The Dynamic of Aggression: How Individual and Group Factors Affect the Long-Term Interspecific Aggression Between Two Sympatric Species of Dolphin

Ethology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica A. Cusick ◽  
Denise L. Herzing
Keyword(s):  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Interspecific Aggression

scholarly journals Aggressive Behaviors of Adult Male Atlantic Spotted Dolphins: Making Signals Count during Intraspecific and Interspecific Conflicts

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-51
Author(s):  
Cassandra L. Volker ◽  
Denise L. Herzing
Keyword(s):  
Adult Male ◽  
Behavioral Plasticity ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Aggressive Behaviors ◽  
Interspecific Aggression ◽  
Behavioral Types ◽  
Stenella Frontalis ◽  
Behavioral Type ◽  
Atlantic Spotted Dolphins

Some species exhibit behavioral plasticity by altering their aggressive behavior based on their opponent. Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are two sympatric species resident to the northern Bahamas. We examined whether groups of adult male spotted dolphins demonstrated behavioral plasticity during two different types of aggressive interactions. We described and compared the types of aggressive behaviors used during intraspecific aggression and interspecific aggression with bottlenose dolphins. Between the years 1991-2004, twenty-two aggressive encounters (11 intraspecific (spotted only), 11 interspecific (spotted vs. bottlenose)) were behaviorally analyzed. Twenty-three specific aggressive Behavioral Events, further grouped into three Behavioral Types, were examined throughout these encounters. Similarities and differences in the use of the Behavioral Types occurred during intra- and interspecific aggression. Groups of male Atlantic spotted dolphins altered their behavior during aggressive encounters with male bottlenose dolphins. Spotted dolphins increased their use of the Pursuit Behavioral Type and did not use the Display Behavioral Type significantly more than the Contact Behavioral Type during interspecific aggression. The increased use of a more overt and energy intensive Behavioral Type, Pursuit, suggests that Atlantic spotted dolphins altered their behavior during aggressive encounters with bottlenose dolphins to compensate during fights with a larger species and/or to effectively communicate with a different species.

scholarly journals Rape and the Prevalence of Hybrids in Broadly Sympatric Species: a Case Study using Albatrosses

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sievert Rohwer ◽  
Rebecca B. Harris ◽  
Hollie E. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Species Differences ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Gene Exchange ◽  
Nuclear Markers ◽  
Mitochondrial Markers ◽  
Extensive Field

Conspecific rape often increases male reproductive success. However, the haste and aggression of forced copulations suggests that males may sometimes rape heterospecific females, thus making rape a likely, but undocumented, source of hybrids between broadly sympatric species. We present evidence that heterospecific rape may be the source of hybrids between Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses (Phoebastria nigripes, and P. immutabilis, respectively). Extensive field studies have shown that paired (but not unpaired) males of both of these albatross species use rape as a supplemental reproductive strategy. Between species differences in size, timing of laying, and aggressiveness suggest that Black-footed Albatrosses should be more successful than Laysan Albatrosses in heteropspecific rape attempts, and male Black-footed Albatrosses have been observed attempting to force copulations on female Laysan Albatrosses. Nuclear markers showed that the six hybrids we studied were F1s and mitochondrial markers showed that male Black-footed Albatrosses sired all six hybrids. The siring asymmetry found in our hybrids may have long persisted because an IM analysis suggests that long-term gene exchange between these species has been from Black-footed Albatrosses into Laysan Albatrosses. If hybrids are sired in heterospecific rapes, they presumably would be raised and sexually imprinted on Laysan Albatrosses, and two unmated hybrids in a previous study courted only Laysan Albatrosses.

Interspecific aggression and behavioural dominance among four sympatric species of shrews

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leszek Rychlik ◽  
Rafal Zwolak
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Interference Competition ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Interspecific Aggression ◽  
Neutral Field ◽  
Subordinate Species ◽  
Defensive Behaviours ◽  
Sorex Minutus ◽  
Behavioural Dominance

Level of interspecific aggression should reflect intensity of interference competition, and large dominant and small subordinate species should develop aggressive and passive agonistic behaviours, respectively, to achieve stable coexistence. We tested these ideas, investigating interspecific behavioural dominance in a four-species community of shrews varying in body size (Sorex minutus L., 1766; Sorex araneus L., 1758; Neomys anomalus Cabrera, 1907; Neomys fodiens (Pennant, 1771)) by placing interspecific pairs in a neutral field. The order of dominance (determined on the basis of duration of offensive and defensive behaviours, total time spent in the shelter, and a "final shelter resident" index) corresponded to the order of body size: N. fodiens > N. anomalus > S. araneus > S. minutus. The highest number of conflicts and the least pronounced dominance of N. anomalus over S. araneus suggest that the interference competition was strongest between these species. The different social organization of N. anomalus (tolerant and gregarious versus intolerant and solitary in the other three species) did not decrease its aggressiveness and dominance rank. The larger Neomys species were more aggressive and initiated relatively more offensive behaviours, whereas the smaller Sorex species initiated more defensive behaviours. The presence of food and shelter did not intensify conflicts. Nevertheless, dominant species restricted the access of subordinate species to the shelter.

