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López-López P. Potential negative effects of the installation of video surveillance cameras in raptors' nests. Sci Rep 2022; 12:21969. [PMID: 36539507 PMCID: PMC9768126 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-26153-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Video surveillance cameras installed on birds' nests are a cost-effective tool to study many aspects of ecology and behaviour that would otherwise be practically impossible to obtain. However, although most studies report neutral effects of cameras on birds, very few studies analyse in detail the potential negative effects of their use, particularly on raptors. Here, using a long-term database of a population of Bonelli's eagle (Aquila fasciata) collected from 2000 to 2022, I show how the inappropriate use of video surveillance cameras could result in negative effects on the reproduction of a threatened species through a before-and-after control-impact study design. Pairs under video surveillance showed lower productivity, lower breeding success and unusual delayed laying dates. The installation of cameras close to the laying date, coinciding with the mating phase of individuals, most of them subadult inexperienced birds; in combination to the reiteration of visits to the nests once the cameras were installed to check the system, particularly during the incubation period and early stages of breeding; and the installation of cameras in a particular area subject to constant human disturbance, might explain these results. Potential management actions to mitigate the effect of the installation of video cameras on birds' behaviour should include the need to plan the intervention dates, testing the systems beforehand under controlled conditions and adequate post-installation monitoring to avoid unnecessary disturbance to animals. Finally, I urge the scientific community to report the potential negative effects observed in their studies, especially if the target species are threatened with extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascual López-López
- grid.5338.d0000 0001 2173 938XMovement Ecology Lab, Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, C/Catedrático José Beltrán 2, 46980 Paterna, Valencia Spain
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2
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Drummond H, Ortega S, Ancona S, Rodríguez C. Long-term effects of sex-specific sibling interaction on the development of blue-footed boobies. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03248-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Suh YH, Pesendorfer MB, Tringali A, Bowman R, Fitzpatrick JW. Investigating social and environmental predictors of natal dispersal in a cooperative breeding bird. Behav Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Natal dispersal is a crucial life-history trait that affects both individual fitness and population structure, yet drivers of variation in dispersal probability and distance are difficult to study in wild populations. In cooperatively breeding species, individuals typically delay dispersal beyond their first breeding season and remain on the natal territory as nonbreeders, which prolongs social dynamics that can affect dispersal decisions. Using a 35-year data set covering almost 600 dispersal events in the cooperatively breeding Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), we examined the environmental and social parameters that predict dispersal probability over time and distance. In both sexes, dispersal probability increased with age, which, in turn, was negatively correlated with dispersal distance. In males, individuals occupying low-quality natal territories and living with a stepfather had an increased probability of dispersal. Older and more dominant males were more likely to inherit their natal territory. In females, which generally disperse earlier and farther than males, socially subordinate jays dispersed farther than dominant ones. Overall, jays that delayed dispersal the longest were more likely to attain breeding status near their natal territory, which was previously found to be associated with increased survival and lifetime fitness. Our results suggest that social dynamics and environmental factors on the natal territory affect delayed dispersal patterns differently for the two sexes in this cooperative breeder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Young Ha Suh
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY, USA
- Avian Ecology Program, Archbold Biological Station, Venus, FL, USA
| | - Mario B Pesendorfer
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY, USA
- Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, USA
- Institute of Forest Ecology, Department of Forest and Soil Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Wien, Austria
| | - Angela Tringali
- Avian Ecology Program, Archbold Biological Station, Venus, FL, USA
| | - Reed Bowman
- Avian Ecology Program, Archbold Biological Station, Venus, FL, USA
| | - John W Fitzpatrick
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY, USA
- Avian Ecology Program, Archbold Biological Station, Venus, FL, USA
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Merkling T, Perrot C, Helfenstein F, Ferdy JB, Gaillard L, Lefol E, Voisin E, Hatch SA, Danchin E, Blanchard P. Maternal effects as drivers of sibling competition in a parent-offspring conflict context? An experimental test. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:3699-3710. [PMID: 28725354 PMCID: PMC5513303 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2015] [Accepted: 09/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal effects occur when the mother's phenotype influences her offspring's phenotype. In birds, differential allocation in egg yolk components can allow mothers to compensate for the competitive disadvantage of junior chicks. We hypothesize that the parent-older chick conflict peaks at intermediate conditions: parents benefit from the younger chick(s) survival, but its death benefits the older chick in terms of growth and survival. We thus expect maternal compensation to follow a bell-shaped pattern in relation to environmental conditions. We studied a black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) population where previous results revealed increased allocation of yolk testosterone in younger as compared to older chicks in intermediate conditions, in line with our theoretical framework. We therefore predicted a maternally induced increase in aggressiveness, growth, and survival for younger chicks born in intermediate environmental conditions. Controlling for parental effects and chick sex, we manipulated food availability before egg laying to create a situation with intermediate (Unfed group) and good (Fed