Breeding southern house wrens exhibit a threat-sensitive response when exposed to different predator models

Ruiz, Natalia Mabel Duré; Fasanella, Mariana; Fernández, Gustavo J.

doi:10.1007/s10164-017-0528-6

Cited by 17 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Our current playback study found support for the hypothesis that both male and female red-winged blackbirds eavesdrop upon and respond to yellow warbler's seet calls specifically as a referent for "brood parasite" and not as a general nest-threat heterospecific alarm call. On the one hand, the risk of brood parasitism for hosts is highest when nests have eggs, and lower after the eggs hatch; on the other hand, the risk of predation remains high and often increases across nest stages, as the fitness outcome generally is the same -partial or total reproductive failure (Gill and Sealy, 1996;Fasanella and Fernández, 2009;Ruiz et al, 2018). In our own work, blackbirds demonstrated markedly different patterns of response toward brood parasitic vs. predatory threat playbacks depending on the risk posed by them across nest stages.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Blackbirds mediated aggression depending on date in season and the age of their nestlings as well, showing increased aggression as the breeding season progressed and with increased age of their nestlings. Costs of renesting increase as the season progresses and reproductive value of offspring due to increased chance of survival increases (Montgomerie and Weatherhead, 1988;Gill and Sealy, 1996;Fasanella and Fernández, 2009;Ruiz et al, 2018) parents are thus expected to increase aggression toward threats toward their offspring with the greater age of their young. Similar patterns have been observed in other presentation studies with alarm-calling species (Regelmann and Curio, 1983;Montgomerie and Weatherhead, 1988;Campobello and Sealy, 2010;Lawson et al, 2021a,b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hosts are generally aggressive toward brood parasites during laying and incubation, when the nest is at highest risk of successful brood parasitism, and less aggressive (compared to other threats such as nest predators) during either the pre-nesting or the nestling stages when the risk of parasitism is low (Neudorf and Sealy, 1992;Gill and Sealy, 1996;Fasanella and Fernández, 2009;Lawson et al, 2021b;see Lawson et al, 2021a for a meta-analysis). Conversely, nest predation costs remain high (even increasing) as the brood ages due to its unchanging outcome (i.e., partial or total reproductive failure; Gill and Sealy, 1996;Fasanella and Fernández, 2009;Ruiz et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eavesdropping on Referential Yellow Warbler Alarm Calls by Red-Winged Blackbirds Is Mediated by Brood Parasitism Risk

et al. 2021

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Referential alarm calls that denote specific types of dangers are common across diverse vertebrate lineages. Different alarm calls can indicate a variety of threats, which often require specific actions to evade. Thus, to benefit from the call, listeners of referential alarm calls must be able to decode the signaled threat and respond to it in an appropriate manner. Yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia) produce referential “seet” calls that signal to conspecifics the presence of nearby obligate brood parasitic brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), which lay their eggs in the nests of other species, including yellow warblers. Our previous playback experiments have found that red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), a species also parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds, eavesdrop upon and respond strongly to yellow warbler seet calls during the incubation stage of breeding with aggression similar to responses to both cowbird chatters and predator calls. To assess whether red-winged blackbird responses to seet calls vary with their own risk of brood parasitism, we presented the same playbacks during the nestling stage of breeding (when the risk of brood parasitism is lower than during incubation). As predicted, we found that blackbirds mediated their aggression toward both cowbird chatter calls and the warblers’ anti-parasitic referential alarm calls in parallel with the low current risk of brood parasitism during the nestling stage. These results further support that red-winged blackbirds flexibly respond to yellow warbler antiparasitic referential calls as a frontline defense against brood parasitism at their own nests.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eavesdropping on Referential Yellow Warbler Alarm Calls by Red-Winged Blackbirds Is Mediated by Brood Parasitism Risk

