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Nunley K, McGhee KE. Detection of relatedness in chemical alarm cues by a selfing vertebrate depends on population and the life stage producing the alarm cue. Behav Processes 2024; 219:105056. [PMID: 38782306 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2024.105056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2023] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Aquatic prey have impressive abilities to extract information from a variety of chemical cues. For example, they can use the alarm cues released by wounded individuals during a predator attack to learn about predation risk, and they can also distinguish kin from non-kin individuals during interactions. However, it remains unclear whether animals can combine this information on predation risk with kin recognition of the particular individuals under threat. To examine how the relatedness of the individuals in alarm cue affects behaviour we used the self-fertilizing hermaphroditic mangrove rivulus (Kryptolebias marmoratus), in which lineages produce genetically identical offspring through selfing. We explored this in two populations that differ in their level of outcrossing. We measured activity before and after exposure to alarm cue made from individuals (either adults or embryos) from their own lineage or an unrelated lineage from the same population. Fish responded weakly to embryo alarm cues, but tended to reduce their activity more when the alarm cues were from an unrelated lineage compared to alarm cues from their own lineage, particularly in fish from the outcrossing population. In contrast, there was no effect of cue relatedness on the response to adult alarm cues but there was a strong population effect. Specifically, individuals from the outcrossing population tended to react more strongly to alarm cues compared to individuals from the predominantly selfing population. We discuss the potential roles of the major histocompatibility complex in cue detection, differences between adult vs embryo alarm cues in terms of concentration and information, and underlying differences among populations and genetic lineages in their production and detection of chemical cues. Whether this kin recognition offers adaptive benefits or is simply a consequence of being able to detect relatedness in living individuals would be an exciting area for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn Nunley
- Department of Biology, The University of the South, Sewanee, TN37383, USA
| | - Katie E McGhee
- Department of Biology, The University of the South, Sewanee, TN37383, USA.
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2
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Ray EJ, Maruska KP. Sensory Mechanisms of Parent-Offspring Recognition in Fishes, Amphibians, and Reptiles. Integr Comp Biol 2023; 63:1168-1181. [PMID: 37488679 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icad104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Parental care is important for offspring survival and success. Recognition of offspring by parents is critical to ensure parents direct care behaviors at related offspring and minimize energy lost by caring for unrelated young. Offspring recognition of parents prevents possible aggressive interactions between young and unrelated adults and allows offspring to direct begging behaviors toward the correct adult. Despite its importance and widespread nature, much of the current research has focused on a small range of species, particularly mammals and birds. We review the existing literature on the sensory mechanisms of parent-offspring recognition in fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. Within these groups, there is diversity in the presence and strategies for parent-offspring recognition. Future studies should continue to identify these mechanisms, as well as the neural and endocrine underpinnings in non-model organisms to expand our knowledge of this behavior and inform our understanding of the evolution of parent-offspring recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily J Ray
- Department of Biological Sciences, 202 Life Sciences Building, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
| | - Karen P Maruska
- Department of Biological Sciences, 202 Life Sciences Building, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
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3
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Bose APH. Parent-offspring cannibalism throughout the animal kingdom: a review of adaptive hypotheses. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:1868-1885. [PMID: 35748275 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Parents that kill and consume their offspring often appear to be acting against their own reproductive interests. Yet parent-offspring cannibalism is common and taxonomically widespread across the animal kingdom. In this review, I provide an overview of our current understanding of parent-offspring cannibalism, which has seen a proliferation in adaptive hypotheses over the past 20 years for why parents consume their own young. I review over four decades of research into this perplexing behaviour, drawing from work conducted on fishes, reptiles, insects, birds, and mammals among other taxa. Many factors have been hypothesised to explain parent-offspring cannibalism in nature, including poor parental energy reserves, small or large brood sizes, low or uncertain parentage, and high brood densities, and additional factors are still being uncovered. Parent-offspring cannibalism does not appear to have a single predominant explanation; rather, the factor, or set of factors, that govern its expression is largely taxon specific. Parents may either consume all offspring under their care (full-brood cannibalism) or consume a fraction of their offspring (partial brood cannibalism). These forms of cannibalism are thought to provide adaptive benefits to cannibals under a range of circumstances, primarily by allowing parents to allocate parental efforts more optimally - energy from eating (some of) one's current offspring can be redirected to other offspring, or to parental growth, survival, and ultimately to other future reproductive endeavours. Thus, parent-offspring cannibalism is a phenotypically plastic trait that responds to changing environmental, social, and physiological conditions. The expression of parent-offspring cannibalism in any given system is intimately linked to the reproductive value of current young relative to parents' expectations for future reproduction, and also to whether parental care is predominantly depreciable or non-depreciable. Furthermore, parent-offspring cannibalism has the potential to generate conflict between the sexes, and I briefly discuss some consequences of this conflict on patterns of mate choice. Finally, there still remain many aspects of this behaviour where our understanding is poor, and I highlight these topics to help guide future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aneesh P H Bose
