Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Behavior and Ethology
Searching for and Monitoring the Nests of Imperiled Grassland Birds: Recommendations from the Grand River Grasslands of Iowa
Published: 2024-04-05
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Grassland birds are the most imperiled avian group in North America, with greater than 50% abundance declines since 1970. Studies examining factors that impact habitat preferences, habitat selection, and reproductive success are critical to developing effective conservation and management plans for these species. These studies often involve searching for and monitoring nests in grasslands, which [...]
Temperature drives the divergent evolution of male harm to females
Published: 2024-03-12
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution
Strong sexual selection promotes population viability and evolvability, but sexual conflict can offset such benefits. Male harm adaptations leading to pre-copulatory (i.e. harassment) and/or copulatory (i.e. traumatic insemination) harm to females are taxonomically widespread, depress population growth, and can affect the dynamics of adaptation and evolutionary rescue, but we largely ignore what [...]
Nest-site selection and nest predation in a tropical passerine in relation to food, friends and foes
Published: 2024-03-04
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ornithology, Zoology
Nest-site selection is an important determinant of avian reproductive success, mainly through its effect on predation risk. However, how environmental and social factors affect nest-site selection and predation risk remains less well understood. Optimal nest positioning may depend on the balance of many distinct factors such as nest predation, food availability, extra-pair mating opportunities, [...]
Sex-specific discrimination of familiar and unfamiliar mates in the Tokay gecko
Published: 2024-02-23
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Social animals need to keep track of other individuals in their group to be able to adjust their behaviour accordingly and facilitate group cohesion. This recognition ability varies across species and is influenced by cognitive capacities such as learning and memory. In reptiles, particularly Squamates (lizards, snakes, and worm lizards), pheromonal communication is pivotal for territoriality, [...]
The relative contribution of acoustic signals versus movement cues in group coordination and collective decision-making
Published: 2024-01-30
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
To benefit from group living, individuals need to maintain cohesion and coordinate their activities. Effective communication thus becomes critical, facilitating rapid coordination of behaviours and reducing consensus costs when group members have differing needs and information. In many bird and mammal species, collective decisions rely on acoustic signals in some contexts but on movement cues in [...]
Puma space use and dispersal in tropical biodiversity hotspots: bridging a gap to connect individuals to populations
Published: 2024-01-25
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Zoology
Assessing residency and dispersal behavior of apex predators and its consequences for landscape connectivity is of paramount importance for understanding population- and ecosystem- effects of anthropogenic land use change. However, basic information on animal space use is still lacking, particularly in the Tropics. Here we synthesize ranging and dispersal ecological information on pumas (Puma [...]
No time to die: Temporal patterns of nest predation in a multi-brooded Southern Hemisphere passerine bird
Published: 2024-01-18
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Ornithology
1. Nest predation is frequently the primary cause of early-life mortality in wild avian populations, generating selection for optimising the timing of reproduction to reduce predation risk. Investigating temporal patterns of nest predation is therefore necessary for understanding the intricate relationships between birds and their predators. 2. In this study, we considered the role of temporal [...]
Incubation behaviour of a boreal, food-caching passerine nesting in sub-zero temperatures
Published: 2024-01-14
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Our understanding of avian incubation behaviour is primarily derived from species that nest in the temperate conditions of spring and summer. This leaves uncertainties about strategies employed by a relatively small number of species adapted to breed under sub-zero, winter-like conditions. We used in-nest temperature loggers (iButtons) to monitor incubation behaviours of Canada Jays, [...]
Animal social networks are robust to changing association definitions
Published: 2024-01-12
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Ornithology
The interconnecting links (edges) between individuals (nodes) in an animal social network are often defined by discrete, directed behaviours (interactions). However, where interactions are difficult to observe, a network edge is instead defined as individuals sharing space or overlapping in time (an association). Despite an increasingly accessible toolkit to assemble and analyse animal social [...]
Vocal Dimorphism in Anna’s Hummingbirds
Published: 2023-11-28
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Integrative Biology, Life Sciences, Ornithology, Zoology
Whereas vocal sexual dimorphism is widespread amongst birds, it has been historically overlooked in non-passerines such as hummingbirds. By evaluating correlations among sex, behaviors, and vocalizations, the meaning and utility of intentional sound production may be inferred. Anna's Hummingbirds (Calypte anna) exhibit pronounced sexual dimorphism, with males being larger and having more vibrant [...]
The gene’s-eye view of culture: vehicles, not replicators
Published: 2023-11-24
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Biological and Physical Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
Covariance reaction norms: A flexible approach to estimating continuous environmental effects on quantitative genetic and phenotypic (co)variances
Published: 2023-11-21
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Genetics, Integrative Biology, Life Sciences, Population Biology, Research Methods in Life Sciences, Zoology
Estimating quantitative genetic and phenotypic (co)variances plays a crucial role in investigating key evolutionary ecological phenomena, such as developmental integration, life history tradeoffs, and niche specialization, as well as in describing selection and predicting multivariate evolution in the wild. While most studies assume (co)variances are fixed over short timescales, environmental [...]
Sex-specific associations between social behaviour, its predictability and fitness in a wild lizard
Published: 2023-11-20
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology
Social environments impose a number of constraints on individuals’ behaviour. These constraints have been hypothesized to generate behavioural variation among individuals, social responsiveness, and within-individual behavioural consistency (also termed ‘predictability’). In particular, the social niche hypothesis posits that higher levels of competition associated with higher population density [...]
Automated tracking of avian parental care behavior
Published: 2023-11-16
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Biology, Life Sciences
1. Parental care may be an important source of phenotypic variation for ecological and evolutionary processes. However, it can be difficult to collect and interpret data on parental care behaviors. To address these challenges, we developed a new hardware and software platform for automated behavioral tracking called ABISSMAL (Automated Behavioral Tracking by Integrating Sensors that Survey [...]
Darwin’s road not taken: white sclera, shared intentionality, niche construction, predator fear, teams and Homo origins
Published: 2023-11-04
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Evolution, Neuroscience and Neurobiology
Palaeoanthropologists have yet to pinpoint how Homo evolved from Australopithecus. I propose niche construction ending predator ambush and stalking attacks, white sclera, and ultrafast team cognition were key. Human white sclera allows the quick, distant detection of line-of-sight. This is unique. In other primates, predators eliminate conspicuous-eyed individuals. Consequently, nonhuman [...]