Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Behavior and Ethology
Counter culture: Causes, extent and solutions of systematic bias in the analysis of behavioural counts
Published: 2019-01-06
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
We often quantify the rate at which a behaviour occurs by counting the number of times it occurs within a specific, short observation period. Measuring behaviour in such a way is typically unavoidable but induces error. This error acts to systematically reduce effect sizes, including metrics of particular interest to behavioural and evolutionary ecologists such as R2, repeatability (intra-class [...]
BEHAVIOUR OF WHITE FULANI CALVES GRAZING PANICUM/STYLO PASTURE IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA
Published: 2019-01-02
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
The objective of this study was to investigate the behaviour of White Fulani (WF) yearling calves grazing a Panicum maximum/Stylosanthes guainensis mixture under traditional management system in south western Nigeria. The effects of two biomass spatial distribution (dense and sparse) were evaluated in association with three pasture heights (10, 15 and 20 cm), with calves allowed access to the [...]
Male territorial aggression does not drive conformity to local vocal culture in a passerine bird
Published: 2018-12-09
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
In many songbird species, young males learn songs from neighbors and then settle nearby, thus creating neighborhoods of conformity to local vocal culture. In some species males appear to postpone song learning until after dispersal, possibly to facilitate conformity to local dialects. Despite decades of study, we still lack a consensus regarding the selective pressures driving this delayed song [...]
Temperature as a modulator of sexual selection
Published: 2018-12-03
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
A central question in ecology and evolution is to understand why sexual selection varies so much in strength across taxa, and it has long been known that ecological factors are crucial to this respect. Temperature is a particularly critical abiotic ecological factor that can drastically modulate a wide range of physiological, morphological and behavioural traits, impacting individuals and [...]
Subspecies status and methods explain strength of response to local versus foreign song by oscine birds in meta-analysis
Published: 2018-11-10
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
To understand the implications of geographical variation in vocal culture in songbirds, researchers have often compared territorial responses to playback of local songs versus responses to playback of songs from ‘foreign’ conspecifics. This body of work has the potential to help us move towards a general understanding of factors driving divergence in signal recognition. We conducted a systematic [...]
Female Maylandia zebra prefer victorious males
Published: 2018-11-09
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Zoology
Females of a widespread species of the rock‐dwelling haplochromine cichlids of Lake Malawi, Maylandia zebra, show preference for males that successfully evict intruding males from their territory. This behaviour, experimentally induced by the investigators in a laboratory setting, was also preferred over males that were not permitted to interact with any other individual.