Barbary ground squirrels do not have a sentinel system but instead synchronize vigilance

Marel, Annemarie van der; Waterman, Jane M.; López-Darias, Marta

doi:10.1007/s00265-021-03094-1

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…This variation in latency is likely not due to the number of vocalizations per track but may be a consequence of an individual's social environment, such as the vigilance of their nearest neighbor (e.g., van der Marel et al, 2021). Overall, our results align with studies that showcase strong behavioral responses to predators in the form of mobbing, movement, and/or vocalizing (Crawford et al, 2022;Dutour, Lena, & Lengagne, 2017;Manser, Seyfarth, & Cheney, 2002;Zuberbühler, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Temporary behavioral responses to playbacks by a pest parrot and implications for management

Estien¹,

O’Connell²,

Francis³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Human-wildlife interactions continue to increase due to anthropogenic disturbances, with some interactions resulting in conflict. Leveraging a taxa’s bias for a particular sensory cue is a promising management avenue for reducing the potential and realized negative consequences of human-wildlife conflict. For instance, many avian species heavily depend on acoustic communication, and acoustic cues can provide opportunities to reduce conflict with a variety of avian species. The monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) is a gregarious parrot native to South America that has established populations worldwide and is considered an urban and agricultural pest in parts of its native and introduced ranges. We conducted playback experiments with a captive population of monk parakeets to evaluate auditory cues that may be useful for designing management protocols. Our experiment evaluated the efficacy of two stimuli that we expected to either repulse or attract parakeets: predator vocalizations and conspecific vocalizations, respectively. We measured two responses: (1) categorical group-level behavioral responses and (2) time to cease vigilance and return to baseline behavior. In the repulsion playbacks, monk parakeets were repelled by predator vocalizations in 80% of trials and took longer to cease vigilance and return to baseline behavior compared to attraction playbacks. In the attraction playbacks, monk parakeets exhibited vigilant behavior and weak or no attraction to the stimulus, with attraction only being observed in 10% of trials. Our results demonstrate that predator playbacks may be particularly useful for completing management objectives, such as temporary removal from a location.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Temporary behavioral responses to playbacks by a pest parrot and implications for management

Estien¹,

O’Connell²,

Francis³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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show abstract

“…& Meunier, 2020;Whitehouse et al, 2017). However, the app has also been used for studies with other mammals (van der Marel et al, 2019Marel et al, , 2021Szott et al, 2019) and birds (Benti et al, 2019;Puehringer-Sturmayr et al, 2020;Szipl et al, 2019). A search for the paper introducing the app resulted in 25 citations on Google Scholar (accessed October 21, 2021).…”

Section: Potential Drawbacks or Other Considerations Of Cybertrackermentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of low‐cost behavioral observation software applications for handheld computers and recommendations for use

et al. 2021

Self Cite

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In the field of animal behavior and behavioral ecology, many standardized methods to observe animal behavior were established in the last decades. While the protocols remained similar, behavioral researchers can take advantage of technological advancements to enter observations directly onto a handheld computer (phone, tablet, etc.), saving time and potentially increasing fidelity of recordings. However, we now have the choice between many different platforms for recording behavioral observations. Our challenge is choosing the most appropriate platform that fits a particular study question, research design, budget, and desired amount of preparatory time.Here, we review six low-cost software applications for handheld computers that are available for real-time entry of behavioral observations: Animal Behaviour Pro, Animal Observer, BORIS, CyberTracker, Prim8, and ZooMonitor. We discuss the preliminary decisions that have to be made about the study design, and we assess the six applications by providing the advantages and disadvantages of each platform and an overall application comparison. In our supplemental material, we illustrate the setup and data collection routines, and how to customize certain platforms so they will work more effectively for particular study aims or sampling methods. Our goal is to help researchers make calculated decisions about what behavioral observation platform is best for their study system and question.

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“…An early model of vigilance assumed that animals scan their environment at random, independently of their group mates (Pulliam, 1973). However, there is increasing evidence showing that the scanning process may depart from randomness and that individuals often synchronize vigilance with their neighbors (Pays et al, 2007(Pays et al, , 2010van der Marel et al, 2021). Behavioral synchronization refers to actions conducted by two or more individuals at the same place at the same time (Duranton & Gaunet, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black‐headed gulls synchronize vigilance with their nearest neighbor irrespective of the neighbor's relative position

et al. 2022

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Behavioral synchronization refers to actions conducted simultaneously by two or more individuals at the same place. Through behavioral synchronization, animals may increase social cohesion of their groups or achieve antipredator and foraging benefits. We examined whether black‐headed gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) synchronized vigilance with their nearest neighbors and whether synchronization was affected by the neighbor's relative position. We predicted that (1) the synchronization of vigilance is less likely when neighbors are positioned behind focal individuals, i.e., within the blind sector of their visual field, and that (2) birds may show preference for copying vigilance when neighbors are situated at one side due to known laterality in avian eye use for antipredator vigilance. Data were obtained for 46 pairs of individuals—focal gulls and their nearest neighbors—through the observation of video‐recorded material. Gulls significantly synchronized vigilance with their nearest neighbors irrespective of the neighbor's relative spatial position—the odds that the focal individual would scan its environment were increased almost three times if the nearest neighbor was also vigilant. Contrary to our predictions, however, we did not find evidence that synchronization of vigilance in gulls was dependent on their nearest neighbor's relative position, which could be due to several reasons: (i) gulls may pay attention not only to their nearest neighbors but also to more distant ones and/or (ii) gulls may have reacted to some cues other than visual, such as alarm sounds. Although the mechanism of synchronization in gulls remains unknown, by being vigilant at the same time as other group members, the gulls may achieve additional antipredator benefits.

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Barbary ground squirrels do not have a sentinel system but instead synchronize vigilance

Cited by 4 publications

References 51 publications

Temporary behavioral responses to playbacks by a pest parrot and implications for management

Temporary behavioral responses to playbacks by a pest parrot and implications for management

A comparison of low‐cost behavioral observation software applications for handheld computers and recommendations for use

Black‐headed gulls synchronize vigilance with their nearest neighbor irrespective of the neighbor's relative position

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