Innovative females are more promiscuous in great tits (Parus major)

Bókony, Veronika; Pipoly, Ivett; Szabó, Krisztián; Preiszner, Bálint; Vincze, Ernő; Papp, Sándor; Seress, Gábor; Hammer, Tamás; Liker, András

doi:10.1093/beheco/arx001

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…For example, although Great Tits are typically socially monogamous with biparental care, extra‐pair paternity is also frequent (15–50% of broods have at least one extra‐pair young in our study populations; Bókony et al. ), resulting in uncertainty in male paternity. Thus, males may reduce parental care more than females as a behavioral response to stressful events (Wingfield et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Effects of capture and video-recording on the behavior and breeding success of Great Tits in urban and forest habitats

et al. 2017

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Behavioral research often involves capturing and video‐recording birds, but these procedures may have undesired effects on the behavior of birds that have rarely been quantified. In addition, birds in urban and more natural areas may differ in their sensitivity to disturbance. We examined the possible effects of both capturing, weighing and measuring, and taking a blood sample, and the presence of video‐cameras on the behavior of male and female Great Tits (Parus major) breeding in urban and forest habitats. Using a 2 × 2 block design, we compared the behavior and breeding success of parents that either were or were not captured on their nests a few days before behavioral observations, and of parents that either were or were not habituated to the presence of a concealed video‐recorder mounted on nest boxes. We found no significant effects of habituation to the camera on bird behavior, but males captured in their nest boxes were more vigilant and hesitated longer before entering nest boxes, and also had slightly lower provisioning rates than males that had not been captured. Captured females also tended to be more vigilant than females that had not been captured, but their provisioning rates were not affected. Capturing males also influenced the behavior of their non‐captured mates, but capturing females had no effect on the behavior of their non‐captured mates. We found no difference in the effects of capture on Great Tits in urban and forest habitats, and our treatments also had no effect on the mass, size, and survival of nestlings until fledging. Our results suggest that, for Great Tits, being captured results in sex‐dependent behavioral effects that can last for at least several days. As such, we suggest that the possibility of similar effects in other species of birds should be considered in behavioral studies where birds must be captured, and recommend either that behavioral data be collected before capturing birds or that all birds in a study should be captured and handled in a standardized way.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Effects of capture and video-recording on the behavior and breeding success of Great Tits in urban and forest habitats

et al. 2017

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“…For example, individuals with different behavioral types can differ in their habitat choice (Holtmann et al, 2017;Sprau and Dingemanse, 2017) and the propensity to engage in EPF can vary between females as part of their personality (Forstmeier, 2007;Forstmeier et al, 2014;Wolak et al, 2018). It is thus possible that a tendency for promiscuity is associated with the behavioral traits that facilitate settlement in cities, such as innovative problem solving and exploratory behavior (Bókony et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Higher Frequency of Extra-Pair Offspring in Urban Than Forest Broods of Great Tits (Parus major)

et al. 2019

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Urbanization increasingly changes the ecological conditions for wild animal populations, influencing their demography, reproduction, and behavior. While studies on the ecological consequences of urbanization frequently document a reduced number and poorer body condition of offspring in urban than in non-urban bird populations, consequences for other components of reproduction are rarely investigated. Mating with partners outside the social pair-bond is widespread in birds, and although theory predicts that the occurrence of extra-pair fertilizations (EPF) may be sensitive to the altered ecological conditions of cities, the effect of urbanization on EPF is poorly known. Here we used data from two urban and two forest populations collected over 3 years to test whether the frequency of extra-pair offspring (EPO) in great tit broods differed between the habitats. We found that significantly more broods contained EPO in urban habitats (48.9%) than in forests (24.4%). In broods with EPO, the number and proportion of EPO was similar in urban and forest broods. These results suggest that females that live in urban habitats are more likely to engage in EPF than those living in forests. Urban environments may either provide more spatiotemporal opportunities to EPF because of higher breeding density, and/or enhance motivation for EPF to increase fertility in polluted environments. In addition, females with higher propensity to engage in EPF may more likely settle in urban habitats.

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“…This study was conducted as part of a series of field experiments in April to July 2013 in four study sites in Hungary (Bókony et al, ; Preiszner et al, ). The two urban sites were in the cities of Veszprém (47°05′17″N, 17°54′29″E) and Balatonfüred (46°57′30″N, 17°53′34″E); the former consisted of smaller parks, cemeteries, and university campuses, whereas the latter consisted of one larger (ca.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Great tits take greater risk toward humans and sparrowhawks in urban habitats than in forests

et al. 2019

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Urban animals often take more risk toward humans than their non‐urban conspecifics do, but it is unclear how urbanization affects behavior toward non‐human predators. Responses to humans and non‐human predators may covary due to common mechanisms enforcing a phenotypic correlation. However, while increased tolerance toward humans may be advantageous for urban animals, reduced vigilance toward non‐human predators that can pose actual threat may be costly. Therefore, urban animals may benefit from showing specific responses to different threat levels, such as humans versus non‐human predators, or hostile versus non‐hostile humans. To test these alternatives, we compared responses (latencies to return to nest) of urban and forest‐breeding great tits (Parus major) to familiar hostile and unfamiliar humans as well as one of their common predators, the sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus). We found that urban birds were more risk‐taking toward both humans and sparrowhawk than forest birds. However, responses to sparrowhawk did not correlate with responses to humans either within or across habitats. This suggests that higher risk‐taking of urban compared to forest‐dwelling great tits toward sparrowhawk may be threat‐specific response to lower predation risk rather than a spillover effect of increased tolerance to humans. Furthermore, birds responded similarly to unfamiliar and familiar (potentially dangerous) humans in both habitats, suggesting that great tits may not adjust their risk‐taking to the threat represented by individual humans. These findings indicate that urban birds may flexibly adjust their risk‐taking to certain, but not all, types of threat.

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Innovative females are more promiscuous in great tits (Parus major)

Cited by 17 publications

References 50 publications

Effects of capture and video-recording on the behavior and breeding success of Great Tits in urban and forest habitats

Effects of capture and video-recording on the behavior and breeding success of Great Tits in urban and forest habitats

Higher Frequency of Extra-Pair Offspring in Urban Than Forest Broods of Great Tits (Parus major)

Great tits take greater risk toward humans and sparrowhawks in urban habitats than in forests

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