Increased nest defence of upland‐nesting ducks in response to experimentally reduced risk of nest predation

Dassow, John A.; Eichholz, Michael W.; Stafford, Joshua D.

doi:10.1111/j.1600-048x.2011.05385.x

Cited by 22 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(63 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Behaviours that increase survival in current offspring can reduce energy available for future offspring production or *Corresponding author. For example, parents should decrease investment under high personal predation risks to preserve future reproduction opportunities (Dassow et al, 2012;Ghalambor, Peluc & Martin, 2013). Consequently, parents should vary investment in offspring relative to level of risk (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic switching in predator attack and maternal defence of prey

Poo¹,

Evans

Tan

et al. 2016

Biol. J. Linn. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Predator and prey relationships are dynamic and interrelated. Thus, any offensive behaviour will vary according to differing defensive behaviours, or vice versa, within each species in any predator-prey system. However, most studies are one-sided as they focus on just one behaviour, that of either the predator or prey. Here, we examine both predatory behaviour of an oophagus katydid and antipredator behaviour by a frog with egg-stage parental care. Katydid offensive behaviour and predation success was greater in females and increased with predator maturity and size. Frog defensive behaviour was sex specific, probably because only mothers provide parental care. Defensive behaviour could be active, such as charging predators, or passive, such as sheltering eggs, with greater active defence against larger predators; neither was influenced by offspring age. These results are contrary to existing theory, which argues parental investment ought to be negatively correlated with parental predation risks and affected by offspring age. This study highlights the use of antipredator behaviour to test predictions of parental investment theories in amphibians. In addition, it illustrates the need to consider factors that influence both species concurrently when examining the complex interaction between predators and parents.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic switching in predator attack and maternal defence of prey

Poo¹,

Evans

Tan

et al. 2016

Biol. J. Linn. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As offspring defence can be dangerous [15,31,32], parents may face a tradeoff between survival of the current brood and their own survival, and, as a consequence, that of their future broods [28,33,34]. This compromise between current and future reproduction may consequently influence risk-taking decisions and defence intensity towards a threat posed to the offspring [28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental risk management in relation to offspring defence: bad news for kids

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Do parents defend their offspring whenever necessary, and do self-sacrificing parents really exist? Studies recognized that parent defence is dynamic, mainly depending on the threat predators pose. In this context, parental risk management should consider the threat to themselves and to their offspring. Consequently, the observed defence should be a composite of both risk components. Surprisingly, no study so far has determined the influence of these two threat components on parental decision rules. In a field experiment, we investigated parental risk taking in relation to the threat posed to themselves and their offspring. To disentangle the two threat components, we examined defence behaviours of parent blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus towards three different predators and during different nestling developmental stages. Nest defence strategies in terms of alarm call intensity and nearest predator approach differed between the three predators. Defence intensity was only partly explained by threat level. Most importantly, parental risk management varied in relation to their own, but not offspring risk. Parent defence investment was independent of nestling risk when parents followed a high-risk strategy. However, parents considered nestling as well as parental risk when following a low-risk strategy. Our findings could have general implications for the economy of risk management and decision-making strategies in living beings, including humans.

show abstract

“…; Fontaine & Martin ; Gravel & Cooke ; Neff & Knapp ; Dassow et al . ), with oxidative stress emerging as an additional potential driver of fitness (Alonso‐Alvarez et al . ; Wiersma et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predator burden and past investment affect brood abandonment decisions in a parental care‐providing teleost

Zuckerman

Suski

2013

Functional Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary 1.Reproductive success of parental care-providing species is contingent upon the level of parental investment into a brood. When the expected fitness contribution of a brood is outweighed by the costs of parental care (e.g. decreasing parent somatic condition), an individual may reduce its level of care, or may altogether abandon a brood in trade-off for potential future reproductive success. Leading parental care hypotheses have established parental stress, oxidative stress, nutrition and androgen condition, as well as reproductive value and the threat of brood depredation, as drivers of investment into parental care. 2. The concomitant effects of parent physiological condition and the threat of brood depredation have yet to be considered in their direct effect on the reproductive success of a parental care-providing individual. Using largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) as a model parental care-providing species, we investigated the relative influence of these factors, together, on a direct fitness measure: the decision by a parent to abandon its brood. 3. By employing a novel combination of multivariate and information-theoretic modelling, our findings indicate that reproductive success of parental largemouth bass is contingent primarily on the threat of depredation to a brood (i.e. the density of brood predators adjacent to nest locations), past investment into a brood and reproductive value of the brood. 4. Parent physiological condition had limited influence on the decision by largemouth bass to abandon parental care. Modelling indicated that parental circulating androgen concentration and antioxidant capacity may play a minimal role in driving brood abandonment; nutrition and stress condition of the parent did not differ between reproductive outcomes. 5. Findings here suggest that a holistic approach should be implemented when studying parental care and that a definite experimental endpoint, e.g., brood abandonment or reproductive success, be utilized as a direct metric of the cost to fitness of parental care decisions.

show abstract

Increased nest defence of upland‐nesting ducks in response to experimentally reduced risk of nest predation

Cited by 22 publications

References 40 publications

Dynamic switching in predator attack and maternal defence of prey

Dynamic switching in predator attack and maternal defence of prey

Parental risk management in relation to offspring defence: bad news for kids

Predator burden and past investment affect brood abandonment decisions in a parental care‐providing teleost

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About