated P. californicus queens from pleometrotic and haplometrotic populations. Population source did not significantly affect metabolic rates, but paired queens from both populations had mass-specific metabolic rates only 86% of those of individual queens. The metabolic effect of grouping was not explained by differences in locomotion. To test whether this degree of energetic saving could be biologically significant, we assessed metabolic rate, body mass, and egg production for pleometrotic pairs at four time points of colony founding and compared the energetic content of stored lipid to energy use up to the point of worker emergence. Metabolic rates dropped over time for queens, as did body mass, and gas exchange switched from continuous to discontinuous, suggestive of metabolic suppression. Total joules required for queens to reach the worker emergence stage were 1.5 times the energy content of stored lipids, consistent with the need for foraging for these queens, and supporting the hypothesis that energetic savings of grouping can be beneficial by extending energetic stores and reducing the need for risky foraging.
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A mezei nyúl hazánk egyik legismertebb faja. Az apróvadgazdálkodásban is igen jelentős szerepe van. Fontos ezért ismernünk a mezei nyúl igényeit, viselkedését, hogy megfelelő tervezéssel segíteni tudjuk a jelenlegi állomány helyzetét. A vizsgálat célja volt megválaszolni, hogy a hazai zárttéri mezei nyúl tartás lehet -e megoldás a jelenlegi problémára. Elemeztük a volierben nevelkedett és ott élő egyedek és a szabadban előforduló fajtársaik viselkedését. A vizsgálat Aszód területén és Babatpusztán zajlott, alapját a vadkamerákkal és hőkamerával felvett videók adták. Az eredmények azt mutatták, hogy mindkét vizsgált csoport legfontosabb viselkedési elemei közé tartozik a táplálkozás, és hogy a legtöbb viselkedési formát magányosan végezték. Összességében elmondható, hogy nem tapasztalható jelentős különbség a zárttérben tenyésztett mezei nyulak és a vad egyedek viselkedése között.
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Social hierarchies are widely used to predict life‐history patterns and priority of access to resources. Yet, behavioural ecology and social sciences lack a consistent relationship between specific behaviours and social rank across studies. I used published data sets from 42 groups of 25 species representing several taxa to determine whether hierarchies inferred from different behaviours are similar or (in)consistently different at both individual and group levels. Ranks inferred from yielding interactions in the absence of aggression ('ritualized') were often comparable to ranks inferred from decided aggression (unambiguous outcome) but not to ranks inferred from undecided aggression. Accordingly, hierarchies inferred from data sets including only decided interactions were steeper than those inferred from data sets including undecided aggression. These results support the hypothesis that aggression can be context‐dependent and might reflect less stable or mutually recognized relationships than (ritualized) yielding interactions. I discuss the consequences of choosing different behaviours to infer social hierarchies and the difficulty of making generalizations from one species or taxon to another. Finally, I recommend that the use of ritualized yielding and certainly the use of decided over undecided interactions to infer social hierarchies should be preferred, especially in comparative studies which go beyond taxon‐specific idiosyncrasies.
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Predation is accepted as a major evolutionary driver of life history and morphology. However, whether these traits evolve directly via predation or via indirect effects is largely unresolved. We used artificial selection over three generations to experimentally test the impact of adult predation on the evolution of life history and morphology in guppies (Poecilia reticulata). We found that, compared to control fish, predation-selected fish produced larger offspring and larger broods early in life. However, other life history parameters, such as interbrood interval and total number of offspring, showed no response. We also found that predation-selected for smaller and lighter females and for shorter tails and gonopodia in males, with no effect on body colouration. Our results show that while several traits evolve fast under selection on adult predation, several classic predation-dependent traits seem unaffected by predation selection. By comparing our experimental results to those from natural populations we can disentangle the contribution of direct and indirect effects on trait evolution under predation pressure.
