The Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) is a medium-sized, dimorphic raptor from Eurasia which usually hunts birds and small mammals. Studies on the spatial behavior of the species based on GPS-tracking devices are extremely scarce at the global level. Thus, here we GPS-tracked 24 adult Hen Harriers (Circus cyaneus) to study the overall patterns of the breeding spatial ecology of the...
We re-analyzed unpublished data on herding behavior in adult male sub-Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus tropicalis recorded at Gough Island during the 1975/76 austral summer breeding season. The results extend the study of competition and injury in adult males from the same population. Herding behavior is defined and shows that adult males in this population exhibit the most...
Dietary flexibility allows animals to respond adaptively to food pulses in the environment. Here we document the novel emergence of widespread hunting of California voles and carnivorous feeding behavior by California ground squirrels. Over two months in the twelfth year of a long-term study on the squirrel population, we document 74 events of juvenile and adult ground squirrels...
Sociality is a complex phenomenon, able to influence multiple traits of an individual life history. In group-living mammals, sociality is likely to play a major role in the reproductive success of individuals. Here we investigate how sociality traits are associated to reproductive success in female Alpine marmots (Marmota marmota), a highly social and cooperative breeding ground...
Field and experimental evidence shows that anuran adults selecting spawning habitats make flexible, context-dependent choices based on multiple biotic and abiotic factors. Despite the empirical evidence, few formal theories explain the context-dependent selection of spawning habitats by anurans. To fill this gap, we develop a mathematical model to analyze the interacting effects...
Sexual dimorphism and male combat are observed in many species. Often, the outcome of male combat affects the outcome of subsequent combats, mating success, number of sperm, and fitness of the male’s offspring. Also, the quantity and quality of sperm may be regulated by winning or losing, depending on species ecology and mating system. However, very few studies have...
Studies show that the common cuckoo exhibits a strong vocal response to rival playback. In this study, we aimed to assess if males would more eagerly vocally defend their home ranges a day after a simulated rival encounter. At 48 sites in Poland, we conducted a playback experiment where we played 20 calls repeated 5 times with a 5-min break between each series. Using the...
Division of roles was observed during group hunting by the false cleanerfish, Aspidontus taeniatus (Blenniidae), when they raid the nests of the damselfish (Pomacentridae) and eat their guarded eggs. In this paper, we provide the first description of the collaborative group egg-eating behavior by the false cleanerfish. When raiding the nests of the three-spot dascyllus, Dascyllus...
We recorded intra-sexual behaviour of adult male sub-Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus tropicalis at Gough Island, Southern Ocean, during the 1975/76 summer breeding season. Our re-analysed data address male ‘contest competition’, which relates to the costs of intra-sexual disputes, including fights. We considered the risks/benefits of fighting through investigation of injuries...
Death feigning is a behavior in which a prey is rendered motionless due to stimulation or threat by a predator. This anti-predator defense mechanism has been observed across a wide range of animal taxa and is considered adaptive. However, long durations of death feigning can decrease opportunities for feeding and reproduction, and therefore is a fitness cost as compared to...
The outcomes of preceding fights can influence the probability of winning a subsequent fight, known as the winner/loser effect. However, we know relatively little about how the experience of a preceding fight influences subsequent mating success. Here, we investigated the influence of preceding fight outcomes on subsequent mating behavior in a fruit fly Drosophila prolongata...