scholarly journals Social learning in birds and its role in shaping a foraging niche

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1567) ◽  
pp. 969-977 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tore Slagsvold ◽  
Karen L. Wiebe
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Passerine Birds ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Foraging Niche ◽  
Evolutionary Consequences ◽  
Blue Tits

We briefly review the literature on social learning in birds, concluding that strong evidence exists mainly for predator recognition, song, mate choice and foraging. The mechanism of local enhancement may be more important than imitation for birds learning to forage, but the former mechanism may be sufficient for faithful transmission depending on the ecological circumstances. To date, most insights have been gained from birds in captivity. We present a study of social learning of foraging in two passerine birds in the wild, where we cross-fostered eggs between nests of blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus and great tits, Parus major . Early learning causes a shift in the foraging sites used by the tits in the direction of the foster species. The shift in foraging niches was consistent across seasons, as showed by an analysis of prey items, and the effect lasted for life. The fact that young birds learn from their foster parents, and use this experience later when subsequently feeding their own offspring, suggests that foraging behaviour can be culturally transmitted over generations in the wild. It may therefore have both ecological and evolutionary consequences, some of which are discussed.

scholarly journals Learning the ecological niche

2006 ◽  
Vol 274 (1606) ◽  
pp. 19-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tore Slagsvold ◽  
Karen L Wiebe
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Early Learning ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Feeding Niche ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Cross Fostering ◽  
Blue Tits

A cornerstone of ecological theory is the ecological niche. Yet little is known about how individuals come to adopt it: whether it is innate or learned. Here, we report a cross-fostering experiment in the wild where we transferred eggs of blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus , to nests of great tits, Parus major , and vice versa, to quantify the consequences of being reared in a different social context, but in an environment otherwise natural to the birds. We show that early learning causes a shift in the feeding niche in the direction of the foster species and that this shift lasts for life (foraging conservatism). Both species changed their feeding niches, but the change was greater in the great tit with its less specialized feeding behaviour. The study shows that cultural transmission through early learning is fundamental to the realization of ecological niches, and suggests a mechanism to explain learned habitat preference and sympatric speciation in animals.

scholarly journals Social learning of acoustic anti-predator cues occurs between wild bird species

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1920) ◽  
pp. 20192513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara C. Keen ◽  
Ella F. Cole ◽  
Michael J. Sheehan ◽  
Ben C. Sheldon
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Antipredator Behaviour ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Direct Experience ◽  
Blue Tits

In many species, individuals gather information about their environment both through direct experience and through information obtained from others. Social learning, or the acquisition of information from others, can occur both within and between species and may facilitate the rapid spread of antipredator behaviour. Within birds, acoustic signals are frequently used to alert others to the presence of predators, and individuals can quickly learn to associate novel acoustic cues with predation risk. However, few studies have addressed whether such learning occurs only though direct experience or whether it has a social component, nor whether such learning can occur between species. We investigate these questions in two sympatric species of Parids: blue tits ( Cyanistes caeruleus ) and great tits ( Parus major ). Using playbacks of unfamiliar bird vocalizations paired with a predator model in a controlled aviary setting, we find that blue tits can learn to associate a novel sound with predation risk via direct experience, and that antipredator response to the sound can be socially transmitted to heterospecific observers, despite lack of first-hand experience. Our results suggest that social learning of acoustic cues can occur between species. Such interspecific social information transmission may help to mediate the formation of mixed-species aggregations.

scholarly journals Social transmission in the wild can reduce predation pressure on novel prey signals

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liisa Hämäläinen ◽  
William Hoppitt ◽  
Hannah M. Rowland ◽  
Johanna Mappes ◽  
Anthony J. Fulford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Predation Pressure ◽  
Social Transmission ◽  
Blue Tit ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Transmission Of Information ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Animal Communities

AbstractSocial transmission of information is taxonomically widespread and could have profound effects on the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of animal communities. Demonstrating this in the wild, however, has been challenging. Here we show by field experiment that social transmission among predators can shape how selection acts on prey defences. Using artificial prey and a novel approach in statistical analyses of social networks, we find that blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tit (Parus major) predators learn about prey defences by watching others. This shifts population preferences rapidly to match changes in prey profitability, and reduces predation pressure from naïve predators. Our results may help resolve how costly prey defences are maintained despite influxes of naïve juvenile predators, and suggest that accounting for social transmission is essential if we are to understand coevolutionary processes.