et al. 2021

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“…Visual cues may provide prey with more current information about predator presence (Smith and Belk ). For example, different studies have found that birds exhibit a change in their behavior in response to predator visual cues (Tvardíková and Fuchs , Amo et al , Duré Ruiz et al ). Visual cues may not only reveal the presence of a predator, but they may also provide important information about the motivation of the predator to launch an attack, and the overall threat (Smith and Belk ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most of previous studies that have compared the antipredatory behavior of birds when confronted to live predators or visual models have used stuffed models of predators, some with robotic or mechanical movement (Tvardíková and Fuchs , Carlson et al , Duré Ruiz et al ). For example, pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca showed a stronger antipredatory response when exposed to a live predator than to stuffed models in the vicinity of their nest (Shalter ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of chemical, visual and behavioral cues of predators on the antipredatory behavior of birds

Saavedra

Amo

2020

Journal of Avian Biology

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Nesting mortality in birds is caused primarily by predation. The ability to use different predator cues to assess the level of predation risk could be essential to minimize the predation risk during the breeding period. Previous studies show that birds modified their parental behavior when they detected chemical or visual cues of predators in the surrounding of the nest. However, according to the threat sensitivity hypothesis, birds may use more than one predator cue in order to accurately assess the level of predation risk. In this assessment, the behavior of predators can provide important information to evaluate the motivation of the predator to launch an attack. However, there are no studies that examined the importance of chemical, visual and behavioral cues of predators on the antipredatory behavior of birds. We examined the antipredatory behavior of blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus parents when they were exposed to live predators or stuffed models of predators that also had predator chemical cues. Blue tits were able to detect the behavioral cues of predators and exhibited greater antipredatory behaviors when exposed to a live predator than to a stuffed model with chemical cues. The results suggest that birds use the chemical, visual and behavioral cues of the predators to assess the level of predation risk and adjust their antipredatory behavior accordingly.

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European Starling Nest‐site Selection Given Enhanced Direct Nest Predation Risk

Blackwell

Seamans

Pfeiffer

et al. 2021

Wildlife Society Bulletin

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The European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is recognized, outside its native range, as an invasive species, and efforts to deter its nesting have generally been unsuccessful. Enhancing perceived risk at the nest site is a little‐explored route in developing a nest deterrent. Specifically, nest predation risk affects site selection, reproduction, antipredator behavior, and fitness in nesting birds. We questioned whether perceived predation risk as related to a snake model positioned inside a nest box, in striking form, moving, and present throughout the period of cavity site selection would induce European starlings to avoid or delay nest construction. We conducted our study on the 2,200‐ha National Aeronautics and Space Administration Plum Brook Station (PBS), Erie County, Ohio, USA. Our objectives were to examine nest initiation, clutch development, and hatching success by starlings relative to 4 nest‐box treatments: moving snake model, movement mechanism only, immobile snake model, and control (empty box). We applied treatments across 120 nest boxes on PBS (30 boxes/treatment) from 15 April through 17 June 2019. We observed no treatment effects on nest initiation or date of nest bowl formation. Starlings occupied (laid ≥1 egg) in 76% of nest boxes (moving snake model = 22 boxes, movement mechanism = 25 boxes, immobile snake model = 21 boxes, control = 23 boxes). We observed no effects of treatment on likelihood of starlings laying a clutch, date of first egg, clutch size, or hatching success. We suggest that starlings adapted to perceived risk because models, despite animacy, did not attack. Therefore, snake models, as developed herein, are ineffective starling nesting deterrents. Published 2021. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

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Breeding southern house wrens exhibit a threat-sensitive response when exposed to different predator models

Cited by 17 publications

References 67 publications

Eavesdropping on Referential Yellow Warbler Alarm Calls by Red-Winged Blackbirds Is Mediated by Brood Parasitism Risk

Eavesdropping on Referential Yellow Warbler Alarm Calls by Red-Winged Blackbirds Is Mediated by Brood Parasitism Risk

The importance of chemical, visual and behavioral cues of predators on the antipredatory behavior of birds

European Starling Nest‐site Selection Given Enhanced Direct Nest Predation Risk

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