The effect of relative humidity on photoresponse in sympatric species of Drosophila: Long-term exposure to desiccating environments

1987 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 529-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin Barr Seiger ◽  
David L. Woodruff
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Sympatric Species

scholarly journals Reproductive interference explains persistence of aggression between species

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1804) ◽  
pp. 20142256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. Drury ◽  
Kenichi W. Okamoto ◽  
Christopher N. Anderson ◽  
Gregory F. Grether
Keyword(s):  
Species Differences ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Reproductive Interference ◽  
Interspecific Aggression ◽  
Interspecific Territoriality ◽  
Interspecific Divergence ◽  
Species Pairs ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Competitor Recognition ◽  
Female Coloration

Interspecific territoriality occurs when individuals of different species fight over space, and may arise spontaneously when populations of closely related territorial species first come into contact. But defence of space is costly, and unless the benefits of excluding heterospecifics exceed the costs, natural selection should favour divergence in competitor recognition until the species no longer interact aggressively. Ordinarily males of different species do not compete for mates, but when males cannot distinguish females of sympatric species, females may effectively become a shared resource. We model how reproductive interference caused by undiscriminating males can prevent interspecific divergence, or even cause convergence, in traits used to recognize competitors. We then test the model in a genus of visually orienting insects and show that, as predicted by the model, differences between species pairs in the level of reproductive interference, which is causally related to species differences in female coloration, are strongly predictive of the current level of interspecific aggression. Interspecific reproductive interference is very common and we discuss how it may account for the persistence of interspecific aggression in many taxonomic groups.

scholarly journals Rape and the Prevalence of Hybrids in Broadly Sympatric Species: a Case Study using Albatrosses

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sievert Rohwer ◽  
Rebecca B. Harris ◽  
Hollie E. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Species Differences ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Gene Exchange ◽  
Nuclear Markers ◽  
Mitochondrial Markers ◽  
Extensive Field

Conspecific rape often increases male reproductive success. However, the haste and aggression of forced copulations suggests that males may sometimes rape heterospecific females, thus making rape a likely, but undocumented, source of hybrids between broadly sympatric species. We present evidence that heterospecific rape may be the source of hybrids between Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses (Phoebastria nigripes, and P. immutabilis, respectively). Extensive field studies have shown that paired (but not unpaired) males of both of these albatross species use rape as a supplemental reproductive strategy. Between species differences in size, timing of laying, and aggressiveness suggest that Black-footed Albatrosses should be more successful than Laysan Albatrosses in heteropspecific rape attempts, and male Black-footed Albatrosses have been observed attempting to force copulations on female Laysan Albatrosses. Nuclear markers showed that the six hybrids we studied were F1s and mitochondrial markers showed that male Black-footed Albatrosses sired all six hybrids. The siring asymmetry found in our hybrids may have long persisted because an IM analysis suggests that long-term gene exchange between these species has been from Black-footed Albatrosses into Laysan Albatrosses. If hybrids are sired in heterospecific rapes, they presumably would be raised and sexually imprinted on Laysan Albatrosses, and two unmated hybrids in a previous study courted only Laysan Albatrosses.

scholarly journals Two sympatric species of Antrodiaetus from southwestern North Carolina (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Antrodiaetidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 872 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
BRENT E. HENDRIXSON ◽  
Jason E. Bond
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
New Species ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
A New Species

Two sympatric species of Antrodiaetus (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Antrodiaetidae) are recorded from southwestern North Carolina: A. unicolor (Hentz 1841) and A. microunicolor new species. A neotype for A. unicolor is designated from DeSoto State Park in Alabama and a description is provided. A new species of Antrodiaetus is described from the Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research station in southwestern North Carolina. This new species is sympatric (putatively syntopic) with the closely related A. unicolor and can be differentiated from that species on the basis of size, setal characters, coloration, selected morphometric ratios, and non-overlapping breeding seasons. A brief account on the natural history for both species at Coweeta is presented.

scholarly journals Interspecific aggression among parapatric and sympatric songbirds on a tropical elevational gradient

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 541-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy J Boyce ◽  
Thomas E Martin
Keyword(s):  
Related Species ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Range Limits ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Interspecific Aggression ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Tropical Mountains ◽  
Primary Driver ◽  
Interspecies Aggression

Abstract Interspecific competition is hypothesized to be a strong force that sets species range limits and drives parapatric distributions of closely related species on tropical mountains. Yet, experimental evidence that competition drives spatial segregation of closely related species on elevational gradients is rare. To test whether competition limits elevational ranges of tropical songbirds, we conducted reciprocal playback experiments on 2 pairs of species with adjacent but nonoverlapping (parapatric) distributions and 1 pair of sympatric species. We found asymmetric interspecific aggression in one parapatric pair (Pycnonotidae) and a complete absence of interspecific aggression in the other (Zosteropidae). We also found asymmetric interspecies aggression in a pair of sympatric flycatchers (Muscicapidae). Our results indicate that interspecific aggression may set range limits in some cases, but it is not a prerequisite for parapatry. Furthermore, the presence of interspecific aggression between co-occurring relatives suggests that while competition may play a role in limiting species distributions, interspecific aggression alone is not sufficient evidence to assert that competition is the primary driver of parapatric distributions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document