Conspecific presence and microhabitat features influence foraging decisions across ontogeny in a facultatively social mammal

Ortiz, Chelsea A.; Pendleton, Erika L.; Newcomb, Kate Lee; Smith, Jennifer E.

doi:10.1007/s00265-019-2651-6

Cited by 17 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 90 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Confirmation of predictions of the shared physiological correlates hypothesis will require future work in this system with larger sample sizes, experimental manipulations, and repeated measures of both FGMs and venom resistance within individuals. Such studies may reveal an additional key context for hormonal integration of anti-snake defenses, such as distance from refuges (e.g., burrows, [ 67 ]), availability of promontories (e.g., elevated rocks or logs, [ 68 ]), foraging group size [ 60 ], and the presence of genetic relatives [ 69 ] or other safety cues [ 70 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Exposure to snakes exerts selection to maintain these potentially costly defensive traits: squirrels in areas with high rattlesnake densities express the most effective behavioral and physiological defenses [ 42 , 56 ], and adults express more effective behavioral and physiological defenses than juveniles [ 3 , 55 , 60 ]. For example, even though tail-flagging is a snake-specific display that deters snakes from striking [ 1 ], squirrels adapted to high levels of rattlesnake predation tend to exhibit lower signaling rates, spend less time engaging snakes, and are more hesitant to approach snakes closely than squirrels from areas with low rattlesnake densities (“nonadapted” to snakes) [ 53 , 55 , 61 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Physiological Stress Integrates Resistance to Rattlesnake Venom and the Onset of Risky Foraging in California Ground Squirrels

Holding

Putman

Kong

et al. 2020

Toxins

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using venom for predation often leads to the evolution of resistance in prey. Understanding individual variation in venom resistance is key to unlocking basic mechanisms by which antagonistic coevolution can sustain variation in traits under selection. For prey, the opposing challenges of predator avoidance and resource acquisition often lead to correlated levels of risk and reward, which in turn can favor suites of integrated morphological, physiological and behavioral traits. We investigate the relationship between risk-sensitive behaviors, physiological resistance to rattlesnake venom, and stress in a population of California ground squirrels. For the same individuals, we quantified foraging decisions in the presence of snake predators, fecal corticosterone metabolites (a measure of “stress”), and blood serum inhibition of venom enzymatic activity (a measure of venom resistance). Individual responses to snakes were repeatable for three measures of risk-sensitive behavior, indicating that some individuals were consistently risk-averse whereas others were risk tolerant. Venom resistance was lower in squirrels with higher glucocorticoid levels and poorer body condition. Whereas resistance failed to predict proximity to and interactions with snake predators, individuals with higher glucocorticoid levels and in lower body condition waited the longest to feed when near a snake. We compared alternative structural equation models to evaluate alternative hypotheses for the relationships among stress, venom resistance, and behavior. We found support for stress as a shared physiological correlate that independently lowers venom resistance and leads to squirrels that wait longer to feed in the presence of a snake, whereas we did not find evidence that resistance directly facilitates latency to forage. Our findings suggest that stress may help less-resistant squirrels avoid a deadly snakebite, but also reduces feeding opportunities. The combined lethal and non-lethal effects of stressors in predator–prey interactions simultaneously impact multiple key traits in this system, making environmental stress a potential contributor to geographic variation in trait expression of toxic predators and resistant prey.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological Stress Integrates Resistance to Rattlesnake Venom and the Onset of Risky Foraging in California Ground Squirrels

Holding

Putman

Kong

et al. 2020

Toxins

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is to be expected given the greater vulnerability of a single individual to predation and has been extensively documented in other studies. [35][36][37] Furthermore, though food density was not measured in the study area, birds on land tended to be in larger flocks compared to water, thus increasing scramble competition. This could have also minimized the strength of the association between vigilance and flock size.…”

Section: Flock Sizementioning

confidence: 95%

Investigating the Effect of Flock Size on Vigilance in the American Coot (Fulica americana) in Relationship to Habitat

