Emergent Properties of Conspecific Attraction in Fragmented Landscapes

Fletcher, Robert J.

doi:10.1086/505764

Cited by 134 publications

(123 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Attraction to conspecifics likely helps to improve survival by minimizing the time birds need to search for new territory and increasing opportunities for individuals to find mates (Fletcher 2006), but artificially provided conspecific broadcasts has not explicitly been shown to improve survival of reproductive success (Ahlering et al 2010, Grendelmeier et al 2017. Because most prospecting Willow Flycatchers seeking to establish new territories are second-year individuals and typically less productive than their older counterparts (Sedgwick 2004, Paxton et al 2007), we would not necessarily expect to see high productivity in the short term from individuals attracted to a habitat by conspecific broadcasts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using conspecific broadcast for Willow Flycatcher restoration

Schofield¹,

Loffland²,

Siegel³

et al. 2018

ACE

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ABSTRACT. Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) populations have been in decline across the western United States for decades. California populations are especially vulnerable with fewer than 500 pairs remaining in the state. Declines and local extirpations continue despite extensive habitat restoration and improved management designed to help conserve Willow Flycatchers. Such efforts may have failed to help reverse these trends in part because Willow Flycatchers rarely recolonize habitat after extirpation, regardless of present habitat suitability. Failure to recolonize habitat may be because prospecting Willow Flycatchers, like many other songbird species, assess habitat suitability based on the presence of conspecifics, making them unlikely to consider unoccupied habitat as potential breeding grounds. If true, broadcasting conspecific vocalizations in suitable but unoccupied habitat could help facilitate recolonization. During the 2016 and 2017 breeding seasons, we assessed the effectiveness of providing artificial social cues as a means of restoring Willow Flycatchers to suitable but unoccupied restored meadows in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. We selected 14 experimental meadows where conspecific songs were broadcast during the settlement and breeding periods and 19 control meadows where no broadcasts took place. All the meadows were recently restored, contain high-quality habitat with hydrological characteristics and vegetation similar to meadows where Sierra Willow Flycatchers successfully breed, and were confirmed to be unoccupied in the year prior to their inclusion in the study. We observed Willow Flycatchers at five of 14 experimental meadows (35.75%) during the breeding season and at one of 19 control meadows (5.3%). We found that habitat characteristics also play a role in the efficacy of this technique, as Willow Flycatcher presence was highly significantly related to the combination of both the experimental treatment and meadow size. These results demonstrate that within large, restored meadows, conspecific broadcasts may be an effective strategy for restoring Willow Flycatchers. Utilisation de la diffusion de chants de conspécifiques pour le rétablissement du Moucherolle des saulesRÉSUMÉ. Les populations de Moucherolles des saules (Empidonax traillii) sont à la baisse dans tout l'ouest des États-Unis depuis des décennies. Les populations californiennes sont particulièrement vulnérables, comptant moins de 500 couples. Les baisses et les disparitions locales se produisent toujours malgré les efforts importants de restauration d'habitat et d'aménagement ciblant la conservation de ces moucherolles. Ces efforts pourraient avoir failli à renverser les tendances, en partie en raison du fait que le Moucherolle des saules recolonise rarement un habitat qu'il a abandonné, sans égard aux conditions actuelles propices. L'échec de la recolonisation d'habitat est peut-être attribuable au fait que les moucherolles qui prospectent, tout comme de nombreuses autres espèces d'oiseaux chanteurs, évaluen...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using conspecific broadcast for Willow Flycatcher restoration

