Nepotistic mobbing behaviour in the Siberian jay, Perisoreus infaustus

Griesser, Michael; Ekman, Jan

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.05.013

Cited by 84 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The findings that alpha males returned before the adult females are in accordance with earlier observations (Curio et al 1983, Griesser & Ekman 2005 and may be explained as mate protection (e.g. Hogstad 1995).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Predator discrimination and anti-predator behaviour by wintering parids: an experimental study

Hogstad

2017

Ornis Norv.

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Abstract. Even though birds' perceptions of risk are biased towards starvation avoidance in winter, recognition of the level of threat of a predator is an important precondition. To investigate the ability of three tit species (Blue Cyanistes caeruleus, Great Parus major and Willow Tits Poecile montanus) to recognise dangerous and harmless objects, I studied their mobbing reaction and the latency of the tits to return to the feeder after being exposed to life like models of Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus, Siberian Jay Perisoreus infaustus and Three-toed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus, birds similar in size (about 30 cm) but differing widely from each other in feeding. The mobbing level was higher and the latency time of each of the tit species were significantly longer after presenting the Sparrowhawk than the Siberian Jay, whereas the woodpecker aroused no specific reaction. The tits apparently recognised the individual predator species and made decisions on their perceptions of the threat level.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Predator discrimination and anti-predator behaviour by wintering parids: an experimental study

Hogstad

2017

Ornis Norv.

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“…Indeed, juveniles approach a feeder to forage near perched predator models when encountering them on their own but do immediately copy the mobbing behavior of knowledgeable group members when exposed together (Griesser and Ekman 2005;Griesser and Suzuki 2016). Upon discovering a perched live predator or a perched taxidermized predator model, group members immediately start to approach the predator by moving from tree to tree, swooping over it, and giving mobbing calls for several minutes (Griesser and Ekman 2005).…”

Section: The Consequences Of Witnessing Mobbing 59mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Upon discovering a perched live predator or a perched taxidermized predator model, group members immediately start to approach the predator by moving from tree to tree, swooping over it, and giving mobbing calls for several minutes (Griesser and Ekman 2005). Usually, all group members participate in mobbing, but male breeders give most mobbing calls.…”

Section: The Consequences Of Witnessing Mobbing 59mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Naive Juveniles Are More Likely to Become Breeders after Witnessing Predator Mobbing

Griesser

Suzuki

2017

The American Naturalist

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Dryad data: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.50m10.abstract: Responding appropriately during the first predatory attack in life is often critical for survival. In many social species, naive juveniles acquire this skill from conspecifics, but its fitness consequences remain virtually unknown. Here we experimentally demonstrate how naive juvenile Siberian jays (Perisoreus infaustus) derive a long-term fitness benefit from witnessing knowledgeable adults mobbing their principal predator, the goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). Siberian jays live in family groups of two to six individuals that also can include unrelated nonbreeders. Field observations showed that Siberian jays encounter predators only rarely, and, indeed, naive juveniles do not respond to predator models when on their own but do when observing other individuals mobbing them. Predator exposure experiments demonstrated that naive juveniles had a substantially higher first-winter survival after observing knowledgeable group members mobbing a goshawk model, increasing their likelihood of acquiring a breeding position later in life. Previous research showed that naive individuals may learn from others how to respond to predators, care for offspring, or choose mates, generally assuming that social learning has long-term fitness consequences without empirical evidence. Our results demonstrate a long-term fitness benefit of vertical social learning for naive individuals in the wild, emphasizing its evolutionary importance in animals, including humans.

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“…When encountering a perched predator, however, jays approach and swoop over these predators while uttering a variety of mobbing calls. Predators quickly respond to the mobbing behaviour and move on (Griesser & Ekman 2005). The response of Siberian jays towards predators depends also on group composition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobbing calls signal predator category in a kin group-living bird species

Griesser

2009

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Many prey species gather together to approach and harass their predators despite the associated risks. While mobbing, prey usually utter calls and previous experiments have demonstrated that mobbing calls can convey information about risk to conspecifics. However, the risk posed by predators also differs between predator categories. The ability to communicate predator category would be adaptive because it would allow other mobbers to adjust their risk taking. I tested this idea in Siberian jays Perisoreus infaustus, a group-living bird species, by exposing jay groups to mounts of three hawk and three owl species of varying risks. Groups immediately approached to mob the mount and uttered up to 14 different call types. Jays gave more calls when mobbing a more dangerous predator and when in the presence of kin. Five call types were predator-category-specific and jays uttered two hawk-specific and three owl-specific call types. Thus, this is one of the first studies to demonstrate that mobbing calls can simultaneously encode information about both predator category and the risk posed by a predator. Since antipredator calls of Siberian jays are known to specifically aim at reducing the risk to relatives, kin-based sociality could be an important factor in facilitating the evolution of predator-category-specific mobbing calls.

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Nepotistic mobbing behaviour in the Siberian jay, Perisoreus infaustus

Cited by 84 publications

References 34 publications

Predator discrimination and anti-predator behaviour by wintering parids: an experimental study

Predator discrimination and anti-predator behaviour by wintering parids: an experimental study

Naive Juveniles Are More Likely to Become Breeders after Witnessing Predator Mobbing

Mobbing calls signal predator category in a kin group-living bird species

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