Compensatory responses differ between parental tasks in a songbird species

Schiavinato, Matteo; Griggio, Matteo; Pilastro, Andrea; Baldan, Davide

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.03.005

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Thus, we tested decision-making in barn swallows with such simulated predator intrusions at nests that contained nestlings. Similar to some previous studies (Schiavinato et al 2023 ; Trnka & Grim 2013 ), our proxy for decision-making was the latency to return to the nest after a simulated predator intrusion. This latency represents the decision-making process that swallows experience when assessing the risk of returning to their nest to feed their nestlings after a potential predator was at their nest.…”

Section: Decision-makingmentioning

confidence: 81%

Colonial breeding impacts potentially fitness-relevant cognitive processes in barn swallows

Medina-García,

Scherner,

McDermott

et al. 2024

Anim Cogn

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Many animals breed colonially, often in dense clusters, representing a complex social environment with cognitive demands that could ultimately impact individual fitness. However, the effects of social breeding on the evolution of cognitive processes remain largely unknown. We tested the hypothesis that facultative colonial breeding influences attention and decision-making. Barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) breed in solitary pairs or in a range of colony sizes, up to dozens of pairs. We tested for selective attention to social information with playbacks of conspecific alarm calls and for decision-making with simulated predator intrusions, across a range of colony sizes from 1 to 33 pairs. We also evaluated the adaptive value of both processes by measuring seasonal reproductive success. Swallows breeding in larger colonies were more selective in their attention to social information. Birds breeding in larger colonies were also less risk averse, deciding to return more quickly to their nests after a predator approach paradigm. Finally, birds that showed higher selective attention hatched more eggs and birds that returned to their nests more quickly after a predator intrusion had more nestlings. Although we cannot fully attribute these fitness outcomes to the cognitive measures considered in this study, our results suggest that social breeding plays a role in adaptively shaping both the acquisition of social information and decision-making.

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Section: Decision-makingmentioning

confidence: 81%

Colonial breeding impacts potentially fitness-relevant cognitive processes in barn swallows

Medina-García,

Scherner,

McDermott

et al. 2024

Anim Cogn

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“…The reaction norm analysis indicates that only females' but not males' responses to partner absence were significantly repeatable across breeding attempts with different partners. Sex differences in compensatory response have been widely found across species [16,[37][38][39]. A possible explanation is that sexes differ in the adopted negotiation rules [40,41] or in the information they gather on partner behaviour [42].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sex differences in compensatory response have been widely found across species [ 16 , 37 – 39 ]. A possible explanation is that sexes differ in the adopted negotiation rules [ 40 , 41 ] or in the information they gather on partner behaviour [ 42 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This prediction of ‘partial compensation’ has been tested empirically via experimental manipulation of partner's behaviour in a number of bird species [ 12 ]. These studies found substantial variation in the direction and magnitude of this compensatory response (for a summary on bird species see [ 13 ]), attributable to differences in the experimental set-ups [ 12 , 14 ], species [ 13 ], sexes [ 12 , 13 ] and parental tasks [ 15 , 16 ]. However, these studies have mostly explored variation in compensatory behaviour in terms of among-individuals (population mean) responses and have overlooked within-individual variation in responsiveness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Repeatable negotiation rules? Only females show repeatable responses to partner removal in a brood-provisioning songbird

et al. 2023

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Theoretical models indicate that the evolution of biparental care depends on how parents behaviourally negotiate their level of care in response to those of their partner and whether sexes and individuals consistently vary in their response (compensatory response). While the compensatory response has been widely investigated empirically, its repeatability has rarely been assessed. In this study, we used a reaction norm approach to investigate the repeatability of the compensatory offspring provisioning of a parent after temporary removal of its partner in the pied flycatcher ( Ficedula hypoleuca ) across different breeding seasons and partners. We found that only females partially compensated for the short-term removal of the partner and their response was significantly repeatable across years while breeding with different partners. This study highlights the importance of considering among individual differences in negotiation rules to better understand the role of negotiation mechanisms in the evolution of parental care strategies.

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Risk‐Taking in Bluebirds After Exposure to a Nest Predator Relates to Parental Roles and Shows Little Cooperation Between Partners

Wiebe,

Tkaczyk

2024

Ethology

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Parents may experience a trade‐off between caring for offspring and protecting themselves from predators. The reproductive value hypothesis predicts that parents should take more risks for older, more valuable offspring, whereas the harm to offspring hypothesis predicts that parents should risk more for vulnerable offspring that would suffer most from a lack of parental care at the moment. After exposing parent mountain bluebirds (Sialia, currucoides) to a model predator, we recorded latency times for them to touch, to look into, and to enter their nestbox and the number of times they inspected the box across three breeding stages: nest‐building, incubation and nestling‐rearing. Females took greater risks than males during the nest‐building and incubation stages by inspecting and entering boxes sooner and more times, consistent with their role in parental care at those early breeding stages that requires them to enter the box. Risk‐taking in males was consistent with the reproductive value hypothesis, increasing across breeding stages. In contrast, females took the greatest risk during incubation, consistent with the harm to offspring hypothesis. Furthermore, the riskiest behaviours were not correlated between pair members, and both sexes assumed the risk to first inspect the nestbox approximately equally. This suggests there is not a ‘war of attrition’ between mates over risk‐taking, but neither was there cooperation by the male to facilitate the rapid resumption of parental care by his mate. The results highlight that patterns of investment in nest defense in birds may be sex‐specific.

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Compensatory responses differ between parental tasks in a songbird species

Cited by 3 publications

References 74 publications

Colonial breeding impacts potentially fitness-relevant cognitive processes in barn swallows

Colonial breeding impacts potentially fitness-relevant cognitive processes in barn swallows

Repeatable negotiation rules? Only females show repeatable responses to partner removal in a brood-provisioning songbird

Risk‐Taking in Bluebirds After Exposure to a Nest Predator Relates to Parental Roles and Shows Little Cooperation Between Partners

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