Schofield¹,

Loffland²,

Siegel³

et al. 2018

ACE

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“…Conspecific attraction is consistent with laboratory observations of swimming postlarvae orienting toward conspecific odour plumes (Boudreau et al 1993). Positive response to and settlement near conspecifics could provide a mechanism to locate suitable habitat (sea urchins: Tegner & Dayton 1977, barnacles: Crisp 1985, Jeffery 2000, crab: Gebauer et al 2002, Vadas & Elner 2003, and reduced search time at the time of settlement may provide a post-settlement fitness benefit (Fletcher 2006). Conspecifics influenced postlarval recruitment of gregarious spiny lobster Panulirus argus (Zito-Livingston & Childress 2009), either as a result of reduced duration of the planktonic phase because postlarvae use conspecific odours to quickly locate a shelter or through higher survival probability of aggregations of juveniles that may be less vulnerable to predation (Estrella & McKiernan 1989, Briones-Fourzán & Lozano-Alvarez 2008.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The costs and benefits of settling among conspecifics warrants further investigation to determine the degree to which habitat selection choices may be based on a combination of positive and negative interactions, the degree to which these interactions are density dependent (Hunt & Scheibling 1997), and how patch size might influence these cues (Fletcher 2006). Whereas mobile species can potentially 'reverse' a settlement decision, there is little information on the extent of post-settlement movement to 'correct' for settlement mistakes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial linkages between settling young-of-year and older juvenile lobsters

Burdett-Coutts¹,

Wahle²,

Snelgrove³

et al. 2014

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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We examined spatial association between young-of-year (YoY) and older juvenile (Juv) American lobsters Homarus americanus across multiple spatial scales using 8 years (2001 to 2008) of field measurements of a long-term settlement index time series from New England, USA.Complementary laboratory experiments examined behavioural responses of settling postlarvae to conspecific presence. Regional scale (10s to 100s of kilometres) data aggregation showed significant association between YoY recruitment and Juv densities in the same year for all 8 years examined. These broad-scale positive associations support previous research showing the importance of circulation-driven patterns of larval supply in linking newly settled YoY and Juv lobsters. Analysis at the quadrat scale, however, showed greater than expected association between YoY and Juv, suggesting a behavioural component. Early benthic-phase Juv lobsters (~0 to 2 yr old) strongly associate with structurally complex habitats; however, little is known of other habitat quality variables that may enhance successful recruitment. Resident conspecifics may represent one of several habitat quality proxies for postlarval lobsters despite post-settlement risk in settling among conspecifics, such as competition and predation. In short-term (4 min) laboratory behavioural experiments, postlarvae spent significantly more time on the bottom in the presence of conspecific juveniles. In longer-term (24 h) experiments, postlarvae initially (<1 h), though not significantly, settled more rapidly in the presence of conspecific juveniles, and any weak effect dis sipated with time. Lack of suitable habitat in experimental chambers may have inhibited a longer-term response. While conspecifics may initially attract postlarvae, settlement may require additional habitat cues.

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“…Thus, every individual undertaking an activity is inadvertently sending information that can be received by other conspecifics. If local population density is high, social information can be shared by several individuals (Fletcher 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local enhancement and social foraging in a non-social insular lizard

Pérez‐Cembranos

Pérez-Mellado

2014

Anim Cogn

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Even in solitary foragers, conspecifics can provide reliable information about food location. The insular lizard Podarcis lilfordi is a solitary species with high population densities that sometimes aggregate around rich food patches. Its diet includes novel and unpredictable resources, such as carcasses or plants, whose exploitation quickly became widespread among the population. We tested the use of social information by lizards through some field experiments in which they had to choose one of the two pieces of fruit. Probably due to local enhancement, lizards preferred to feed on the piece of fruit where conspecifics or lizard-shaped models were already present. Conspecifics' behaviour, but also their mere presence, seems to be a valuable source of information to decide where to feed. Lizards also showed a strong attraction to conspecifics, even in the absence of food. Maybe the presence of a group is interpreted as an indirect cue for the presence of food. The group size was not important to females, but males had a significantly higher attraction towards groups with three conspecifics. We discuss some characteristics of P. lilfordi at Aire Island that can explain the development of the observed social foraging, as well as their possible consequences.

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Emergent Properties of Conspecific Attraction in Fragmented Landscapes

Cited by 134 publications

References 47 publications

Using conspecific broadcast for Willow Flycatcher restoration

Using conspecific broadcast for Willow Flycatcher restoration

Spatial linkages between settling young-of-year and older juvenile lobsters

Local enhancement and social foraging in a non-social insular lizard

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