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Skogmarksgränd, 90183, Umeå.,Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, University of Konstanz, Universitaetsstraße 10, 78464, Konstanz, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Universitaetsstraße 10, 78464, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitaetsstraße 10, 78464, Konstanz, Germany
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4
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Andersson ML, Hulthén K, Blake C, Brönmark C, Nilsson PA. Linking behavioural type with cannibalism in Eurasian perch. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0260938. [PMID: 34860864 PMCID: PMC8641868 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The propensity to kill and consume conspecifics (cannibalism) varies greatly between and within species, but the underlying mechanisms behind this variation remain poorly understood. A rich literature has documented that consistent behavioural variation is ubiquitous across the animal kingdom. Such inter-individual behavioural differences, sometimes referred to as personality traits, may have far-reaching ecological consequences. However, the link between predator personality traits and the propensity to engage in cannibalistic interactions remains understudied. Here, we first quantified personality in Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis), measured as activity (time spent moving) and sociability (time spent near conspecifics). We then gave perch of contrasting behavioural types the option to consume either conspecific or heterospecific (roach, Rutilus rutilus) prey. Individual perch characterized by a social-active behavioural phenotype (n = 5) selected roach before being cannibalistic, while asocial-inactive perch (n = 17) consumed conspecific and heterospecific prey evenly. Thus, asocial-inactive perch expressed significantly higher rates of cannibalism as compared to social-active individuals. Individual variation in cannibalism, linked to behavioural type, adds important mechanistic understanding to complex population and community dynamics, and also provides insight into the diversity and maintenance of animal personality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matilda L. Andersson
- Division of Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Kaj Hulthén
- Division of Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Charlie Blake
- Division of Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Christer Brönmark
- Division of Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - P. Anders Nilsson
- Division of Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Department of Environmental and Life Sciences—Biology, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden
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5
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Berry AD, Rypstra AL. Egg sac recognition and fostering in the wolf spider
Pardosa milvina
(araneae: lycosidae) and its effects on spiderling survival. Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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6
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7
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Saitoh F, Choh Y. Role of kin recognition in oviposition preference and cannibalism by the predatory mite Gynaeseius liturivorus. EXPERIMENTAL & APPLIED ACAROLOGY 2018; 76:149-160. [PMID: 30251068 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-018-0298-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Animals often select oviposition sites to minimize the predation risk for eggs and juveniles, which are more vulnerable to predation than adults. When females produce eggs in clusters, the eggs and juveniles are likely to suffer from cannibalism. Although cannibalism among siblings is known to be lower than among non-siblings, there have been few investigations into the possibility that females select oviposition sites that reduce the risk of cannibalism for the offspring. To test this possibility, we examined oviposition preference by adult females of the predatory mite Gynaeseius liturivorus in response to the presence of her own eggs and to eggs of other females, offering plastic discs as oviposition substrates. Although females did not clearly show a preference for plastic discs on which they had oviposited, they avoided plastic discs on which other females had oviposited. When eggs of other females were artificially placed on clean plastic discs, adult female mites avoided these discs, suggesting that the eggs were used as cues for oviposition preference. Cannibalism among juvenile siblings was lower than among non-siblings. These observations show that adult females and juveniles of G. liturivorus discriminate kin relationships among conspecific individuals. Therefore, oviposition preference by adult female G. liturivorus may lead to the reduced risk of cannibalism among offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fumiaki Saitoh
- Laboratory of Applied Entomology, Department of Horticulture, Chiba University, 648 Matsudo, Chiba, 271-8510, Japan
| | - Yasuyuki Choh
- Laboratory of Applied Entomology, Department of Horticulture, Chiba University, 648 Matsudo, Chiba, 271-8510, Japan.
