Flight initiation distance (FID), the distance at which individuals take flight when approached by a potential (human) predator, is a tool for understanding predator–prey interactions. Among the factors affecting FID, tests of effects of group size (i.e., number of potential prey) on FID have yielded contrasting results. Group size or flock size could either affect FID negatively (i.e., the dilution effect caused by the presence of many individuals) or positively (i.e., increased vigilance due to more eyes scanning for predators). These effects may be associated with gregarious species, because such species should be better adapted to exploiting information from other individuals in the group than nongregarious species. Sociality may explain why earlier findings on group size versus FID have yielded different conclusions. Here, we analyzed how flock size affected bird FID in eight European countries. A phylogenetic generalized least square regression model was used to investigate changes in escape behavior of bird species in relation to number of individuals in the flock, starting distance, diet, latitude, and type of habitat. Flock size of different bird species influenced how species responded to perceived threats. We found that gregarious birds reacted to a potential predator earlier (longer FID) when aggregated in large flocks. These results support a higher vigilance arising from many eyes scanning in birds, suggesting that sociality may be a key factor in the evolution of antipredator behavior both in urban and rural areas. Finally, future studies comparing FID must pay explicit attention to the number of individuals in flocks of gregarious species.
Background
Interspecific competition is known to be strongest between those species that are both closely related and sympatric. Egrets are colonially nesting wetland birds that often overlap and can therefore be expected to compete in roosting and nesting habitat as well as in diet. According to the niche partitioning hypothesis, it is to be expected that these similar species would show differentiation in at least one of the main niche dimensions to reduce competition. We tested niche partitioning between the colonially nesting Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) in temporal, spatial and trophic dimensions.
Methods
Field study was conducted in three mixed egret colonies in Yangxian County, southwest Shaanxi Province, central China. For each nest colony we recorded its spatial location, the height of nesting trees and of nests, the height of roosting trees and of roosting individuals within the trees. We determined the first egg-laying and first hatching dates of the two species. Craw dissection of storm-killed egret nestlings was used to measure the diet. Six transects were surveyed to study foraging habitat selection.
Results
We found that hatching time of Little Egrets peaked earlier (by about 1 month) than that of Cattle Egrets. Cattle Egrets nested and roosted higher than Little Egrets. The foraging habitats used by Little Egrets were dominated by river banks (73.49%), followed by paddy fields (13.25%) and reservoirs (10.84%), whereas Cattle Egret foraging sites were characterized by grasslands (44.44%), paddy fields (33.33%) and river banks (22.22%). Little Egrets consumed more fishes (65.66%) and Odonata larvae (13.69%) than Cattle Egrets, while Cattle Egrets were found feeding mainly on Coleoptera (29.69%) and Orthoptera (23.29%). Little Egrets preyed on larger mean biomasses of food items than Cattle Egrets.
Conclusions
Our results confirm the niche partitioning hypothesis as a mechanism for coexistence among ecologically similar species. In two coexisting egret species, niche partitioning is multidimensional, such that the two coexistent species occupy differing ecological space based on all three temporal, spatial and trophic niche dimensions.
Predation is a common cause of death in numerous organisms, and a host of antipredator defences have evolved. Such defences often have a genetic background as shown by significant heritability and microevolutionary responses towards weaker defences in the absence of predators. Flight initiation distance (FID) is the distance at which an individual animal takes flight when approached by a human, and hence, it reflects the life-history compromise between risk of predation and the benefits of foraging. Here, we analysed FID in 128 species of birds in relation to three measures of genetic variation, band sharing coefficient for minisatellites, observed heterozygosity and inbreeding coefficient for microsatellites in order to test whether FID was positively correlated with genetic variation. We found consistently shorter FID for a given body size in the presence of high band sharing coefficients, low heterozygosity and high inbreeding coefficients in phylogenetic analyses after controlling statistically for potentially confounding variables. These findings imply that antipredator behaviour is related to genetic variance. We predict that many threatened species with low genetic variability will show reduced antipredator behaviour and that subsequent predator-induced reductions in abundance may contribute to unfavourable population trends for such species.
The reproductive investment strategy is important for the survival and
reproduction of parents. Yet, due to extra-pair copulation behavior of
female, socially monogamous males may end up making reproductive
investment in some offspring that, in terms of genetics, are not theirs.
Our study centered on varied tits (Sittiparus varius), a socially
monogamous species with high proportion of extra-pair paternity. We
compared male and female reproductive investment (nest defense and brood
investment) and tested if extra-pair paternity, mate’s body condition,
and mate’s investment affect their reproductive investment. Results
showed that, the nest defense strength of males and females the
difference was non-significant; and on feeding frequency, the difference
was clear: females were significantly higher than that of males. With or
without of extra-pair offspring, mate’s body condition and mate’s
feeding frequency were not significantly related to parental
reproductive investment. On one kind of reproductive investment, the
strength of nest defense, correlation was detected between social mates.
The relationship between reproduction investment of the bird’s parents
and extra-pair paternity was non-significant, possibly as a result of
males’ current reproductive tradeoffs. In summary, the existence of
extra-pair paternity does not reduce the reproductive investment of
males, the behaviour of mates affects the nest defense strength of
individuals, and it is possible that this is a function of the shared
environment, the exact reasons for which still need to be further
explored.
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