Extramarital and Pair Copulations in the Cattle Egret

The Auk ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Fujioka ◽  
Satoshi Yamagishi
Keyword(s):  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Copulatory Behavior ◽  
Pair Bond ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Dominant Male ◽  
Central Japan ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Cattle Egret ◽  
Bubulcus Ibis

Abstract The copulatory behavior of the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) was observed in a heronry in central Japan. In 38 of 147 extramarital copulation (EC) attempts with seven females, the males seemed in ejaculation. There were relatively few complete ECs prior to egg laying, because females responded aggressively to approaching males and because the mates of the females stayed in the territories for 78.8% of the time and protected the females. After egg laying, the aggressiveness of females against approaching males decreased and their mates spent more time outside the territories, resulting in an increase in the occurrence of complete ECs. Fighting males that were approaching a female exhibited a dominance hierarchy. The most dominant male stayed in the territory for the longest time and copulated most intensively with his mate and other neighboring females. Extramarital copulations are likely to occur in colonial herons, but mate-guarding by the male and aggression by the female mate enhance the probability that copulations will be performed only between members of the pair during the fertilizable period of the female. Thus, the monogamous pair bond is maintained.

Interplay of male traits, male mating strategies and female mate choice in the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus

Behaviour ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 152 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1113-1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karpagam Chelliah ◽  
Raman Sukumar
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Asian Elephant ◽  
Dominant Male ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Male Body ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Male Mating Strategies

Elaborate male traits with no apparent adaptive value may have evolved through female mate discrimination. Tusks are an elaborate male-only trait in the Asian elephant that could potentially influence female mate choice. We examined the effect of male body size, tusk possession and musth status on female mate choice in an Asian elephant population. Large/musth males received positive responses from oestrous females towards courtship significantly more often than did small/non-musth males. Young, tusked non-musth males attempted courtship significantly more often than their tuskless peers, and received more positive responses (though statistically insignificant) than did tuskless males. A positive response did not necessarily translate into mating because of mate-guarding by a dominant male. Female elephants appear to choose mates based primarily on traits such as musth that signal direct fertility benefits through increased sperm received than for traits such as tusks that may signal only indirect fitness benefits.

Mate Choice, Mate Guarding and Other Mating Tactics in Golden Hamsters Maintained Under Seminatural Conditions

Behaviour ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 109 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 58-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. William Huck ◽  
Andrea C. Gore ◽  
Michael X. Armstrong ◽  
Robert D. Lisk
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Dominance Hierarchy ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Dominant Male ◽  
Mating Tactics ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Home Area ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
High Level

AbstractFemale hamsters freely interacting with a triad of males which had established a dominance hierarchy mated first and received more ejaculates from the dominant male in 11 of 15 replicates. Continuous observations of the animals on the day preceding receptivity and the day of receptivity suggest that differential mating success of the dominant males is the result of differential behavioral responses displayed prior to onset of receptivity. The females attacked all males, however, the dominant males persisted in following and licking the female at significantly higher frequencies than the subordinate males. The females responded differentially to the dominant males by vaginal marking in response to being licked and also on day 3 of the cycle by placing a higher number of vaginal marks in and around the dominant male's home area. In nine replicates the dominant male and female slept together on day 3. In two other cases the dominant male dug open the female's burrow early on day 4. Dominant males and females became active significantly earlier than subordinate males on day 4. Thus, dominant males enhanced their chances of mating both by being active earlier and by sleeping in proximity to the female. Males cannot prevent the promiscuous female from mating with another male. However, successful males continued to follow and mount the female during the period when she is likely to accept a second male. At this time they also display a high level of attack and chases against the subordinate males plus a high frequency of flank marking in the subordinate's home areas. These behaviors suggest a mate guarding function and are consistent with protection of the male's sperm investment.

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond C. Telfair II
Keyword(s):  
Cattle Egret ◽  
Bubulcus Ibis

scholarly journals Three-dimensional niche partitioning between two colonially nesting ardeid species in central China

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanxing Ye ◽  
Canshi Hu ◽  
Yiting Jiang ◽  
Geoffrey W. H. Davison ◽  
Changqing Ding
Keyword(s):  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Trophic Niche ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Central China ◽  
Paddy Fields ◽  
Shaanxi Province ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Wetland Birds ◽  
Cattle Egret ◽  
River Banks

Abstract 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.

Female, but not male, agonistic behaviour is associated with male reproductive success in stable bluebanded goby (Lythrypnus dalli) hierarchies

Behaviour ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (10) ◽  
pp. 1367-1387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa K. Solomon-Lane ◽  
Madelyne C. Willis ◽  
Devaleena S. Pradhan ◽  
Matthew S. Grober
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Dominant Male ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Agonistic Behaviour ◽  
Social Species ◽  
Evolution Of Sociality ◽  
Lythrypnus Dalli ◽  
Linear Hierarchies ◽  
Substantial Control

In many social species, there are important connections between social behaviour and reproduction that provide critical insights into the evolution of sociality. In this study, we describe associations between agonistic behaviour and male reproductive success in stable social groups of bluebanded gobies (Lythrypnus dalli). This highly social, sex-changing species forms linear hierarchies of a dominant male and multiple subordinate females. Males reproduce with each female in the harem and care for the eggs. Since aggression tends to be associated with reduced reproduction in social hierarchies, we hypothesized that males in groups with high rates of aggression would fertilise fewer eggs. We also hypothesized that a male’s agonistic behaviour would be associated with his reproductive success. Dominants often exert substantial control over their harem, including control over subordinate reproduction. To address these hypotheses, we quantified egg laying/fertilisation over 13 days and observed agonistic behaviour. We show that there was a significant, negative association between male reproductive success and the total rate agonistic interactions by a group. While no male behaviours were associated with the quantity of eggs fertilised, female agonistic behaviour may be central to male reproductive success. We identified a set of models approximating male reproductive success that included three female behaviours: aggression by the highest-ranking female and approaches by the lowest-ranking female were negatively associated with the quantity of eggs fertilised by males in their groups, but the efficiency with which the middle-ranking female displaced others was positively associated with this measure. These data provide a first step in elucidating the behavioural mechanisms that are associated with L. dalli reproductive success.

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