group) environmental conditions. Within each feeding treatment, we further created experimental broods where the natural hatching order was reversed to maximize our chances to observe an effect of feeding treatment on the younger chicks' aggressiveness. As predicted, we found that chick aggressiveness was higher in younger chicks born from the Unfed group (i.e., in intermediate environmental conditions), but only when they were put in a senior position, in reversed broods. Predictions on growth and survival were not confirmed. Mothers thus seem to favor the competitiveness of their younger chick in intermediate conditions via egg yolk components, but our study also suggests that hatching asynchrony need to be small for maternal compensation to be efficient. We emphasize the need for further studies investigating other chick behaviors (e.g., begging) and focusing on the relative role of different yolk components in shaping parent-offspring conflict over sibling competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Merkling
- CNRS ENFA UMR 5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique) Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France
| | - Charlotte Perrot
- CNRS ENFA UMR 5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique) Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France.,Present address: CEFE UMR 5175 CNR SEPHE Université de Montpellier Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 1919 Route de Mende 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5 France.,Present address: Centre de recherche de La Tour du ValatLe Sambuc 13200 Arles France
| | - Fabrice Helfenstein
- Institute of Biology University of Neuchâtel Rue Emile-Argand 11CH-2000 Neuchâtel Switzerland
| | - Jean-Baptiste Ferdy
- CNRS ENFA UMR 5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique) Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France
| | - Laurent Gaillard
- CNRS ENFA UMR 5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique) Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France
| | - Emilie Lefol
- CNRS ENFA UMR 5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique) Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France
| | - Emmanuelle Voisin
- CNRS ENFA UMR 5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique) Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France
| | - Scott A Hatch
- Institute for Seabird Research and Conservation 12850 Mountain Place Anchorage Alaska 99516
| | - Etienne Danchin
- CNRS ENFA UMR 5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique) Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France
| | - Pierrick Blanchard
- CNRS ENFA UMR 5174 EDB (Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité Biologique) Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier 118 route de Narbonne F-31062 Toulouse France
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de Boer RA, Eens M, Fransen E, Müller W. Hatching asynchrony aggravates inbreeding depression in a songbird (Serinus canaria): an inbreeding-environment interaction. Evolution 2015; 69:1063-8. [PMID: 25689753 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2014] [Accepted: 02/06/2015] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how the intensity of inbreeding depression is influenced by stressful environmental conditions is an important area of enquiry in various fields of biology. In birds, environmental stress during early development is often related to hatching asynchrony; differences in age, and thus size, impose a gradient in conditions ranging from benign (first hatched chick) to harsh (last hatched chick). Here, we compared the effect of hatching order on growth rate in inbred (parents are full siblings) and outbred (parents are unrelated) canary chicks (Serinus canaria). We found that inbreeding depression was more severe under more stressful conditions, being most evident in later hatched chicks. Thus, consideration of inbreeding-environment interactions is of vital importance for our understanding of the biological significance of inbreeding depression and hatching asynchrony. The latter is particularly relevant given that hatching asynchrony is a widespread phenomenon, occurring in many bird species. The exact causes of the observed inbreeding-environment interaction are as yet unknown, but may be related to a decrease in maternal investment in egg contents with laying position (i.e. prehatching environment), or to performance of the chicks during sibling competition and/or their resilience to food shortage (i.e. posthatching environment).
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Affiliation(s)
- Raïssa A de Boer
- Department of Biology-Ethology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1-Campus Drie Eiken C1.25, B-2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
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Du B, Liu CJ, Bao SJ. Begging form and growth pattern of nestlings correlate with parental food-allocation patterns in the Horned Lark ( Eremophilaalpestris). CAN J ZOOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2014-0235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Life-history theory assumes that selection favors parents that can maximize their reproductive success via behavioral strategies. As brood size determines the reproductive value of each nestling, parents may adjust their food-allocation patterns according to brood size. We test this assumption in the Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris (L., 1758)). Our findings revealed that nestling begging forms varied with brood size, by gaping in one-chick broods and postural activity in two- and three-chick broods. Accordingly, parental food-allocation patterns differed in different-sized broods. In one-chick broods, parents increased feeding rates with the gaping duration of nestling. In two-chick broods, parents did not change food-allocation patterns according to nestlings’ begging. In three-chick broods, however, they fed later-hatched nestlings more even when early-hatched nestlings begged more intensely. Horned Larks exhibited obvious sexual differences in parenting style and ability, which resulted in nestlings from two- and three-chick broods changing their begging intensity according to the sex of the provisioning adult. Furthermore, nestling growth pattern diverged with brood sizes, with body mass growing faster in one-chick broods than in two- and three-chick broods. Growth rate of beak gape and tarsus length did not differ significantly among brood sizes, but beak gape was larger and tarsus length was shorter in one-chick broods than in larger broods at fledging. Our results thus support the idea that parents may use food allocation to regulate sibling rivalry, which in turn cause nestlings to beg food in different forms and grow in different patterns so that their reproductive success can be enhanced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Du
