Vigilance Behavior in the Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus Histrionicus) During the Preincubation Period in Labrador: Are Males Vigilant for Self or Social Partner?

Vigilance and food intake rate in paired and solitary Zenaida Doves Zenaida aurita

“…The absence of a sex-related difference in vigilance contrasts with previous studies of socially monogamous bird species observed in temperate areas (Waite 1987, Dahlgren 1990, Artiss & Martin 1995, Guillemain et al 2003, Quan et al 2003, Squires et al 2007. From a mechanistic point of view, equal levels of vigilance in males and females, when foraging both alone or in a pair, might be linked to the absence of elevated levels of androgens in males of tropical bird species.…”

“…In particular, sex-related differences in vigilance levels between pair members have been repeatedly reported in socially monogamous bird species. Both in monogamous galliforms (Dahlgren 1990, Artiss & Martin 1995 and in anseriforms (Sedinger & Raveling 1990, Gauthier & Tardif 1991, Forslund 1993, Gauthier-Clerc et al 1998, Christensen 2000, Quan et al 2003, Squires et al 2007, higher levels of vigilance in males occur primarily to protect females and chicks from predators, enabling them to devote more time to feeding and, secondly, to prevent extra-pair copulations. The opposite pattern has been observed in White-breasted Nuthatches Sitta carolinensis, in which females are more vigilant than males when feeding in pairs, presumably to avoid kleptoparasitic attacks from their partners (Waite 1987).…”

Multivariate behavioural response of harlequin ducks to aircraft disturbance in Labrador

“…I present data separately for females and males because I knew a priori that there were inherent gender differences in behaviours, particularly the display of greater vigilance by males (Squires 2003;Squires et al 2006). There were substantial differences in behaviour between undisturbed and aircraft-disturbed female (Wilks' lambda = 0.060, p < 0.0001) and male (Wilks' lambda = 0.094, p < 0.0001) harlequin ducks at Fig River, Labrador (Table 2).…”

Exogenous testosterone in male Downy Woodpeckers leads to reduced calling behavior of both males and their female partners during the non-breeding period

“…Combined, these results imply that mates can work together to protect one another from danger. There are numerous examples of this ''mate investment'' or ''mate protection'' behavior described in the avian literature (Hogstad 1995, Lemmon et al 1997, Artiss et al 1999, Kellam 2003b, Squires et al 2007). This concept may help explain two results from our T-implant studies.…”