Lam¹,

Rizal²,

Cota³

et al. 2020

AJUR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Among many anti-predator behaviors, vigilance is observed in many species and plays an important role in survival. In this study, we investigated the effect of flock size on vigilance in American Coots (Fulica americana)foraging on land and water, by observing individual birds in these habitats and recording the time spent scanning (i.e., vigilance). Mean flock size was larger on land compared to water and vigilance negatively correlated with flock size. Birds in water were more vigilant compared to on land, regardless of whether they were foraging alone or in flocks. However, the effect of flock size on vigilance showed a weak linear correlation as it was possible that other factors (e.g., human habituation, food kleptoparasitism, or scramble competition) could have also played a role in shaping vigilance. These results suggest that there is a relationship between flock size and vigilance, which are related to previous researches that show a negative correlation between vigilance and flock size. KEYWORDS: Birds; American Coot; Vigilance; Scanning; Foraging; Flock Size; Habituation; Competition; Behavior

show abstract

“…Overall, overlap tended to be greater between an individual's second and third years on the study site, suggesting that animals became more spatially consistent over time. Individuals first captured as subadults overlapped more with themselves than did animals first captured as adults, indicating that age may contribute to individual patterns of space use (Rayor and Armitage 1991;Salvioni and Lidicker 1995;Ortiz et al 2019). Variation in between-years overlap may also reflect differences in dispersal history (Murray 1982;Nelson and Mech 1984;Costello 2010).…”

Section: Variation In Spatial Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, individuals may vary in their tendency to associate with conspecifics (Lott 1984(Lott , 1991, resulting in some animals that consistently live alone while others consistently live in groups, regardless of ecological or demographic conditions. Variation in social relationships may also occur if individuals alter their behavior to better capitalize on the relative fitness benefits of different social options (Rehan et al 2014;Ortiz et al 2019). Finally, variation in social relationships may reflect stochastic demographic factors such as recruitment or mortality, each of which may influence the number of conspecifics with which an individual lives (Blumstein 2013;Hatchwell et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-year assessment of variability in spatial and social relationships in a subterranean rodent, the highland tuco-tuco (Ctenomys opimus)

O’Brien

Tammone

Cuello

et al. 2021

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In some species, populations routinely contain a mixture of lone and group-living individuals. Such facultative sociality may reflect individual differences in behavior as well as adaptive responses to variation in local environmental conditions. To explore interactions between individual- and population-level variabilities in behavior in a species provisionally described as facultatively social, we examined spatial and social relationships within a population of highland tuco-tucos (Ctenomys opimus) at Laguna de los Pozuelos, Jujuy Province, Argentina. Using data collected over 5 consecutive years, we sought to (1) confirm the regular occurrence of both lone and group-living individuals and (2) characterize the temporal consistency of individual social relationships. Our analyses revealed that although the study population typically contained lone as well as group-living animals, individual spatial and social relationships varied markedly over time. Specifically, the extent to which individuals remained resident in the same location across years varied, as did the number of conspecifics with which an animal lived, with an overall tendency for individuals to live in larger groups over successive years. Collectively, these analyses indicate that population-level patterns of behavior in C. opimus are consistent with facultative sociality but that this variation does not arise due to persistent differences in individual behavior (i.e., living alone versus with conspecifics). Instead, based on changes in spatial and social relationships across years, we suggest that variation in the tendency to live in groups is shaped primarily by local ecological and demographic conditions. Significance statement Characterizing variation in conspecific relationships is critical to understanding the adaptive bases for social behavior. Using data collected over 5 successive years, we examined temporal variation in spatial and social relationships within a population of highland tuco-tucos (C. opimus) from northern Argentina. In addition to providing the first multi-year assessment of the behavior and demography of this species, our analyses generate important insights into relationships between individual behavior and population-level patterns of social organization. The behavioral variability evident in our study population suggests that C. opimus is an ideal system in which to explore the causes and consequences of individual differences in social behavior.

show abstract

Conspecific presence and microhabitat features influence foraging decisions across ontogeny in a facultatively social mammal

Cited by 17 publications

References 90 publications

Physiological Stress Integrates Resistance to Rattlesnake Venom and the Onset of Risky Foraging in California Ground Squirrels

Physiological Stress Integrates Resistance to Rattlesnake Venom and the Onset of Risky Foraging in California Ground Squirrels

Investigating the Effect of Flock Size on Vigilance in the American Coot (Fulica americana) in Relationship to Habitat

Multi-year assessment of variability in spatial and social relationships in a subterranean rodent, the highland tuco-tuco (Ctenomys opimus)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About