Untangling behaviours: independent expressions of female-female aggression and snake-like hissing in the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus).
Sci Rep
; 13(1): 16346, 2023 09 28.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37770619
ABSTRACT
Aggression plays a crucial role in deterring predators and securing resources to promote fitness. Nevertheless, studies focussing on female aggression remain scarce. In songbirds, aggression is prevalent during the breeding season, when same-sex individuals compete for limited resources. Additionally, females of some bird species exhibit snake-like hissing behaviour during incubation presumably to lower predation rates and improve fitness. Such behaviours may co-vary, forming a behavioural syndrome that could constrain trait expression. Here, we investigated a resident population of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), to examine the repeatability and covariation of female-female aggression and hissing behaviour, aiming to determine if these constitute a behavioural syndrome. We quantified female-female aggression during simulated territorial intrusions and measured number of hissing calls in response to a simulated predator intrusion into the nest box. We found that both female-female aggression and hissing behaviour were repeatable traits, and that older females approached the intruder less. However, we found no evidence of covariation between female-female aggression and hissing behaviour. Thus, our findings suggest that female-female aggression and hissing behaviour, although both displayed in a nest defence context, are evolutionarily independent traits in the blue tit.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Aves Canoras
/
Passeriformes
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article