Breeding Experience and not Age Modulates the Song Development of Pied Flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca)

Female mass in most altricial birds reaches its maximum during breeding at egg-laying, which coincides temporally with the fertile phase when extra-pair paternity (EPP) is determined. Higher mass at laying may have two different effects on EPP intensity. On the one hand, it would lead to increased wing loading (body mass/wing area), which may impair flight efficiency and thereby reduce female’s capacity to resist unwanted extra-pair male approaches (sexual conflict hypothesis). On the other hand, it would enhance female condition, favouring her capacity to evade mate-guarding and to search for extra-pair mates (female choice hypothesis). In both cases, higher female mass at laying may lead to enhanced EPP. To test this prediction, we reduced nest building effort by adding a completely constructed nest in an experimental group of female pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca). Our treatment caused an increase in mass and thereby wing loading and this was translated into a significantly higher EPP in the manipulated group compared with the control group as expected. There was also a significant negative relationship between EPP and laying date and the extent of the white wing patch, an index of female dominance. More body reserves at laying mean not only a higher potential fecundity but a higher level of EPP as well. This interaction had not previously received due attention but should be considered in future studies of avian breeding strategies.

Inter-individual differences in the foraging behavior of breeding Adélie penguins are driven by individual quality and sex

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps13208 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 636 ◽

pp. 189-205

Author(s):

A Lescroël ◽

PO’B Lyver ◽

D Jongsomjit ◽

S Veloz ◽

KM Dugger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Foraging Behavior ◽

Ross Sea ◽

Individual Quality ◽

High Quality ◽

Breeding Experience ◽

Age Related ◽

Demographic Traits ◽

Iteroparous Species ◽

Adélie Penguins

Inter-individual differences in demographic traits of iteroparous species can arise through learning and maturation, as well as from permanent differences in individual ‘quality’ and sex-specific constraints. As the ability to acquire energy determines the resources an individual can allocate to reproduction and self-maintenance, foraging behavior is a key trait to study to better understand the mechanisms underlying these differences. So far, most seabird studies have focused on the effect of maturation and learning processes on foraging performance, while only a few have included measures of individual quality. Here, we investigated the effects of age, breeding experience, sex, and individual breeding quality on the foraging behavior and location of 83 known-age Adélie penguins at Cape Bird, Ross Sea, Antarctica. Over a 2 yr period, we showed that (1) high-quality birds dived deeper than lower quality ones, apparently catching a higher number of prey per dive and targeting different foraging locations; (2) females performed longer foraging trips and a higher number of dives compared to males; (3) there were no significant age-related differences in foraging behavior; and (4) breeding experience had a weak influence on foraging behavior. We suggest that high-quality individuals have higher physiological ability, enabling them to dive deeper and forage more effectively. Further inquiry should focus on determining the physiological differences among penguins of different quality.

European Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca)

10.2173/bow.eupfly1.01 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Barry Taylor ◽

David Christie

Keyword(s):

Ficedula Hypoleuca ◽

Pied Flycatcher

Management Schemes, not Philopatry or Breeding Experience, Affect Nest Success of Songbirds in Vermont Hayfields

Wildlife Society Bulletin ◽

10.1002/wsb.1194 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kylie Denny ◽

Noah Perlut ◽

Allan Strong

Keyword(s):

Nest Success ◽

Breeding Experience ◽

Management Schemes

Born to sing! Song development in a singing primate

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/cz/zoab018 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Chiara De Gregorio ◽

Filippo Carugati ◽

Vittoria Estienne ◽

Daria Valente ◽

Teresa Raimondi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vocal Communication ◽

Developmental Trajectories ◽

Ontogenetic Changes ◽

Call Structure ◽

Historical View ◽

Singing Behavior ◽

Vocal Behaviour ◽

Temporal Features ◽

Vocal Activity ◽

Song Development

Abstract In animal vocal communication, the development of adult-like vocalization is fundamental to interact appropriately with conspecifics. However, the factors that guide ontogenetic changes in the acoustic features remains poorly understood. In contrast with a historical view of nonhuman primate vocal production as substantially innate, recent research suggests that inheritance and physiological modification can only explain some of the developmental changes in call structure during growth. A particular case of acoustic communication is the indris' singing behavior, a peculiar case among Strepsirrhine primates. Thanks to a decade of intense data collection, this work provides the first long-term quantitative analysis on song development in a singing primate. To understand the ontogeny of such a complex vocal output, we investigated juvenile and sub-adult indris' vocal behaviour, and we found that young individuals started participating in the chorus years earlier than previously reported. Our results indicated that spectro-temporal song parameters underwent essential changes during growth. In particular, the age and sex of the emitter influenced the indris' vocal activity. We found that frequency parameters showed consistent changes across the sexes, but the temporal features showed different developmental trajectories for males and females. Given the low level of morphological sexual dimorphism and the marked differences in vocal behavior, we hypothesize that factors like social influences and auditory feedback may affect songs' features, resulting in high vocal flexibility in juvenile indris. This trait may be pivotal in a species that engages in choruses with rapid vocal turn-taking.

Reproduction is affected by individual breeding experience but not pair longevity in a socially monogamous bird

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology ◽

10.1007/s00265-021-03042-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 75 (7) ◽

Author(s):

Angela M. Pitera ◽

Carrie L. Branch ◽

Benjamin R. Sonnenberg ◽

Lauren M. Benedict ◽

Dovid Y. Kozlovsky ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breeding Experience ◽

Socially Monogamous

Adaptive coloration in pied flycatchers ( Ficedula hypoleuca )—The devil is in the detail

Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.1002/ece3.7048 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 1501-1525

Author(s):

Päivi M. Sirkiä ◽

Anna Qvarnström

Keyword(s):

Ficedula Hypoleuca ◽

The Devil

Vocal learning in Savannah sparrows: acoustic similarity to neighbours shapes song development and territorial aggression

Animal Behaviour ◽

10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.03.015 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 176 ◽

pp. 77-86

Author(s):

Ian P. Thomas ◽

Stéphanie M. Doucet ◽

D. Ryan Norris ◽

Amy E.M. Newman ◽

Heather Williams ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vocal Learning ◽

Acoustic Similarity ◽

Territorial Aggression ◽

Song Development ◽

Savannah Sparrows

Song Development: In Search of the Error-Signal

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1196/annals.1298.036 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 1016 (1) ◽

pp. 364-376 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

S DERÉGNAUCOURT ◽

P P MITRA ◽

O FEHÉR ◽

K K MAUL ◽

T J LINTS ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Error Signal ◽

Song Development

More colourful eggs induce a higher relative paternal investment in the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca : a cross-fostering experiment

Journal of Avian Biology ◽

10.1111/j.2006.0908-8857.03915.x ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 37 (6) ◽

pp. 555-560 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Juan Moreno ◽

Judith Morales ◽

Elisa Lobato ◽

Santiago Merino ◽

Gustavo Tomás ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ficedula Hypoleuca ◽

Pied Flycatcher ◽

Paternal Investment ◽

Cross Fostering