Does the Threat of European Pine Marten (Martes Martes) Predation Influence the Height of Nests Built by Blue Tits(Cyanistes Caeruleus)and Great Tits (Parus Major)?

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Kaliński ◽  
Jarosław Wawrzyniak ◽  
Mirosława Bańbura ◽  
Joanna Skwarska ◽  
Piotr Zieliński ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parus Major ◽  
Martes Martes ◽  
Pine Marten ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Blue Tits ◽  
European Pine Marten

Supplementary Information – Chapter 2

2020 ◽  
pp. 34-35
Author(s):  
Marta Szulkin ◽  
Colin J. Garroway ◽  
Michela Corsini ◽  
Andrzej Z. Kotarba ◽  
Davide Dominoni
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Environmental Variation ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Gis And Remote Sensing ◽  
Urban Sites ◽  
Blue Tits

Environmental variation was quantified at nestboxes monitored as part of a prospectively long-term project on the ecology and evolution of great tits Parus major and blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus in Warsaw, Poland. Nine axes of environmental variation were investigated across 9 different urban sites, for a total of 565 specific locations (here: nestboxes). Data was collected on the ground, with the use of GIS and remote sensing using the following methodology:...

scholarly journals Shy birds play it safe: personality in captivity predicts risk responsiveness during reproduction in the wild

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 20140178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ella F. Cole ◽  
John L. Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Reproductive Investment ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Great Tit ◽  
Personality Types ◽  
Risk Averse ◽  
Trial Period ◽  
Life History Variation ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild

Despite a growing body of evidence linking personality to life-history variation and fitness, the behavioural mechanisms underlying these relationships remain poorly understood. One mechanism thought to play a key role is how individuals respond to risk. Relatively reactive and proactive (or shy and bold) personality types are expected to differ in how they manage the inherent trade-off between productivity and survival, with bold individuals being more risk-prone with lower survival probability, and shy individuals adopting a more risk-averse strategy. In the great tit ( Parus major ), the shy–bold personality axis has been well characterized in captivity and linked to fitness. Here, we tested whether ‘exploration behaviour’, a captive assay of the shy–bold axis, can predict risk responsiveness during reproduction in wild great tits. Relatively slow-exploring (shy) females took longer than fast-exploring (bold) birds to resume incubation after a novel object, representing an unknown threat, was attached to their nest-box, with some shy individuals not returning within the 40 min trial period. Risk responsiveness was consistent within individuals over days. These findings provide rare, field-based experimental evidence that shy individuals prioritize survival over reproductive investment, supporting the hypothesis that personality reflects life-history variation through links with risk responsiveness.

Relationship between Blood Haemoglobin and Glucose Concentrations in Adult Great Tits (Parus Major) and Blue Tits (Cyanistes Caeruleus)

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 152-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Kaliñski ◽  
Mirostawa Bańbura ◽  
Michat Glądalski ◽  
Marcin Markowski ◽  
Joanna Skwarska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Glucose ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Blood Chemistry ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Common Value ◽  
Blood Haemoglobin ◽  
The Common ◽  
Blue Tits

Haematological and blood chemistry variables are widely used in ecophysiological research as physiological indices of body condition in various vertebrate taxa. In this study, we analysed relationships between blood glucose and blood haemoglobin concentrations of adult birds in wild populations of Blue Tits ( Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great Tits ( Parus major) during the breeding season in central Poland. We found that blood glucose and blood haemoglobin concentrations are negatively correlated. We also show that individual Blue Tits have higher mean haemoglobin levels adjusted for the common value of glucose concentration than individual Great Tits and that females of both species have higher mean haemoglobin concentrations than males. Our results suggest that haematological as well as biochemical variables may be used in tune as complementary indices of body condition in wild bird populations.