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8
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Cunha-Saraiva F, Balshine S, Wagner RH, Schaedelin FC. From cannibal to caregiver: tracking the transition in a cichlid fish. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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9
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Vallon M, Anthes N, Heubel KU. Water mold infection but not paternity induces selective filial cannibalism in a goby. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:7221-7229. [PMID: 28725393 PMCID: PMC5513269 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2016] [Revised: 08/04/2016] [Accepted: 08/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Many animals heavily invest in parental care but still reject at least some of their offspring. Although seemingly paradoxical, selection can favor parents to neglect offspring of particularly low reproductive value, for example, because of small survival chances. We here assess whether filial cannibalism (FC), where parents routinely eat some of their own young, is selective in response to individual offspring reproductive value. We performed two independent laboratory experiments in the common goby (Pomatoschistus microps) to test whether caring fathers preferentially cannibalize eggs of a given infection history and paternity. While males did not discriminate kin from nonkin eggs, they consumed significantly more eggs previously exposed to water mold compared to uninfected eggs. Our findings clearly show that parents differentiate between eggs based on differences in egg condition, and thus complement the prevailing view that FC arises for energetic reasons. By preventing the spread of microbial infections, the removal of molded eggs can constitute an important component of parental care and may represent a key driver of selective FC in a wide array of parental fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Vallon
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology University of Tübingen Tübingen Germany
| | - Nils Anthes
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology University of Tübingen Tübingen Germany
| | - Katja U Heubel
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology University of Tübingen Tübingen Germany.,Present address: Institute for Zoology Grietherbusch Ecological Research Station University of Cologne Cologne Germany
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10
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De Nardin J, Da Silva L, Araújo AM. Kin recognition in a butterfly: inferences about its heritability. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2016.1146801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Janaína De Nardin
- Laboratório de Genética Ecológica, Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Luciana Da Silva
- Laboratório de Genética Ecológica, Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Aldo M. Araújo
- Laboratório de Genética Ecológica, Departamento de Genética, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
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11
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De Nardin J, Missaggia B, Araújo A. An experimental approach to test the source of information on kinship in butterfly immatures. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2014.946539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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12
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Zhou M, Fuller RC. Reproductive isolation between two darter species is enhanced and asymmetric in sympatry. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2014; 84:1389-1400. [PMID: 24724945 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2013] [Accepted: 01/30/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Robust reproductive isolation was found between the rainbow darter Etheostoma caeruleum and the orangethroat darter Etheostoma spectabile, as more offspring were produced when conspecific males and females were crossed as compared with heterospecific crosses. Furthermore, fewer eggs resulted from heterospecific crosses involving sympatric E. spectabile females than those using allopatric E. spectabile females, while a similar pattern was not observed in heterospecific crosses using E. caeruleum females. These results suggest that reinforcement, i.e. selection for pre-zygotic reproductive barriers driven by reduced hybrid fitness, may have contributed to the evolution and maintenance of reproductive barriers between these potentially hybridizing species in sympatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Zhou
- Shelford Vivarium, 606 E. Healey St., Champaign, IL 61820, U.S.A
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13
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Law YH, Rosenheim JA. Presence of conspecific females motivates egg cannibalism owing to lower risk of filial cannibalism. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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14
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Adoption and cuckoldry lead to alloparental care in the tessellated darter (Etheostoma olmstedi), a non-group-living species with no evidence of nest site limitation. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1334-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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15
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16
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Aktipis CA, Fernandez-Duque E. Parental investment without kin recognition: Simple conditional rules for parent-offspring behavior. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2010; 65:1079-1091. [PMID: 21552348 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-010-1115-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Species differ widely with regard to parental investment strategies and mechanisms underlying those strategies. The passing of benefits to likely offspring can be instantiated with a number of different computational and behavioral systems. We report results from an agent-based model in which offspring maintain proximity with parents and parents transmit benefits to offspring without the capacity of either parent or offspring to 'recognize' one another. Instead, parents follow a simple rule to emit benefits after reproducing and offspring follow a simple rule of moving in the direction of positive benefit gradients. This model differs from previous models of spatial kin-based altruism in that individuals are modeled as having different behavioral rules at different life stages and benefits are transmitted unidirectionally from parents to offspring. High rates of correctly directed parental investment occur when mobility and sociality are low and parental investment occurs over a short period of time. We suggest that strategies based on recognition and bonding/attachment might serve to increase rates of correctly directed parental investment under parameters that are shown here to otherwise lead to high rates of misdirected and wasted parental investment.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Athena Aktipis
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona
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17
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Mehlis M, Bakker TCM, Engqvist L, Frommen JG. To eat or not to eat: egg-based assessment of paternity triggers fine-tuned decisions about filial cannibalism. Proc Biol Sci 2010; 277:2627-35. [PMID: 20410042 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.0234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Filial cannibalism occurs in many animal species ranging from insects to mammals, and is especially well described in teleost fishes. Numerous causes may lead to this behaviour, e.g. certainty of paternity. However, the cues males use to assess their paternity often remain unknown. One possible way to differentiate between own and foreign offspring is by using egg cues. Nevertheless, in egg-laying species, evidence for this is still scarce. In this study, male three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), a fish with paternal care in which sneaking as well as filial cannibalism is common, were allowed to care for manipulated nests that contained different percentages of own fertilized eggs. After 7 days, embryo survival was determined. Furthermore, brood-caring as well as aggressive behaviour was measured daily. Clutches containing a higher proportion of foreign eggs were more likely to be completely cannibalized than clutches containing a lower proportion of foreign eggs, particularly when the clutch was laid early in the breeding season. However, the behavioural observations revealed no influence of paternity. The results show that paternity triggers filial cannibalism in sticklebacks and that males are able to evaluate their paternity using egg cues alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion Mehlis
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany.
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18
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Speed–accuracy tradeoffs in animal decision making. Trends Ecol Evol 2009; 24:400-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2009.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 401] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2008] [Revised: 01/29/2009] [Accepted: 02/02/2009] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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19
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Forester DC, Cameron M, Forester JD. Nest and Egg Recognition by Salamanders in the GenusDesmognathus: A Comprehensive Re-Examination. Ethology 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01537.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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