Group-enhanced predator detection and quality of vigilance in a social ground squirrel

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

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.02.017

Cited by 26 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…However, the species has successfully established and spread across the island [20,21] in a genetic paradox of invasion [9]. Atlantoxerus getulus invasion success may be due to extrinsic habitat factors [22,29], or other species-level [42,43], behaviour [28], or life-history traits [44]. Alternatively, inbreeding may have benefitted the population by purging deleterious founding alleles [41,45].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for an extreme founding effect in a highly successful invasive species

Kratzer

Marel

Garroway

et al. 2020

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The adaptive potential of invasive species is thought to decrease during founding events due to reduced genetic diversity, limiting the new population’s ability to colonize novel habitats. Barbary ground squirrels (Atlantoxerus getulus) were purportedly introduced as a single breeding pair to the island of Fuerteventura but have expanded to over a million individuals spread across the island in just over 50 years. We estimated the number of founders and measured the level of genetic diversity in this population using the mitochondrial displacement loop and microsatellite markers. Island samples (n = 19) showed no variation in the d-loop, suggesting a single founding female, while Moroccan samples (n = 6) each had unique mitochondrial haplotypes. The microsatellite data of the island population (n = 256 individuals) revealed a small effective population size, low levels of heterozygosity, and high levels of inbreeding, supporting a founding population size of two to three individuals. Our results suggest that A. getulus has undergone an intense genetic bottleneck during their colonization of the island. They are one of the few species where introduction effort does not explain invasion success, although further investigation may explain how they have avoided the worst expected effects following an extreme genetic bottleneck.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for an extreme founding effect in a highly successful invasive species

Kratzer

Marel

Garroway

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Social interactions between neighbors may reduce the overall costs of territory defense, either by establishing boundaries prior to the increased energetic demands associated with breeding, or by establishing coalitions to repel potential usurpers (Temeles 1994, Christensen andRadford 2018). Increased sociality also may serve to reduce predation risk or time spent in vigilance (Groenewoud et al 2016, Mady and Blumstein 2017, Waterman et al 2019.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Review #1 of "Life history stage explains behavior in a social network before and during the early breeding season in a cooperatively breeding bird (v0.1)"

Farine¹

2020

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In species with stage-structured populations selection pressures may vary between different life history stages and result in stage-specific behaviors. We use life history stage to explain variation in the pre and early breeding season social behavior of a cooperatively breeding bird, the Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) using social network analysis. Life history stage explains much of the variation we observed in social network position. These differences are consistent with nearly 50 years of natural history observations and generally conform to a priori predictions about how individuals in different stages should behave to maximize their individual fitness. Where the results from the social network analysis differ from the a priori predictions suggest that social interactions between members of different groups are more important for breeders than previously thought. Our results emphasize the importance of accounting for life history stage in studies of individual social behavior.

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“…To determine life history traits of the species, we trapped Barbary ground squirrels using live traps (Tomahawk Co., WI, U.S.A.; 13 x 13 x 40 cm) baited with peanut butter during three consecutive years (February through July 2014, January through July 2015, and January through June 2016) following the procedures described in van der Marel et al (2019. Upon capture, we transferred squirrels to a conical handling bag (Koprowski 2002), where every adult squirrel received a passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag (Avid Identification Systems, Inc., Norco, CA, U.S.A.) for individual identification.…”

Section: Life History Traits Of Invasive Barbary Ground Squirrelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To determine the life history traits of the species, we trapped Barbary ground squirrels using live traps (Tomahawk Co., WI, USA 13 x 13 x cm) baited with peanut butter during three consecutive years (February through July 2014, January through July 2015, and January through June 2016) following the procedures described in van der Marel et al (2019Marel et al ( , 2020.…”

Section: Life History Traits Of Invasive Barbary Ground Squirrelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the role of life history traits and introduction effort in understanding invasion success in mammals: A case study of Barbary ground squirrels

Marel

Waterman

López-Darias

2020

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Invasive species (species that have successfully overcome the barriers of transport, introduction, establishment, and spread) are a risk to biodiversity and ecosystem function. Introduction effort is one of the main factors attributed to invasion success, but life history traits are also important as they influence population growth. In this contribution, we first investigated life history traits of the Barbary ground squirrel, Atlantoxerus getulus, a species with a remarkably low introduction effort, and studied whether their exceptional invasion success is due to a very fast life history profile through a comparison of these traits to other successfully invaded mammals. We then examined whether number of founders and/or a fast life history influences invasion success of squirrels. We found that Barbary ground squirrels were on the fast end of the fast-slow continuum, but their life history is not the only contributing factor for their invasion success, as the life history profile is comparable to other invasive species that do not have such a low introduction effort. We also found that neither life history traits nor number of founders explained invasion success of introduced squirrels in general. These results contradict the concept that introduction effort is the main factor explaining invasion success, especially in squirrels. Instead, we argue that invasion success can be influenced by multiple aspects of the new habitat or the biology of the introduced species.

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Group-enhanced predator detection and quality of vigilance in a social ground squirrel

Cited by 26 publications

References 88 publications

Evidence for an extreme founding effect in a highly successful invasive species

Evidence for an extreme founding effect in a highly successful invasive species

Peer Review #1 of "Life history stage explains behavior in a social network before and during the early breeding season in a cooperatively breeding bird (v0.1)"

Exploring the role of life history traits and introduction effort in understanding invasion success in mammals: A case study of Barbary ground squirrels

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