- Institute of Zoology and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, People’s Republic of China
- Institute of Zoology and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, People’s Republic of China
| | - Chang-Jing Liu
- Institute of Zoology and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, People’s Republic of China
- Institute of Zoology and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, People’s Republic of China
| | - Shi-Jie Bao
- Institute of Zoology and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, People’s Republic of China
- Institute of Zoology and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, People’s Republic of China
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Merkling T, Agdere L, Albert E, Durieux R, Hatch SA, Danchin E, Blanchard P. Is natural hatching asynchrony optimal? An experimental investigation of sibling competition patterns in a facultatively siblicidal seabird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1646-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Gonzalez-Voyer A, Székely T, Drummond H. WHY DO SOME SIBLINGS ATTACK EACH OTHER? COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF AGGRESSION IN AVIAN BROODS. Evolution 2007; 61:1946-55. [PMID: 17683436 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00152.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In many parentally fed species, siblings compete for food not only by begging and scrambling, but also by violently attacking each other. This aggressive competition has mostly been studied in birds, where it is often combined with dominance subordination, aggressive intimidation, and siblicide. Previous experimental and theoretical studies proposed several life-history, morphological, and behavioral variables that may facilitate the evolution of broodmate aggression, and explain its taxonomic distribution. Here we apply phylogenetic comparative analyses for the first time to test the influence of five hypothesized facilitators of the evolution of broodmate aggression, analyzing 69 species in seven avian families using two quantitative measures of aggression: incidence and intensity. We show that incidence and intensity of aggression increase with long nestling periods and indirect feeding, and small brood size is associated with intense aggression. Large food parcels were not correlated with either the incidence or intensity of aggression. Our study suggests that indirect feeding, long nestling periods, and small broods, possibly in combination with other factors, have tended to favor the evolution of aggressive broodmate competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Gonzalez-Voyer
- Laboratorio de Conducta, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F., 04510, México.
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Uller T. Sex-specific sibling interactions and offspring fitness in vertebrates: patterns and implications for maternal sex ratios. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2006; 81:207-17. [PMID: 16677432 DOI: 10.1017/s1464793105006962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2005] [Revised: 11/04/2005] [Accepted: 11/04/2005] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Vertebrate sex ratios are notorious for their lack of fit to theoretical models, both with respect to the direction and the magnitude of the sex ratio adjustment. The reasons for this are likely to be linked to simplifying assumptions regarding vertebrate life histories. More specifically, if the sex ratio adjustment itself influences offspring fitness, due to sex-specific interactions among offspring, this could affect optimal sex ratios. A review of the literature suggests that sex-specific sibling interactions in vertebrates result from three major causes: (i) sex asymmetries in competitive ability, for example due to sexual dimorphism, (ii) sex-specific cooperation or helping, and (iii) sex asymmetries in non-competitive interactions, for example steroid leakage between fetuses. Incorporating sex-specific sibling interactions into a sex ratio model shows that they will affect maternal sex ratio strategies and, under some conditions, can repress other selection pressures for sex ratio adjustment. Furthermore, sex-specific interactions could also explain patterns of within-brood sex ratio (e.g. in relation to laying order). Failure to take sex-specific sibling interactions into account could partly explain the lack of sex ratio adjustment in accordance with theoretical expectations in vertebrates, and differences among taxa in sex-specific sibling interactions generate predictions for comparative and experimental studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Uller
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
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Abstract
Drawing on the concepts and theory of dominance in adult vertebrates, this article categorizes the relationships of dominance between infant siblings, identifies the behavioral mechanisms that give rise to those relationships, and proposes a model to explain their evolution. Dominance relationships in avian broods can be classified according to the agonistic roles of dominants and subordinates as "aggression-submission," "aggression-resistance," "aggression-aggression," "aggression-avoidance," "rotating dominance," and "flock dominance." These relationships differ mainly in the submissiveness/pugnacity of subordinates, which is pivotal, and in the specificity/generality of the learning processes that underlie them. As in the dominance hierarchies of adult vertebrates, agonistic roles are engendered and maintained by several mechanisms, including differential fighting ability, assessment, trained winning and losing (especially in altricial species), learned individual relationships (especially in precocial species), site-specific learning, and probably group-level effects. An evolutionary framework in which the species-typical dominance relationship is determined by feeding mode, confinement, cost of subordination, and capacity for individual recognition, can be extended to mammalian litters and account for the aggression-submission and aggression-resistance observed in distinct populations of spotted hyenas and the "site-specific dominance" (teat ownership) of some pigs, felids, and hyraxes. Little is known about agonism in the litters of other mammals or broods of poikilotherms, but some species of fish and crocodilians have the potential for dominance among broodmates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugh Drummond
- Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México DF.
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