scholarly journals Testing for effects of climate change on competitive relationships and coexistence between two bird species

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1807) ◽  
pp. 20141958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Chr. Stenseth ◽  
Joël M. Durant ◽  
Mike S. Fowler ◽  
Erik Matthysen ◽  
Frank Adriaensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Relative Equilibrium ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Statistical Modelling ◽  
Climate Variation ◽  
Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽  
Threshold Time ◽  
Blue Tits

Climate change is expected to have profound ecological effects, yet shifts in competitive abilities among species are rarely studied in this context. Blue tits ( Cyanistes caeruleus ) and great tits ( Parus major ) compete for food and roosting sites, yet coexist across much of their range. Climate change might thus change the competitive relationships and coexistence between these two species. Analysing four of the highest-quality, long-term datasets available on these species across Europe, we extend the textbook example of coexistence between competing species to include the dynamic effects of long-term climate variation. Using threshold time-series statistical modelling, we demonstrate that long-term climate variation affects species demography through different influences on density-dependent and density-independent processes. The competitive interaction between blue tits and great tits has shifted in one of the studied sites, creating conditions that alter the relative equilibrium densities between the two species, potentially disrupting long-term coexistence. Our analyses show that long-term climate change can, but does not always, generate local differences in the equilibrium conditions of spatially structured species assemblages. We demonstrate how long-term data can be used to better understand whether (and how), for instance, climate change might change the relationships between coexisting species. However, the studied populations are rather robust against competitive exclusion.

scholarly journals Research of foraging and resting behaviour of European ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) in conditions of zoological garden as a tool for its restitution back to the wild

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-185
Author(s):  
Sandra Fraňová ◽  
Ivan Baláž
Keyword(s):  
Ground Squirrel ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Resting Behaviour ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Spermophilus Citellus ◽  
Long Term Observation ◽  
Two Peaks

AbstractWe decided to focus our research on two basic forms of behaviour occurring in colonies of ground squirrels in semi-natural conditions of zoological gardens-foraging and resting behaviour. Our main goal was to perform an analysis of behaviour of ground squirrels living in captivity and to compare these two categories of behaviour on a set timeline. Our research has been performed throughout the span of years 2011and 2012, during which we were able to observe two separate ground squirrel colonies (A, B). In the analytical part, we described the two main forms of ground squirrels’ behaviour in Zoo Bojnice and we subjected the compiled information to a thorough statistical analysis with the aid of main comparison tools. Based on long-term observation and the analysis of the results, we were able to gather detailed information about the two behaviour categories and their duration within a time frame. The results from the year 2011 confirmed that ground squirrel’s behaviour, bred in captivity, the display of foraging behaviour is the most frequent during the day, as was also observed in wild ground squirrels recorded by Ambros (Ambros, 1999). Within the year 2011 (without human activity) foraging behaviour reaches two peaks with raised frequencies of display, in the daily time periods, the first from 9 to 11 am and the second from 2.30 to 5 pm. We noted a change in behaviour in 2012, when there was a reconstruction nearby the enclosures. These reconstructive activities influenced the behaviour (significant decrease of activity) of the ground squirrels in the presence of the assigned workers approximately until 3 pm, from which time-also in connection with the lessening of the worker’s presence-the foraging behaviour of ground squirrels began to rise rapidly, which held the peak on until 5 pm. Resting behaviour had only one peak with rising trend during the day in dependence on rising temperature of bedding in the enclosure, on which ground squirrels used to sunbathe. These findings give us valuable information about ground squirrels’ behaviour in captivity as well as behaviour influenced by human presence, what can be used in behavioural research of ground squirrels in the wild.

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