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Diplonychus indicus, a tropical, skilled predatory water bug with a global distribution, has been studied for its predatory performance. In this study, a detailed account and a thorough assessment on the population dynamics, reproductive fecundity, and the various factors, viz., effect of space size, temperature, food deprivation, aquatic vegetation, competition, and prey density influencing the predatory performance of D. indicus have been portrayed. Over the course of a year, the population dynamics of D. indicus was observed in a permanent pond located in the Kanyakumari region of Tamil Nadu, Southern India. Except for temperature, D. indicus nymphs and adults, had a positive correlation with abiotic (temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and rainfall) and biotic (Culex larvae) parameters. With regard to reproductive fecundity, on an average, 20 female individuals of D. indicus produced 1062 eggs, with a maximum hatching percentage of 88.3 at water temperatures of 25–26 °C, and an incubation period of 9.0 ± 0.35 days. The stadial duration of nymphs was 77.68 days, with the Ist stage being the shortest (5.2 ± 0.32 days) and the Vth stage the longest (34.22 ± 4.12). The IVth stage followed by the Vth stage had the highest rates of survival from egg to adult. The predatory performance of D. indicus nymphs evaluated based on the following factors, viz., space size, temperature, starvation, vegetation, competition, and prey density, are as follows. Maximum number of prey (Culex larvae) predated (411.20 ± 8.76) was in circular experimental glass container of 1 L volume space size; at a temperature of 25 °C (11.20 ± 0.30); after 24 h of starvation (558.26 ± 2.56); in 2.0 g density of aquatic vegetation (388.16 ± 2.32); with six competitors (2484.60 ± 8.10); and at 80 prey density (28.52 ± 1.02). The current study provides a critical insight into these variables that are crucial in the predatory performance of their prey, and are successful parameters in establishing a specific predator-prey interaction. This is a useful parameter for figuring out a specific predator-prey interaction in the wild. All the above mentioned factors will affect how well D. indicus performs as a predator in the field.
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The purpose of this article is to apply the principles of behavioural ecology into historical analyses, mainly to explain the emergence and disappearance of social stratification and labour coercion. The paper functions as a review of historical as well as prehistoric trends of labour coercion and hierarchy starting from the paleolithic and moving from antiquity to a more focused analysis on the Early Modern period in Eastern/Central and Northwestern Europe. The areas in question saw a drastic shift in opposite directions in the degree of labour coercion and social stratification in the said period, while Eastern/Central Europe saw the rise of what is called the Second Serfdom, in Northwestern Europe the seeds of modern democracy were sewn. The basis of all analyses are the ecological conditions and the variable fitness optimizing strategies of individuals which converge to create emergent social balances. Link: www.midlandshistoricalreview.com/life-and-death-of-leviathan-or-a-behavioural-ecological-analysis-of-the-rise-and-fall-of-social-stratification-and-labour-coercion
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This study examines the adaptive function of empathy and the role of rave suppression in promoting social cohesion within contemporary Maltese society. The relevance of adaptive empathy as a dynamic, feedback-based learning process, whereby empathic responses are chosen and modified on the basis of social feedback is explored. Drawing from insights in neuroscience, psychology, and social science this work investigates the mechanisms grounding accurate empathy and implications for relationship formation and maintenance. This study employs an original associative learning paradigm to measure adaptive empathy where participants choose between two empathic strategies; reappraisal or distraction to alleviate target person’s distress. Feedbacks on each strategy’ effects are used to build future decisions that show mentalizing abilities are part of adaptive empathy. On this note, it is worth pointing out that there was a positive correlation between traits cognitive empathy in relation to those involved in adaptive empathy since learning through social feedback increases accuracy for being empathetic. Further, the study also touches on cultural and social perspectives of rave culture in Malta among other things. This is achieved by reviewing the effects of raves’ events and efforts to abolish them on social ties. The paper is based on mixed research design that uses qualitative interviews with quantitative surveys to examine how communal activities affect collective empathy and social cohesion. It explores how a sense of belonging and comradeship are developed through rave culture as well as what happens when it ceases to operate that may lead to some alterations in social dynamics and solidarity. The main goal of this research was to illuminate the adaptive roles played by empathy within certain societal situations and wider implications for societal integration; hence, it provides an extensive understanding regarding relationships between empathy and social structure. These findings can be helpful to community leaders or policy makers who would want to foster resilience & harmony among different groups within modern societies.
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Increasing illegal hunting and poaching, biodiversity loss, and conflicts between people and wildlife, management of ungulates has become important in the study area. Although remote sensing and GIS although have made habitat evaluation easier, the results obtained through these techniques need to be verified manually for robustness and accuracy. The purpose was to identify the suitable area for blackbucks (Antilope cervicapra) using the MaxEnt model. The Area Under Curve (AUC) value of 0.923 showed robust results. Furthermore, based on the results obtained using MaxEnt, a total 10.75% of the area is highly suitable for the blackbucks and 12.45% falls under moderate/less suitable area. About 31.6% of total area falls under wildlife sanctuary located in the south of Kaimur district. Poachers are gaining enormous profit from killing this species because of less effective management and lack of stringent legal anchors. Therefore, integration of community led initiatives in the study area will accelerate conservation efforts of schedule I species and demarcation of Blackbuck Conservation Region (BCR) will serve the foundation stone to achieve conservation milestone of such fragmented habitat population.
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